We are pleased to share the successful planning approval of the strategic mixed-use development of land West of Mildenhall, situated on both sides of West Row Road.

Suffolk County Council appointed Concertus firstly to develop a masterplan to establish a vision and delivery mechanism to achieve policy requirements for the 97-hectare site. The masterplan was approved by West Suffolk Council (WSC) in November 2022 and is now adopted as planning guidance.

Following this, Concertus was then appointed to develop a planning application for the site. For a scheme of this magnitude, the application process was lengthy, requiring time to create the plans and associated reports. A planning application was submitted to WSC for approval in January 2024, and following extensive work, stakeholder engagement and public consultation, the application went to committee at the end of 2025.

Rob Hancock, Assistant Director, Planning, Housing and Economic Growth at Suffolk County Council said: “This outline consent is the culmination of 5 years of work, for which Concertus has been the driving force, working with the Council and other professional partners. West Suffolk Council planning officers have also provided constructive support and challenge throughout the process to ensure the development meets the need as set out in the Local Plan. We now look forward to handing the baton over to Edmundham Developments (the Council’s joint venture with Lovell Partnerships), which will prepare the Reserved Matters and build out the site. This is a high-quality scheme which will deliver 40% affordable homes, new community and commercial facilities, and extensive green space for residents”.

After a presentation and debate lasting nearly 3.5 hours, the committee approved the hybrid planning application, allowing for the construction of up to 1,000 homes on the outskirts of the Suffolk town. In addition to new homes, this development aims to deliver an 80-bed care facility, five hectares of commercial space, a local centre, a primary school, two nursery schools, associated highway and drainage infrastructure, and public open space, including ten hectares of suitable alternative natural greenspace.

Our team attended the Development Control Committee meeting in Bury St. Edmunds to support the planning application, a project our Senior Development Manager has worked on since its inception. Nina Napolitano, Senior Development Manager at Concertus, said: “This site has been challenging and not without opposition, but the extensive collaborative work by the project team and stakeholder engagement has paid off. We are thrilled to have achieved this milestone and look forward to seeing the detailed plans evolve and to this site being one step closer to development. The scheme will bring forward extensive investment in infrastructure and sustainability improvements within the locality”.

The design team, led by Concertus, consisted of Blue Pencil, Phase 2 Planning & Development, Aecom, David Jarvis Associates, Adrian James Acoustics, Waterman, RPS, EDI, Create and Geosphere.