Suffolk Bitesize: A new weekly round-up of council decisions affecting residents this week

Welcome to Suffolk Bitesize.

A new SuffolkNews weekly round-up of council decisions affecting the county.

Starbucks in Hadleigh approved but met with opposing views

The new drive-through coffee shop was approved on Wednesday and will be built along the A1071, and will be accessed from Ellen Aldous Avenue.

But Cllr Simon Dowling, representing Hadleigh North, said residents ‘will be disappointed’ with the decision.

In his view, the approval would have a detrimental impact on the cafes and restaurants already in the town.

Cllr Helen Davies, the vice chair of the committee, said the matter was debated at length but that the committee did not have the ‘strong defendable reasons’ needed to refuse the application.

Ipswich MP prompts Government to act on The Mill

Apartments at The Mill, in Foundry Lane, have been ridden with concerns over its flammable cladding and structural issues.

Tom Hunt, who represents Ipswich in Parliament, the issue in the Commons on Monday.

He said: “Over 200 of my constituents at the Mill development in Ipswich have been living in a cruel form of limbo for over 10 years.”

Lee Rowley MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State in the Department for Levelling Up, said the department was looking for a way to keep residents safe in their homes.

However, some residents continue to fear homelessness if these issues are not resolved soon.

Taxi and private hire trade representatives speak out after council decision

On Monday, East Suffolk council’s licensing committee decided on recommendations made in late September by the scrutiny committee regarding support for the taxi and private hire sector.

The recommendations included, most notably, streamlining the licensing process and seeking ways to ease the financial burden.

But trade representatives were left disappointed when the committee only took on board, despite acknowledging the challenges.

Streamlining the licensing was seen by councillors as ‘watering down standards’.

Stacey Lock, who owns a local taxi business in Lowestoft said: “Everyone forgets about the taxi service, but when the ambulances don’t run or you can’t get the kids to school, we’re there to help.”

Ipswich residents rejoice as ‘appalling’ application rejected

The application related to a change of use from a six-unit House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) to an eight-unit.

On Wednesday, councillors refused it on the grounds it would provide a ‘substandard form of accommodation’ due to multiple bedrooms not complying with the national space standard, and bathrooms being ventilated.

Cllr Stephen Connelly, who visited the site, said: “My impression as I entered the property is that many of the rooms were tiny, I could virtually touch the walls on either side.”

Danny Stagg, a resident, added: “We see it every day and it’s just horrendous, absolutely horrendous, it’s been a completely building fiasco ever since it started.”

Motion supporting local farmers debated at county council

The motion was put forward on Thursday by SCC deputy leader, Cllr Richard Rout, and aimed to support farmers by encouraging residents to shop locally and making sure meat and dairy are served at council events.

Although the motion received 59 votes for, and only three abstentions, some councillors felt it didn’t go far enough.

Cllr Jessie Carter, who abstained, said the motion lacked ‘any real motive’.

Cllr Richard Kemp it was like ‘fighting a forest fire with a garden hose pipe’.

But Cllr Rout stressed this was about ‘supporting a vital sector’, and giving residents ‘the freedom to choose’.