Greene King says it will collaborate to create future vision for current Bury St Edmunds site following concerns

Concerns have been voiced that if houses were to be built on the sites vacated by Greene King when it opens its new brewery it could make the area ‘intolerable’ for residents.

However, the company said it was in the early stages of the project for a new £40 million brewery at Suffolk Park, next to Moreton Hall, in Bury St Edmunds, and no decisions had yet been taken on the future of the Bury town centre sites being vacated.

The brewing giant did say it was committed to retaining its heritage and having an ongoing presence in the centre of Bury.

Vivien Gainsborough Foot, chairman of the Churchgate Area Association, which represents residents and businesses in the medieval grid area of the town, is worried about what will happen with the sites left when brewing moves from the existing Westgate Brewery to the new facility.

She is anxious that more homes would put pressure on the grid with its long-running traffic and parking problems.

She said: “What will happen to the spaces, will there be another 100 houses with another 100 car movements? This would make the grid untenable and intolerable.”

She said she was not too worried about the brewery buildings as they were listed, but other parts of the complex, such as in Bridewell Lane and the car park off Cullum Road.

“I just want to bring it [the issue] out into the open,” she added.

Cllr Julia Wakelam, who represents Abbeygate on West Suffolk Council, said she shared the concerns raised, and added that she would like to see a masterplan from Greene King on the future of the site.

She said more homes would lead to more cars and pressure on the grid ‘which is already under stress’.

“The residents there feel, I think sometimes they feel under siege and I understand that,” she said. “It’s the inevitable conflict between a medieval town centre and the 21st century.”

She said she would wait to see what Greene King proposed, adding that she hoped the company would take note of residents’ concerns and the impact on the roads.

A Greene King spokesperson said: “We are still in the early stages of this project, but we are committed to retaining our heritage and having an ongoing presence in the centre of Bury St Edmunds.

“Operations at the Westgate brewery will continue as they are today for at least the next three years, but, in time, we will collaborate and engage with our team members, the local community and the council to create a future vision for the site.”