MP Dr Dan Poulter has demanded that Mid Suffolk Council takes action to ensure there is no development on land at Brockford in his constituency without planning permission.
He has intervened after a number of small plots were sold near a campsite in the hamlet just off the A140. A retrospective application was submitted after commercial kennels buildings went up – but local residents are concerned about piecemeal development in the area. Two other applications have also been made.
Residents fear that more sites could be used as caravan pitches – and say new entrances have been opened on to a narrow country lane just off the A140.
One application, to use a piece of land as a commercial kennel and as a site for a mobile home, has been submitted to Mid Suffolk – but residents are angry because the kennels have already been built and mobile home installed before the application has even been discussed by planners.
Dr Poulter said: “A growing number of residents have contacted me about development on the land at Brockford Road and I have been in touch with Mid Suffolk District Council urging them to act promptly and robustly, before further development takes place here.”
The applicant, Peter Caley, says in a letter supporting his bid for planning permission that he lost his home and business earlier this year when Carillion went into receivership.
He and his wife’s only income now is from breeding dogs – and they were lent money by a family member to buy the plot.
He said: “After all the stress we have had, all we ask is for us to be able to live in peace. We would like, if granted planning (permission), to be able to put up a twin unit on the land in either a style that is the same to look at as a bungalow or a log cabin.”
A spokesman for Mid Suffolk District Council said: “Much of the land on this site is being sold off in parcels to new owners: there is no requirement for the previous owner to secure planning permission prior to the sale of parcels of land in this manner, which is entirely legal.
“That said, much of this land can only lawfully be used for agricultural use, and any other uses would be a breach of planning control. We are already in conversation with several of the new owners to explain what their options are for development of the land.”
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