By Patrick LowmanAN historic market town is in danger of becoming an urban sprawl due to outside influences, it has been claimed.Sudbury's district and county councillor Nick Irwin is furious after a plan for a mini business park and drive-through restaurant on the outskirts of the town were passed against local opinion.

By Patrick Lowman

AN historic market town is in danger of becoming an urban sprawl due to outside influences, it has been claimed.

Sudbury's district and county councillor Nick Irwin is furious after a plan for a mini business park and drive-through restaurant on the outskirts of the town were passed against local opinion.

He was concerned Babergh District Council's development committee passed the scheme on a casting vote by its chairman Clive Arthey, who is not a Sudbury resident.

The plan includes building six retail units and a drive-through KFC restaurant at the former Shawlands site on the Chilton Industrial Estate.

Although the project will create more than 100 new jobs, both Sudbury Town and Great Cornard Parish Councils said the plan should be thrown out because of the build-up of traffic it would create around the nearby A134 roundabout.

They also claimed there would not be sufficient access to the site to cope with the extra traffic if the development went ahead.

Residents who live on the nearby Grange Farm development called for the plan to be rejected, claiming the extra traffic would have a devastating affect on their lives and make it impossible for their children to play outside.

Members of Babergh District Council's development committee were split by six votes each over the plan and it was approved when Mr Arthey, who represents the Brett Vale ward, gave the scheme the thumb-up.

Mr Irwin said: "Once again the views of people who know and care most about Sudbury have been totally ignored by outsiders.

"This is not the first time this has happened and it is about time the views of the people who were elected to represent the people of Sudbury were listened to."

He added: "This scheme will have a detrimental effect on the surrounding area and will damage the vibrancy in the town centre. Once again Sudbury will have a new development without the infrastructure to cope with it.

"This decision has been made by an outsider and I would like to ask him how many times he has actually been into Sudbury lately. I am very angry about this, Sudbury is becoming an urban sprawl against the wishes of the people because of outside influences."

Mr Arthey said he did not feel the committee could refuse the application on the grounds of road access or safety because an identical scheme on the site had been approved in 2000.

Parkridge Developments have previously indicated Halfords, Carpetright and Powerhouse have all showed interest in the site.

The developers have also agreed to pay for improvements in the town centre to offset the loss of takeaway trade.

patrick.lowman@eadt.co.uk