Adopted Stowmarket Area Action Plan - Mid Suffolk District Council

Stowmarket Area Action Planindustries have evolved with changes in the agricultural production, food processing anddistribution industries and more recently the pressures from the global economy. Manyare internationally significant employers, and make a major contribution to employmentnot only in the town, but also in the District and beyond.7.31 The ever increasing need for efficiency has resulted in some of these employersrelocating to a smaller footprint on the same site, which has released land for development.In this sub-area the Council will seek to:Protect large scale industrial / commercial types of employment from loss to otheruses;Maintain a flexible approach to meet the needs of employers, facilitating their evolutionwithin the national and regional aspirations and their competitiveness in the globaleconomy;Ensure that any development of land released through company reorganisation makesthe 'best use of the opportunity' created, in line with the policies and objectives of theStowmarket Area Action Plan.SAAP Policy 7.5Established Employers and Industrial EstatesThe Council will seek to protect employment uses within this area, identified on Map7.1. Development proposals in this area for 'mixed-use' and 'non-B Class' uses willbe permitted where they represent the best use of a development opportunity havingregard to the requirements, policies, and objectives of the Stowmarket Area ActionPlan and other policies in the development plan.Narrow Mixed Use Corridor adjacent to the River Gipping Floodplain7.32 The area identified on Map 7.1 as 'Mixed Use Corridor', stretches for almost 4kilometres from Stowmarket Football Club in the north to the former TXU electricity sitein the south. It lies either side of the Bury Road/Gipping Way/Needham Road corridorthat connects the town to the A14 at either end. This area has a complex pattern ofdevelopment, which is bounded in different places by various established uses such aslarge scale employment, the town centre, the railway and in other places by residentialuse, agriculture, and the River Gipping and its floodplain.7.33 Almost every 'Use Class' is represented within this narrow corridor, however notevery use is considered to be equally appropriate in every part of the area. The StowmarketMasterplan and the Environmental Assessment have helped to establish the differentobjectives and priorities in different parts of the corridor, so that they may make an importantcontribution to the vitality of the town, the Station Quarter area and identified 'gateway'areas.7.34 In broad terms the mixed use corridor can be considered in 3 parts:Mid Suffolk Stowmarket Area Action Plan (February 2013)73