GNLP0604R
I am not contesting Ben Burgess Ltd's desire for a new site but stating adamantly that their proposed site on this farmland is definitely in the wrong place. There are other more suitable pre-existing industrial sites around Norwich and in South Norfolk that have space and infrastructure for a development of this size.

The Village of Swainsthorpe When I heard that a firm called Ben Burgess wanted to ruin one of the nicest places I have ever lived in I knew I had to protest. Swainsthorpe isn't particularly pretty but it is a friendly community-focussed small village inhabited by about 350 people who want to make village life work. There is little social infrastructure, well under 200 houses, no school, no shop and the only businesses are a roadhouse pub and a car wash, both on the main A140 road each employing a small handful of people. The bus service is limited and the stops on the A140 (particularly the southbound stop) are dangerous to access. Swainsthorpe is classed in the category 'other villages' because of its poor infrastructure.
The A140 The A140 on the edge of Swainsthorpe is a noisy, polluted, often blocked and certainly already a dangerous boundary for the village. There are no plans for a bypass. Most times of the day it requires a long wait to enter the traffic in either direction from Church Road, the main village road out of Swainsthorpe and one which conveys not just villagers' transport but also those cutting through from the Mulbarton and Swardeston areas. At quieter times the 50mph speed restriction on the A140 seems largely to be ignored particularly by the heaviest of vehicle and walking to the bus stop (or worse - crossing the road from the opposite bus stop) is the stuff of nightmares.
Access from the proposed Ben Burgess site will be onto the A140, an extremely busy main road already frequently at a standstill during busy times. Entrance and exit would be extremely dangerous, sitting on a bend with limited vision, offering employees, farmers and clients severely restricted access on one of the busiest and most congested roads in the county.
The Ben Burgess company have declared that they will require "122 staff parking spaces and 193 machinery parking spaces". This fact alone demonstrates the impact a development will have on local traffic conditions and ignores the many visitors who will visit the premises. The increase in regular traffic to and from the site will add to the current chaos.
Thus the combined effect of this development plus the planned developments in Mulbarton, Long Stratton and other areas adjoining the A140 will put further pressure on a road already at standstill during rush hour periods. As someone who uses the main road to get to work in the city I have regular experience of the frustrations of waiting for gaps in the traffic and also the dangers of sitting in the filter lane to get back into the village and experiencing juggernauts bearing down on my car.
The Future Despite the existing transport problems Swainsthorpe is a good place to live. At the moment. If this plan is approved this will change dramatically and certainly for the worse. The Ben Burgess plan is BIGGER than the current village footprint and will substantially impact upon all the people and homes in the village, not just those it affects directly by backing onto their property. It can be of absolutely no benefit to the village or its inhabitants and will greatly diminish the local quality of life. Neither will it be of any benefit to those who use the A140 to travel to Norwich or towards Diss. It may seem dramatic to suggest that Ben Burgess Ltd will wipe out life in Swainsthorpe as it exists today - but I fear it will.
Irreversible Development
Swainsthorpe is currently a rural village separated from the development of Norwich by acres of green fields and the Southern Bypass. Once this land is re-designated for industrial development it will never revert to the countryside we see now. It could, and probably will, open the floodgates for other industrial use which could be anything of any size and inevitably detrimental to the local environment. Ribbon development at its worst.
Pollution Additional to the traffic pollution referred to any development will also cause excessive noise from the constant drone of tractors and other heavy machinery moving around the site exacerbated by the testing of engines as well as cars coming and going adding to the pollution by diesel and petrol engines. The likely 24/7 lighting and security lighting and alarms will turn a rural village into a monstrous industrial eyesore. Efforts are being made nationally and internationally to reduce pollution and this development will go against these intentions and introduce pollution into an area which is currently reasonably healthy.
The land is currently used only for agricultural purposes therefore
substantial civil engineering will be required to change its use. The site has no services for drainage of sewage, industrial waste water and oils, and no electric power. The work needed to change this will have a major impact on the village and the A140. This will continue once the site is occupied as further development seems inevitable.
The Countryside
The fields identified for development form part of a popular circular walk adjoining Hickling Way which is a Roman/Saxon thoroughfare of significant historical interest and connects with other bridleways. The local community believes that any interference with Hickling Way at any point is totally unacceptable. Swainsthorpe is already very poorly served by public footpaths, in fact it is one of the poorest places I have lived where so few pleasant walks are easily accessible. I walk these fields daily, sometimes twice daily and they are also a regular route for the Central Norfolk Walking for Health scheme. There are no other walks accessible on foot from the village. We are all encouraged to take more exercise. If these fields disappear then Swainsthorpe residents will have nowhere to walk.
This development denigrates the countryside and ruins the visual approach to an ancient village. The fields roll gently away from the village towards Dunston Hall and Mangreen. This view, and in the other direction, the view of St Peters Church from Hickling Lane, will be lost forever. Even worse the village will be edged by a monstrous industrial site where it is now surrounded on 3 sides by greenery, fields that have been successfully cropped and productive for many generations.
As well as being agriculturally productive and socially pleasant to walk the fields form an important natural drainage function and wild life corridor. I have read that this development could result in the felling of 300yr old oak trees and the removal of the protective banks and planting which currently screens the village from the A140.
Summary
There are other suitable pre-existing industrial sites around Norwich and in South Norfolk with space and road/facilities infrastructure for a development of this size. I oppose it vehemently on grounds of the environmental damage it will cause, the increased traffic chaos and inevitable pollution on an already overloaded A140 (and subsequently on narrow side roads as frustrated drivers seek to avoid the congestion), the loss of wildlife habitat and footpaths and the unnecessary destruction of village life. This does not paint an attractive picture to visitors of life in South Norfolk.