Babergh recently received a revised application from Prolog, the UK’s largest privately owned outsourced services provider, in respect of a proposal to develop vacant land alongside Church Field Road in Chilton. The land is pictured here.
An extra meeting of Chilton Parish Council was held on Tuesday evening to consider the council’s response to this. A good number of parishioners attended and many were vocal in their opinions with regard to the proposals.
It seems that the applicant has gone some way to addressing objections to a previously presented scheme, but nonetheless there is no doubt that the two large warehouse buildings, together with a marshalling yard and car park, that are proposed are going to mean a quite significant change to the nature of the area, and indeed to the northern approach into Sudbury.
It is proposed that the facility is open and working 24/7, a radical change for this relatively peaceful part of the Chilton industrial estate which is situated relatively close to a residential area. There are also environmental issues in the widest sense to take into account, plus the proximity to the site of two notable examples of English heritage in the form of St Mary’s Church and Chilton Hall. The applicant claims that some 500 jobs or so are to be created by the facility, which at first sight is a welcome development for Sudbury, but it is important in my view to establish conclusively that this number is genuine and does not reflect the closure of the Group’s facilities elsewhere in the Town. I also personally cannot help but question the quality of some of the work on offer. I find it hard to believe that this development will do anything to improve the District's position with regard to wage levels and educational aspiration.
The chairman of the Parish Council, Peter Clifford, gave a useful presentation in order to demonstrate the main features of the plan, but the fact remains that these are complex proposals, and many reasonable questions with regard to the scheme’s impact on the local community, and also some knotty legal questions, remain unanswered.
In the event, the Council was unable to reach a decision without further clarification of a number of points. Given the complexities involved I do not find this surprising and I will be working with Chilton to try to untangle some of the issues prior to the end of the consultation period.
