Key Objections to Hatchfield Farm Development

1. Significant evidence based objections to this major housing and commercial development not being listened to by council officers  (commercial development: size of 13 Tesco superstores)

  • 1,200 houses are not needed in Newmarket, there is already sufficient affordable housing.  There is a demand for such housing in the town in Mildenhall and Haverhill.
  • The impact of such a major commercial development, the size of thirteen Tesco superstores, has  been underestimated and not fully focused with attention on the housing issues.
  • Both the housing and the major commercial development will create unacceptable levels of traffic congestion creating hazardous conditions and are not compatible with the sustainability of the core racing industry and the wellbeing of the town.
  • There is not the infrastructure to support the creation of this proposed bolt-on town – in terms of schools, hospitals, transport and water system.
  • The supporting material supplied by Lord Derby is backed up by flawed research and many key areas are not covered, including environmental studies required by statute (includes inaccurate and misleading current and potential traffic assessment, significant issues with ecological surveys, including inadequate bat surveys required by law.
2. Huge opposition to the development within Newmarket: from residents, the town council and its core industry, racing, and yet not heard by council officers and many of the Conservative councillors.  Our objections are backed up by local knowledge and factual evidence provided by experts such as Barton Wilmore and Cannon Consulting and yet in all the council’s representations they seem to be ignored or not responded to.  Often we have to call up to have our objections put up on the website.

3. Newmarket’s local economy and job market will be impacted, all the more so with leading racing businesses intending to pull out of the town and others will not base their operations in Newmarket if the development goes ahead.

4. FHDC is a conservative council that is driving forward a scheme that is not in line with Conservative policy to meet old Labour targets set by John Prescott’s regional spatial strategy (RSS). Our local MP has confirmed that the Government’s policy continues to be removed this RSS and therefore the council would not be penalized as the council officers have implied. This scheme is being driven by the council officers to meet old Labour targets with opposition from our new local MP and the liberal democrat candidate and it is not in line with conservative housing policy.

5. We do not want a repeat of the mistakes made with the major development at Red Lodge with historic Newmarket. With Red Lodge FHDC officers did not trigger appropriate Section 106 payments and the result is an uninhabited urban sprawl with a severe lack of infrastructure.  Hatchfield Farm application also looks set to be approved without appropriate section 106 payments and the necessary infrastructure.