Chilton Woods; will it fall from the sky fully formed?

'A difficult build out'

On Radio Suffolk yesterday morning I made the comment that, subject to economic conditions,  the Chilton Woods Development could well take at least 15 years to build out.  It will not, I said, fall from the skies, fully formed.

This was in response to the concern expressed by residents about the levels of traffic that will be generated by the development, which will ultimately comprise up to 1250 new homes to the north of Sudbury, together with employment land.

This is of course a chicken and egg situation.  Without new development there may be no need for more infrastructure, but without adequate infrastructure the development will be unsustainable and troublesome for neighbouring areas.  Beyond that which is required within the development, the road network is, rightly or wrongly, almost never improved ahead of the event.   No doubt, as with other development elsewhere,  appropriate road improvements in the surrounding area will be put in place over the life of the construction period, funded as it always has been by developers’ Section 106 contributions and resources from elsewhere.

Following the radio interview,  I have been musing today on the idea of cities falling from the sky fully formed, and remembering that this is something of a Russian notion.

Firstly there are the various legends connected with the magical city of Kitezh.  In one version the city vanishes when threatened by attack from the tartars, reappearing in its entirety on the empty steppe when they have passed by. In another version it disappears under the waters of Lake Svetloya, where, rather like submerged Dunwich, it periodically reappears as a vision to travellers, who hear church bells ringing and  eerie lights shining under under the surface.

The magical city of Kitezh

Secondly there is a legend concerning Peter the Great and the construction of St Petersburg.  The boggy and inhospitable nature of the site made this a difficult build out to say the least.  In the words of Prince Vladimir Odoyevskii:-

‘Construction of the city had begun, but the marsh swallowed all the stone; a great many had already been piled on block after block, but all had disappeared and nothing remained on the surface but swamp.  Meanwhile the tsar…took a turn about the site: he looked and saw that it was still not his city “You don’t know how to do anything” he told his people and with these words he began to lift block after block and assemble them in mid air.  In this manner he constructed the entire city and when it was complete he let it fall to earth’

Consultation on the Chilton Woods site is currently ongoing.  There will be an additional chance to see the plans at Acton Village Hall on 12^th February from noon to 8 p.m.  Information is also available on the Suffolk County Council website.