Planning Decisions

Planning Decisions: one • victory & one defeat

by Richard Stewart

First, the defeat. Permission to build 154

houses on Hayhill allotments in Ipswich marks

the end of a long, well-lead and high profile local campaign to prevent development and instead turn the site into an urban nature reserve which would have had a wide variety of habitats, been linked directly to the old Ipswich cemetery and the 'green corridor' of the Ipswich to Felixstowe railway line and have been a rare instance of such a rich biodiversity within a few hundred yards of the centre of Ipswich. In addition those of us lucky enough to have a key could also appreciate the superb views over Ipswich from its highest areas near the old cemetery.

It will be in teresri ng to see how the drainage and potential flooding problems are addressed, since the topography of the site is difficult for development. This was always going ro be a

Green Hairstreak

by Jim Foster

difficult battle to win as it was essentially a very local campaign and not that many people had access to enjoy the area on a regular basis. I was fortunate to visit it from 1997 onwards and my butterfly survey of that year produced 19 species, far more than you get in nearby Christchurch Park. These included Purple Hairstreak, Green Hairstreak and Brown Argus. However, by the rime crucial decisions were being made about an area already earmarked for housing, the site had been allowed to deteriorate, with hardly any of the private allotments being worked, and on our last visit, early autumn 2002, Marie and I had difficulty getting through paths that had previously been kept clear. Consequently recent wildlife audits correctly pointed our that there was now no suitable habitat available for several of the butterfly species recorded in 1997 and concluded that the site had rapidly deteriorated in its wildlife value in recent years. It is just a pity that councillors didn't have the long-term vision to imagine how rich this site could have become, once again, given sufficient input of resources to recreate the original habitats. Piper's Vale was always a better bet for victory: the council faced with cries of betrayal ifit declassified an existing designated local nature reserve, the combined forces of all the local conservation groups and the Suffolk Wildlife Trust against the link road proposal and the fond memories of the whole area that went well beyond those of naturalists, courting couples, dog walkers, childhood memories of freedom and using the outdoor swimming pool all helped to produce a total of 948 objections, out of a complete number of 1561 individuals who made representations about the combined local plan. Butterfly Conservation was able to include in its objection the fact that all of Suffolk's breeding butterflies have been recorded on site or close by, except for Dingy Skipper, White Admiral and Silver-studded Blue. However, vigilance is still needed. The plan has been deleted but not completely dropped. Most of us thought it was all over in 1988 after mass protests, so it could reappear in future years.