A group has been formed to try to improve Chilton Airfield.
The sad state of the Airfield has been of concern to me since I became a regular dog walker there some six years ago. Since I have become a District Councillor I have realised that I am not alone.
The airfield is a unique and historic place with a strange beauty of its own in parts. Its sky is huge. It enjoys its own range of bird and plant-life; and it is distressing to see the patches of neglect that exist within it.
The situation has not been improved over the years by the fact that where there has been development this has been unplanned and piecemeal. There is now a need for environmental improvements to screen some of the unsightly industrial units and associated activities.
Further damage has been caused, by a number of different people. Firstly there are the hopelessly anti-social characters who persist in using the place as a huge rubbish tip. Secondly there are those who insist on bringing unauthorised motorised vehicles onto the site. I don’t just mean the boy racers and motorcyclist who make the life of nearby residents a misery at weekends; there are also those who take their dogs for walks by driving in front of them! Then there are the visitors to the waste disposal facilities, who, finding them closed, decide to dump their stuff outside.
In the past the owner of much of the land, Suffolk County Council, has struggled to cope with all these issues. Some measures have been taken such as the employment of security guards for a limited period to try to deal with boy racers. and signs have been erected at the entrances to the site, but clearly more needs to be done. It is good therefore to be able to report that action is now being taken by the County Council working with representatives of the local community. There is perhaps recognition that the County is unable to resolve these matters alone.
This morning Colin Spence and I met with an officer from the County Council along with the Chairmen and Clerk of Chilton and Great Waldingfield Parish Councils, some of the adjacent land owners and owners of industrial concerns on the airfield. The meeting was constructive . It was agreed that resolution of all of the outstanding issues will be complex and challenging, but it was also agreed that some small measures, such as tree and hedge planting, the blocking of potential dumping sites, working with existing CCTV cameras etc. could make a significant difference.
It is hoped to get Babergh District Council and also the local Safer Neighbourhood Team involved with the project and a further meeting will be held in three months time to review progress. It is hoped that this will be a good example of the community working together to get things done!
