Chilton...something stirring in the Woods.

In yesterday's EADT there was an article that made it clear that, after a long period of silence, there is some activity underway with regard to getting the giant Chilton Woods development off the ground.

A Steering Board has been formed by the County Council to try to move things on, and there are signs that the Place Shaping activities that included local community representatives, may revive in the Autumn.  There is no sign of an interested developer as yet however, although signs of activity in the housing market and the economy generally may mean that the opportunity to take on the site becomes more attractive.

We don't know yet what changes, forced through to make the plan palatable to the Planning Inspector earlier this year, will mean from the perspective of  preserving the original vision of the scheme as a complete community surrounded by green space, with excellent community facilities.  I and others will certainly be fighting hard to retain these aspects of the scheme, not just for the sake of the new residents, but also for existing residents of Sudbury and the surrounding villages.

The longer we wait however, the better the actual housing may be.  Environmental standards are likely to improve over time, ensuring that the homes will be more energy efficient.  In addition, Eric Pickles, who does get some things right, has said he will ensure that in future new homes have somewhere to put the constantly proliferating number of refuse bins.  This means that Chilton Woods should be free of the bin blight that affects to many new estates.  Finally there is AT LAST a move to make homes a decent size.  Communities Minister, Dan Foster, has today announced Government plans to abolish 'rabbit hutch estates'.

Apparently homes in the UK have halved in size over the past 80 years and new rules will seek to reverse this trend.  However, there is also a commitment to 'slash red tape' by abolishing some housing standards.  Let's hope that the larger houses actually don't fall down due to a new opportunity for builders to cut corners.