THE PUBLIC will soon have its final chance to comment on the proposed blueprint for growth in St Edmundsbury.

The blueprint for Bury St Edmunds includes 900 homes between the Howard Estate and Fornham All Saints, 500 homes for Moreton Hall, 1,250 between Bury and Great Barton and 1,250 to the south-east of the town.

Following major consultation on the draft plans in spring last year, a number of changes have been made, including the reduction of homes at the garden centre site off Rougham Road in Bury from 52 to 30 and limiting the amount of development on land known as the ‘Leg of Mutton’ in Bury which is earmarked for a leisure development.

In Haverhill, an allocation for a new local centre off Chivers Road has been removed following strong local opposition.

This final consultation will ask whether the plans comply with various legal criteria and have been properly prepared.

Leader of St Edmundsbury Borough Council John Griffiths said: “Creating plans which will provide homes and jobs for people with the right supporting services, environment and infrastructure is a big responsibility.

“We have to balance anticipated, and desirable, growth with the need to protect the very qualities which make the borough, and indeed west Suffolk, such an attractive place.

“Change is inevitable but if we cannot identify, and agree, where, how quickly and what kind of growth can take place, we would be vulnerable to speculative development which we would not be able to challenge in law. There would be a vacuum and local input and influence could be jeopardised.”

He added: “I would like to thank all the residents, including our councillors, who have taken an interest in, responded to, and helped shape the draft Vision plans over the past two years. Significant changes have been made to all three documents to reflect your ideas and concerns.”

For more information visit www.stedmundsbury.gov.uk/vision2031

The full story will be in tomorrow’s East Anglian Daily Times.