New premises for a tattoo parlour in Woodbridge have been granted permission – despite 40 objections from nearby residents.
People living close to the property in Cumberland Street wrote to East Suffolk Council saying the new use was "not in keeping with a residential area" and would mean extra traffic. possible illegal parking close to a school and nursery, and were worried about noise.
Gordon and Lia Shepherd, who have run a tattooing and piercing shop in Gobbitts Yard, said they could understand "that a tattoo parlour can't be everyone's cup of tea and that's absolutely fine".
In a letter to the council, they said there would be no noise from the tattooing equipment - they use the extra quiet Cheyenne tattoo equipment - and most of their clientele were middle aged and older and there would be no loud music, only a TV on to entertain customers having procedures done.
There would not be a large amount of people coming and going.
They said: "Tattooing is long process. I understand the residents are worried about increased footfall and illegal parking or fast driving by. We normally only have one to three (top) clients a day depending on design size etc - most of the days we will have one client sitting all day."
The council said there was enough parking nearby, and national planning policy aimed to create "healthy and inclusive communities" through the promotion of social interaction, including promoting opportunities for meetings between people who might not otherwise come into contact with each other.
The premises' opening hours would be restricted to 8am to 7pm Monday to Saturday.
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