The site in Church Field Road in Sudbury where a proposed Prolog distribution site which will block residents view of the church.
Sudbury: Huge development could bring hundreds of jobs
By Emma Brennan
Monday, January 9, 2012
12:00 PM
A BID for a multi-million pound development that would create hundreds of jobs in Sudbury - but could alter the landscape of the area - is finally set to go before planners.
The proposal by packaging and distribution firm Prolog to build a new centre at a 26,383 square metre site in Church Field Road was due to be discussed last summer, but the company delayed the application because of fierce local opposition.
Prolog is currently based at premises in Milner Road on Chilton Industrial Estate, where it employs more than 400 people. The additional £50 million Prolog village, which would include two huge industrial buildings with offices and a call centre, could create a further 500 jobs.
Nearby residents, including the occupants of the Grade II*Listed Chilton Hall, objected to the size of the planned development and the impact it could have on the environment.
The company subsequently revised its proposal and the amended plans are expected to be go before Babergh District Council planning committee on January 25.
Sudbury councillor Simon Barrett, who described the development as an “investment in the town” said: “Prolog had an option to move to another site in the East Midlands but they have chosen to stay in Sudbury. If the plans go ahead, it will be good to get this development moving.
“Of course, you have to be sensitive to the opinions of the local residents but I think the company has done a lot to try to accommodate the objections. Anything that secures jobs in the town has to be good in the long term.”
Chilton parish council chairman Peter Clifford said they supported new jobs in the area, but the size of the two warehouse buildings was a big concern.
He added: “The parish council approves the application but with an attachment of many conditions. The general feeling in the parish is that the buildings are extremely large - big enough to fit 1,000 double decker buses into - and they are out of character with the local buildings, which include the Grade I listed St Mary’s Church, and Chilton Hall. There is no doubt that they would change the landscape of the area considerably.”
Robert Audley, chief executive of Prolog, said: “As a Sudbury based business, we have always been keen to grow within the town and provide jobs for local people.
“The development at Church Field Road will provide much needed investment into the area and show that Sudbury is a good place to do business. We are pleased that councillors will shortly be able to make a decision on the proposals and we hope to begin work on-site as soon as possible.”
But Lady Valerie Hart, of Chilton Hall, will continue to oppose the plans because she thinks the scale of the development is out of proportion to the jobs it will create.
She said: “We are not against development in general but we are opposed to the size and bulk of the buildings which will overwhelm the site and eclipse the church.
“As for justifying it by the number of jobs it might create – the figures for which seem very sketchy – warehousing is the lowest creator of jobs and we feel a much smaller development on that site that would create as many jobs without impacting on the landscape.”
Lady Hart said consultation with the community over the plans had been “inadequate” and the views of heritage organisations had not been sufficiently considered. However, Prolog said it polled 500 local people in 2011 and more than 75% supported the development.
During the past two years Prolog has cut the number of employees in Sudbury and has relocated the jobs to the East Midlands because its current site is not big enough to meet demand for services.
