The Woodbridge Flyer Magazine May ’24

“Where have all the trees gone?”      

Wild cherries no longer flower on Candlet Road north of Felixstowe. They have been cut down to allow access to a new housing estate. Vast swathes of woodland around the AdAstral Business Park at Martlesham Heath have also been cleared for the Brightwater Lakes housing development. Environmental devastation on greenfield sites outside our major towns and villages has happened all too often recently.

Building more homes might seem like a good idea but they haven’t always met local needs. Too many over-priced new houses have been built without additional energy efficiency measures while there continues to be a shortage of affordable homes to buy or rent. And more new developments are being proposed such as the Howlett Way site between Trimley St Mary and Trimley St Martin, despite overwhelmingly negative reactions from a public consultation.

Green Party policy has always been that local communities should have much more influence over plans for large scale housing. The new Green/Lib Dem/Independent (GLI) administration at East Suffolk Council (ESC) will be working hard to consult with local residents and businesses to understand and address their concerns. For example, a Citizens’ Panel has been launched for the Felixstowe North Garden Neighbourhood, to explore issues around climate change, community facilities, affordable housing, energy and local employment. The GLI administration is also hoping to expand the stock of homes it can let at social rents by at least 400 homes by 2028, although the state of local government finances will not make this easy.

Meanwhile, our Parish and Town Councillors try to ensure new housing developments are of an appropriate scale with the right mix of housing and access to schools, GP surgeries and other services. Unfortunately, valid objections have been over-ruled too often in the past. Hopefully, this is about to change with a new grass roots organisation, the East Suffolk Planning Alliance (ESPA), which is bringing together parish and town councillors to work constructively with ESC planners. The ESPA held a successful conference in Grundisburgh in February where it was agreed regular meetings with ESC planners would be organised to bring more community input into the planning process.

ESPA members and Green Party councillors are also concerned about the current failure of building regulations to require low carbon heating systems or to mandate the provision of high levels of insulation or solar panels on roofs. National guidance needs to be upgraded so that all new homes are much cheaper to heat than most of the current stock. But that will probably have to wait for a new Government. It cannot come soon enough!

Julian Cusack is the Green Party candidate for Suffolk Coastal. He lives in the constituency near Leiston. He is a Chartered Accountant and has extensive experience in business, as a county councillor and in the voluntary sector.

Want to find out more about the Green Party or get involved?

Take a look at our website: suffolkcoastal.greenparty.org.uk or email: julian@suffolkcoastal.greenparty.org.uk or follow ‘Julian for Suffolk Coastal’ on Facebook.