Since lockdown the Planning and Development Committee and the Ipswich Conservation and Design Panel have not held open meetings. Decisions have therefore been made by Planning Officers after virtual consultation with Councillors and the Panel. The number of new applications has fallen compared with the corresponding weeks last year: to the end of May 2019, 508 but this year it’s fallen to 413.

The Development Control virtual meeting on Zoom is included in Chairman's remarks on the previous page.


1 Civic Drive. Change of use to convert the former Victoria/Queen’s Head public house and drop-in centre into a winter night shelter and advice centre for up to 12 guests was granted.
Land north of railway and east of Henley Road. John Norman submitted a reasoned objection to Crest Nicolson’s wretched proposals for the first sod of the so-called Ipswich Garden Suburb. I feel that everybody’s hard work over many years to build a new suburb of Ipswich has been wasted. But, deep down, I knew the developers would win; unless you own the land they always do nowadays. The detailed design of the country park, drainage and road layout matters has been published and we will be commenting on this by June 22 2020.

 

Finbars Walk. I am grateful to Suffolk Protection Society for drawing my attention to this interesting application to replace a ‘forestry building’ with a three-bed house. I had never realised there was a large wood there, clearly a remnant. I think this needs a much wider discussion.
26 The Avenue. An application to replace a garage with a three-bedroom chalet bungalow has been widely objected to, including by the Society.

8 Anglesea Road. Pleasant Victorian house on the north side of the road next to the Prep school. The returning owner wishes to enlarge the drive by 1.2 m so he can open the car door, refurbish the original white painted wood doors and windows on the road side and rebuild the rear extension to provide a modern, sustainable family house. The rear extension would be rebuilt with seamed zinc roofs and grey metal windows. It won’t be seen by the passing public.

Anglia Parkway Retail Centre. IBC Assets own the Bury road site; they are going to squeeze another Burger King on to what was the former B&Q car park.
 

57-61 Prince of Wales Drive. Orwell Housing Association will build twelve 2 & 3-bedroom two storey houses and a three storey block of six flats on the site of three retail units which are no longer used. The site is opposite Halifax Primary School. The style will be in keeping with other nearby buildings. They will have disabled access and 22 car parking spaces.

Demolish commercial garage buildings to west of Princes Street and create 90-space temporary car park.
This is another step in IBC’s grand economic plan to turn Princes Street into an office boulevard from the station to Giles statue. As there have been no offers to build the offices and hotel granted permission three years ago, it's seen as sensible to demolish the garages. Building more car parks is not only morally wrong, it fails to discourage a modal shift (to sustainable transport) and encourages more use of the polluting motor car; it is also against the Local Plan which clearly states that temporary car parks will be refused. However, if we are to have a successful business quarter, cars are unavoidably essential for the foreseeable future as rural transport is so poor.


Multi storey car park Portman Road. This important outline application for a 7-level 750 space car park with admin building, UK power Networks ring main building, a new public square, and hard and soft landscaping with tree planting is an expression of IBC’s wish to make the Princes Street corridor the business and economic hub of the town centre rather than on the periphery. Therefore, it will be essential to provide adequate, modern, convenient parking for business. Then they would be the driver to the reignition of commercial life in the town centre. It’s unfortunate that Covid-19 may have changed the way office life is conducted in the future; this is an outline application so design details are not revealed and indeed the whole project may have to be rethought. The Design and Access Statement is worth reading for the proposals in full, the history of the site and the flood risks. (now negligible).                  

Mike Cook

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