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A planning authority has been urged to ‘not make a problem area worse’ as it considers plans for revisions to onsite parking at a Royal Mail delivery office.
A total of 18 neighbour objections have been lodged with West Suffolk Council, as of today so far, in relation to the variation of condition application for the site in Skyliner Way, Moreton Hall, Bury St Edmunds.
And Moreton Hall and Eastgate Residents’ Association (MHERA), which previously described the plans as an ‘insult’ to residents, has received more than 40 responses, which it is set to submit to the planning authority today, the end of the consultation period.
The town council has also submitted an objection due to the ‘loss of staff parking and the adverse impact this will have on the surrounding residential areas’.
The application, which has not yet attracted any comments of support, seeks permission to remove 36 dedicated staff parking spaces due to the current operational needs of the delivery office, including the provision of electric vehicles.
This application comes after a breach of condition notice was served on Royal Mail giving it until November 27 to stop parking fleet and commercial vehicles in an area it has designated under its existing planning permission for use as private car parking.
The enforcement action has followed many months of parking problems ‘negatively impacting’ the Moreton Hall estate community after Royal Mail banned workers from leaving their own vehicles in the on-site car park towards the end of 2024.
One resident, Alan Jary, urged the planning authority: “Please do not make a problem area worse.”
Mr Jary said it was ‘obvious’ that Royal Mail had outgrown the existing site and should seriously consider options such as developing a new site suitable to its needs.
“I use this area regularly to collect my grandchildren from school and cars are parked on junctions, bends, paths. Please ensure the members of the planning committee make a site inspection prior to any decision being made,” he said in his objection.
A resident, of Selway Drive, said: “The application is wholly insufficient to address the serious and ongoing problems created by Royal Mail’s decision to prevent staff from parking within their own car park.
“This decision has displaced a large volume of staff parking onto surrounding residential roads, creating significant highway safety risks and disruption for local residents. Primack Road, Selway Drive, Frenesi Crescent, Mead Road, and Skyliner Way are heavily affected.
“These roads are routinely reduced to single-track due to indiscriminate parking. Vehicles are frequently parked too close to, and directly opposite, junctions, severely restricting visibility and access.”
Speaking of the ‘serious’ consequences of this situation, they said pedestrian safety has been compromised, emergency vehicle access had been obstructed, buses had had to reverse along Primack Road due to blocked access, and there were frequent near-misses ‘creating an unsafe environment for residents and road users’.
“Allowing a revised onsite parking layout that still fails to accommodate the majority of staff vehicles does not resolve the existing harm and, in my view, legitimises an unsafe and irresponsible situation,” they added in their objection.
Colin Payne, a committee member of MHERA, said: “I think that Royal Mail should be made accountable to provide enough parking onsite, as per the original plans for this site.”
Emma Crowe believed these proposals would only exacerbate congestion and the excessive cars along Skyliner Way, Primack Road, Mead Road, Frenesci Crescent and Todd Way, ‘which are already dangerous’.
She said: “They [Royal Mail] say they are addressing health and safety issues onsite but without any care to that of the surrounding community.”
Objecting as a resident, Andy McGowan, who is also vice-chair of MHERA, pointed out the application did not set out any assessment of how many staff would be able to park onsite at any given time.
“The application does not even acknowledge potential impact on surrounding traffic and roads or neighbouring residents if demand for parking exceeds the capacity, let alone set out mitigations,” he added.
The application said the revised onsite parking layout was to allow for increased bay widths to existing spaces so that EV (electric vehicle) charging was safe for use, along with the creation of additional bays.
To accommodate the works, it is proposed to remove vegetation from areas surrounding the existing car park.
A design and access statement with the application, submitted on behalf of Royal Mail, said: “The loss of staff parking spaces is offset by an overall increase in total parking provision. In addition, staff will rotate the use of fleet vehicle parking spaces with their personal vehicles.”
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