Great Barton Parish Council
Bringing the Community together
Bringing the Community together
Bringing the Community together
Development of 1375 homes in Great Barton Parish - South East of The Avenue
You will probably be aware that in 2022 Berkeley Homes secured outline planning permission for 1375 homes in the Parish of Great Barton on land east of the A143. At the same time they obtained detailed planning permission for 287 homes for Phase 1 of the development on land opposite the junction with The Avenue.
Last week representatives of the Parish Council met Vistry Homes who acquired the site in December 2025 to find out more about the project and any proposed changes.
Many of you have expressed concerns about the impact of traffic movements as a result of this development. Prior to the 1st occupation of a home, Vistry Homes must construct a roundabout on the A143 to the north of the junction with The Avenue. They are also required to fund about £2.7M of offsite improvements.
Prior to occupation of 150 homes another roundabout on the A143 to the south of the site must be constructed, together with improvements to the signals at Orttewell Road, improvements to the A143/A134 roundabout and improvements to cycle routes.
Additional improvements will also be made to Fornham Road, East Barton Road, upgrades to Public Rights of Way and upgrades to railway line crossings.
Vistry Homes has also submitted a planning application for a temporary construction access road off the A143, close to the junction with The Avenue. This junction would allow the developer to access the site directly from the A143 without using the Northern roundabout which is to be used for residential access to the development. The Parish Council have objected to the location of this temporary access road due to its close proximity to The Avenue.
Given the need to construct the Southern roundabout prior to the occupation of the 150th home in Phase 1, Vistry has decided to bring forward the construction of phase 2 of the development. Next month Vistry Homes will submit a detailed planning application for phase 2. It will include the southern roundabout, a local centre and we expect around 500 homes. Once detailed planning consent has been granted, construction work will commence such that work will start on phase 2 before completion of phase 1. Vistry Homes have been reminded that the site sits within the area of the Great Barton Neighbourhood Plan and needs to comply with the relevant policies.
Archaeological excavations are already in progress for the whole site. To date 3 Anglo-Saxon burials, Roman pottery kilns and a spear have been found.
Prior to any main works on the site, the developer will need to agree a Construction Management Plan with West Suffolk Council. Once this has been agreed construction work on the northern roundabout and dwellings will commence and the developer hopes that phase 1 homes should be available for sale in 2027.
Vistry Homes advised that they will shortly be writing to residents living in Great Barton, providing details of their website for the development and a contact email address for any queries you may have. They also intend to set up a Community Liaison group involving local residents so that they can engage with residents in Great Barton.
We hope that we will be able to have a constructive relationship with Vistry Homes to ensure that the concerns of residents are taken into account.
To date there are 14 applications related to the site. Some of these applications are to discharge conditions related to the approved Hybrid Application, others like the temporary construction access road are a planning application in their own right. Please see the below link for greater visibility of what has already been approved and what is still under consideration.
Q367PMPD0C204 | Land North East Of Bury St Edmunds Bury Road Great Barton Suffolk
Thank you for everyone who attended the planning meeting tonight, it is always good to see members of the public expressing their interest in our village. It was requested I share the links to the planning application documents - so please see here below.
Please see the below-
Temp access planning application documents
Also the full planning application – approved back in 2022.
DC/19/2456/HYB Documents
We also have a small bit on our website about it. here
And last but not least this is a link to our neighbourhood plan https://greatbarton-pc.gov.uk/planning/neighbourhoodplan/ if you wish to dig further!
Please note the deadline to comment is FRIDAY 13th Feb. This can be shared with friends or family who use the A143 and will be affected by this planning application.
We have been contacted by Vistry, who have acquired the land to the north-east of Bury St Edmunds, currently known as the Severals Development.
Vistry is planning to bring forward Phase 1 of the development around mid-2026 and has asked the Parish Council to submit suggestions for suitable street names for this phase.
It is proposed that the different phases of the development are grouped into distinct themes, reflecting specific areas within the site. The main spine road (shown in light green on the plan) would then have a name that links the development as a whole and complements the individual themes.
We are inviting parishioners to help with this process by submitting any street name suggestions to the Clerk. This item will also be included on the agenda for our January meeting, to be held on 19 January.
Please note update below from the Suffolk Press in relation to the land on Bury Road. At this stage nothing has changed other than the Developer. We will keep this page updated with any future developments.
A developer has bought a site to the north east of Bury St Edmunds earmarked for more than 1,300 new homes.
Vistry has acquired the 194-acre site, in Bury Road, Great Barton, which has hybrid planning permission for up to 1,375 new homes.
It includes detailed permission for 287 homes, while the remaining 1,088 homes have outline permission.
An application, which also featured a local centre, primary school and two new roundabouts on to the A143, by Berkeley St Joseph Homes was approved by the Planning Inspectorate in October 2022.
Berkeley had lodged an appeal against West Suffolk Council's non-determination of the scheme within an appropriate period.
Vistry said work on the 287 new homes with detailed planning is anticipated to start in Spring, with the remaining 1,088 homes and community facilities to be delivered in phases until 2031.
James Warrington, executive chair (North, South Midlands and East Division) at Vistry, said: “Large sites such as this demonstrate our continued commitment to building more high-quality mixed-tenure homes at scale, helping to meet the acute shortage of homes across the country.
“This fantastic site is a great opportunity to deliver the mix of homes and local facilities that residents need to create thriving and sustainable long-term communities and to boost to economic growth in the region.”
The land sale was brokered by Savills Cambridge on behalf of a private landowner and Berkeley Community Villages Ltd.
Tom Fraser, director in the development team at Savills Cambridge, said they were delighted to have been involved in what is an important project for the area.
“The development represents an exciting opportunity to deliver sustainable growth in the shape of high quality residential and community uses in a prime location and will significantly contribute to the supply of much-needed new homes in Bury St Edmunds and the surrounding area,” he said.
“We had strong interest from a number of parties, however from the outset Vistry demonstrated a capacity to meet the requirements of our client and we look forward to seeing how their plans come to fruition.
“The development land market in the East of England has shown a good deal of resilience in recent months and this sale reflects that – with sites where planning permission is already in place and which have a good level of existing infrastructure particularly sought after.”
In 2014 to help meet local housing needs land in Great Barton, North East of Bury St Edmunds is identified in the St Edmundsbury Core Strategy as a strategic growth location for around 1,250 homes.
In July 2019 an exhibition by St Joseph, part of the Berkeley Group, was held at the village hall - This is the information on the consultation boards displayed on the day.
In December 2019 a Hybrid Planning Application was submitted by St Joseph, part of the Berkeley Group. for up to 1375 dwellings and other works.
In September 2022 planning permission was granted for the Hybrid Planning Application as follows:
i) Outline Application (With All Matters Reserved Except For Access)
For Up To 1,375 Dwellings;
Access (Including Two New Roundabouts onto A143;
Creation Of New Foot And Cycleway Links into The Site which would include new Cycle/Pedestrian Crossings of the A143 and Cycle/Pedestrian Link through the existing Railway Underpass);
Public Open Space (Including Buffer To Cattishall And Great Barton);
Landscaping;
New Local Centre (Which Could Include Any Uses within Class E of the Use Classes Order 1987, as amended in 2020);
Primary School;
Associated Infrastructure And Works (Including Access Roads, Drainage Infrastructure And Substations).
ii) Planning Application - Full details for Phase 1 of the Outline Application for 287 dwellings (which are part of the overall up to 1,375 dwelling proposal), garages, access roads, parking, Open Space, drainage infrastructure and associated infrastructure and works at Land North East of Bury St Edmunds, Bury Road, Great Barton, Suffolk in accordance with the terms of the application, Ref DC/19/2456/HYB, dated 13 December 2019, subject to conditions.
The schedule of conditions state that the development of the detailed phase permitted shall be commenced no later than 3 years from the date of the permission which was 13 october 2022.
Full details of the planning permission can be found on West Suffolk Council's website.
