Plan for nine new homes on former employment site refused

Plans for nine new homes on a former business site in Bury St Edmunds have been refused because the scheme would be an overdevelopment of the land and have a "cramped layout".

Officers had recommended approval - but councillors decided to reject the proposals.

Terry Sprigings of Wentworth Country Properties Ltd had applied for consent to use land at Sentinel Works, Northgate Avenue, for the development of one detached four-bedroom dwelling and four pairs of semi-detached houses.

Original plans saw eight contemporary-style properties approved but the new proposals were more traditional.

Bury St Edmunds Town Council recommended refusal because of concerns over loss of amenity, overshadowing, loss of privacy, access and highway safety, overlooking, layout and density of the buildings on the three-quarters of an acre site.

West Suffolk Council development control committee refused the plans because they would not represent good design.

It said the proposals "would result in overdevelopment which is demonstrated by the contrived and cramped layout of the site with excessive bin dragging distances and contrived tandem parking serving the rear plots, making manoeuvring difficult."

The new homes would cause "overbearing impacts on neighbouring properties"