The Elms Meadow Project

 29.07.25 

Please see below final footpath dedication map 

  2025-07-29-Great-Barton-Footpath-23-MAP-3.pdf

(Please note at this time planning for the barn has been withdrawn by SCC)

 The Carbon Negative Nature Positive team believe that this route best addresses the concerns about proximity to residential property, while also providing a good circular walk as a local amenity.

The footpath route has been moved closer to the northern perimeter of the land to meet with the footpath in Ice Pits Wood thereby creating a circular walk. The Public Rights of Way team have identified a gap in the tree line at this junction which will mean minimal disturbance to existing trees.

Timescales are constrained by the bird nesting season, and work on the ground will commence once this is over in September.

  

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Elms Meadow is the area of Suffolk County Council Farm Estate which sits south of the A143 and between Cox Lane and Ice Pit Woods.

This area of land is 71.9 acres and was farmed until October 2023.

The land was taken in-hand by the County Council in November 2023 with the aim of creating a space for nature: The Elms Meadow Project.

The Elms Meadow project is a pilot biodiversity project. It aims to support the County Council’s environmental target to enhance biodiversity across 30% of its estate.

The land was initially surveyed by Suffolk County Council’s in-house ecology team. Their preliminary recommendation was to allow the land to naturally regenerate into a mosaic of neutral grassland and scrub. They reported that the land had nesting skylarks and could provide habitat for other farmland birds and hares.

The project commissioned Suffolk Wildlife Trust’s Wilder Ecology to survey the site with a view to creating Biodiversity Net Gain units to provide long-term financial support for the project.

The Wilder Ecology survey suggested creating a number of ponds across the site, creating areas of neutral grassland and scrub, and encouraging natural regeneration to establish an ecotone area at the edge of the land where it meets Icepits Wood. The Wilder Ecology report also recommended filling gaps in the existing hedgerows.

Consultation with chartered surveyors provided additional advice on the creation of biodiversity net gain units on Elms Meadow. The advice was to couple species-rich grassland and scrub together to create more marketable units.

The Elms Meadow Biodiversity team also wanted to include a space on the field for the local community to access and enjoy (in addition to the new public footpath) and so a space for a community orchard was added to the habitat design.

 

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The Elms Meadow New Public Footpath

Further considerations included in the habitat design for Elms Meadow focused on the new public footpath.

An opportunity to thicken the tree line running across the north perimeter of the field was considered advantageous as it would provide additional habitat on the land parcel and would create a better boundary/screen (from noise and pollution) for pedestrians using the new footpath.

The intention was to place the footpath at a distance from the northern perimeter and the boundary with the road to allow for tree planting. The location of the footpath was also influenced by the buildings on the field.

The whole parcel of land at Elms Meadow contains two corporate property assets: the land is one asset; the building is a second asset.

The Elms Meadow project pertains to the land only. Following a report from Bidwells into under-used and unused farm buildings on the Suffolk County Council County Farms Estate, the decision has been made to apply for Class Q planning consent for the barn at the north-west corner of the Elms Meadow field for a single dwelling. An area of land surrounding the barn will be included in this application.

 

Please see below Maps and drawings for the proposal. We are looking to hold a summer consultation meeting regarding the project at Elms Meadow. Dates to be advised soon.  

Proposed-Indicative-Layout-for-Elms-Meadow-Barn-Class-Q-Planning-Consent-Application2.pdf 

Land-App-Map-Biodiversity-Habitat-Design2.pdf 

Draft-Proposed-Great-Barton-FP23-Sept-25.pdf 

2025-04-24-Gt-Barton-FP23-Elms-Barn-Footpath-Alignment-Options2.pdf