Appeal by developers over care village in Elmswell set for next week

Villagers are set to turn out to a planning appeal over the development of a purpose built care complex in Elmswell.

It’s scheduled to be held at the Blackbourne Community Centre on Thursday, September 4, beginning at 10am, and is set to last for six days.

It has come after developers Christchurch Land & Estates (Elmswell South) Ltd had their plans for the project turned down by Mid Suffolk District Council and the project was first revealed back in December 2023 which prompted a campaign by villages for rejection of the scheme.

The care village features 66 homes along with a further 36 bungalows and four almshouses on a large swathe of land to the north and west of School Road butting up against the railway line and the new development off Parnell Road and School Road reaching as far south as St John’s Church.

It would also feature a management office, club house, community growing area, an orchard and community bee hives.

The developers are appealing against the rejection of the project by the district council and the appeal is set to lead to a number of people living locally attending.

The scheme was initially refused on a number of issues and included creating “incongruous and discordant growth on the western edge of the village”, surface water flooding, development resulting in the loss of an area of open countryside and the change in character of the land from agriculture, the eroding of the historic setting of the Church of St. John which is listed at Grade II, damage to the landscape and an “unacceptable impact” on the local infrastructure,