As the prospect of Suffolk losing a key slice of Constable country to Essex rears its head, the chief executive of the council under threat has intervened.
Villagers in East Bergholt, the birthplace of renowned landscape artist John Constable, have raised the prospect of divorcing Suffolk due to perceived failures of Babergh District Council to protect them from housing developers.
East Bergholt Parish Council chairman Paul Ireland told this newspaper that while leaving Suffolk would be a “wrench”, it may be the only option to stop over development.
The local action group, chaired by Peter Dent, also supported the suggestion, claiming Colchester Borough Council place higher importance on protecting heritage assets.
Is Essex the only way for East Bergholt
Arthur Charvonia, chief executive of Babergh District, has now intervened, stating: “I am acutely conscious that East Bergholt Parish Council and the wider community feels that Babergh District Council is not listening to them, and many people have lost trust in their district council.
“I have therefore been working extremely hard to actively listen to those concerns and to build relationships, particularly between the councils but also with the wider community. With this in mind I have met with East Bergholt Parish Council along with our planning policy manager and I also recently attended the annual parish meeting and have had been able to speak with the Parish Chairman, Action East Bergholt and campaigners trying to save the Kings Head pub.
“I am looking forward to meeting shortly with the East Bergholt Society, and my officers have been appointed to support the community led East Bergholt Community housing working group.
“Repairing relationships and trust will take time and I have made it clear that the community will need to judge Babergh District Council by our future actions rather than by my words so far. I do believe, however, that we have made a positive start and I look forward to supporting East Bergholt to deliver its priorities as set out in its neighbourhood plan.”
The move could only happen if it was put forward in the 2018 Boundary Commission Review. If it were to happen, Suffolk would lose the iconic sights of Flatford Mill and Will Lott’s Cottage.
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