Parish Council
HIGHAM PARISH MEETING
20th July 2026
Minute covering Item 4.1.1 of the Agenda
Robin Barclay on behalf of the Higham Estate introduced this item. He told the Meeting that the Estate, owned by Trustees, had been approached by Pigeon, a development company specialising in promoting strategic development, to submit to West Suffolk Council under its Call for Sites a proposal for a large-scale development at Higham.
He confirmed that the Trustees of the Higham Estate as willing participants and potentially willing sellers had entered into a Promotion Agreement with Pigeon. This normally means that the promoter (Pigeon) funds the costs of putting forward the proposal and pursuing it through the various planning stages in return for a share of any eventual land sales.
Robin then introduced three directors/employees of Pigeon.
Chris Criscione (Communications Director)
Simon Butler-Finbow (Group Planning Director)
Jake Nugent (Senior Planning Manager)
Chris Criscione then presented what had been submitted to WSC by the closing date at end May 2026.
He started by stating that WSC has to provide a very large number of additional housing sites and plots under the next plan period following announcements by the current government. Previously, WSC needed to provide 750 new homes per annum; in the future, it would have to provide 1,100 p.a. These numbers can be achieved by urban expansion, by adding to the larger villages or new settlements.
Higham is identified as having a highly strategic location: on the A14 corridor midway between Bury St Edmunds and Newmarket and 20+ miles from Cambridge. The railway from Felixstowe to Cambridge and then on to the Midlands runs in parallel with it. Although the station at Higham was closed under the Beeching cuts, a new one could be built.
At this point, Chris laid out a large-scale plan showing the extent of what had been submitted to WSC. It covers the entire Higham Estateextending to some 2,600 acres.
The Yellow land. This is intended for large scale residential development and open space. It encircles the existing settlements at Upper, Middle and Lower Greens. The scale is such that it could accommodate several thousandhomes together with the necessary associated school, shop and community buildings; in other words a new town!
The Blue land. This is intended for commercial/employment development. Because of its proximity to the A14, this would be more likely to be warehousing and similar.
The Green land. This is designated for possible solar energy generation, country park, allotments and continuing agricultural use.
He said that Pigeon was confident that what was being proposed would be accepted as a suitable site for significant development in the evolving Local Plan; it had to be on the scale suggested in order to be able to pay for the massive infrastructure costs involved in such a scheme on roads, water, electricity, gas, drainage etc. He also pointed out that local planning authorities welcome such proposals as they are large and offered by a single landowner willing to sell avoiding the need for complicated site assembly with multiple ownerships.
Pigeon wants to involve Higham residents in planning the detail of how the various development areas should be laid out; he asked that Pigeon be allowed to attend future Parish Meetings and additional smaller meetings, perhaps with a group of representatives selected by the Parish Meeting, to maintain dialogue over the Plan period. Under new rules, the Local Plan process is supposed to be completed within 30 months.
The acting chairman thanked Chris for the presentation. He stated that, despite a preview meeting with the Barclays, he was astounded at the scale of what was being proposed as would all residents present and absent when they heard about what was being proposed. He then opened the meeting up for comment from those present.
Damian Penfold voiced his anger in no uncertain terms at the total destruction of the village and environs of Higham. John Grossart very clearly and articulately expressed his opinion about the damage these proposals would cause – to the village, its surrounds, the landscape and particularly highlighted the fact that from now, all properties are blighted and potentially unsaleable (other than at a huge discount) with huge effects on home owners, especially those with mortgages. Any reduced valuation as a result of the proposals could put them into negative equity.
Others commented that they had expected in due course that there would be some potential for minor expansion of the village; a few new houses, as had been discussed with the Barclays and generally accepted; and that the area between the A14 and railway was an obvious site for some form of commercial use, but nothing remotely on the scale of what had been presented.
Many others commented in similar terms and the overall tone of the discussion was distinctly hostile to Pigeon’s and the Higham Estate’s proposal.
The representatives from Pigeon and the Barclays were then asked to leave the meeting.
Discussions continued afterwards in similar vein and all present vowed to do all they could to defeat these proposals. It was agreed that a small working party including a range of residents, including some with particular property expertise, would be convened to assemble facts and arguments to fight to save the village.
Neither our District nor County Councillors had any prior indication of this proposal They were surprised at the scale of what was being proposed. Roger Dicker as District Councillor, a member of the Planning Committee has asked for a meeting with the Chair of the Planning Committee and Chief Planning Officer.
NB There will be a further meeting at 7.00 pm on 7th September 2026 at Higham Church to which all, except members of the Barclay family and Pigeon, are invited to discuss the matter further.
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People from across West Suffolk are encouraged to give their views on the first stage of consultation on a new local plan and shape tomorrow together.
The new West Suffolk Local Plan will plan where new homes, and employment can be built to meet local needs to the year 2045. It will also include polices one example being around the delivery of affordable housing. West Suffolk Council was among the first councils in the country to up its affordable housing policy on greenfield sites with a requirement that 40 per cent of new homes be affordable. That policy is in its current local plan adopted in July last year.
Since then, the Government has revised housing need figures – for West Suffolk this means that rather than planning for the delivery of 765 homes a year, it needs to cater for closer to 1200.
The increase in local housing needs is recognised and is also reflected through West Suffolk Council’s Housing, Homelessness Reduction and Rough Sleeping Strategy which was shaped through public engagement and identified the need for more homes, particularly affordable housing, to be built to meet the needs of West Suffolk’s communities. The new housing targets are not without their challenges but are best addressed through preparation of a local plan.
The Government’s local plan making regulations require West Suffolk to formally begin work on the local plan this month. This is because the current local plan housing requirement is less than 80 per cent of the Government’s latest assessment of housing need for West Suffolk.
If the council doesn’t progress work on a new local plan, it won’t be able to continue to demonstrate a 5-year land supply, something that is crucial for West Suffolk and its communities to maintain a plan led approach and resist speculative development.
With or without a local plan, new homes will still be built.
By planning positively for growth, the council can ensure a coordinated approach that avoids piecemeal development and ensures that necessary developer funds are secured towards critical infrastructure such as community facilities, education, health, and transport.
Planning for where new homes and employment can be built also provides the ability for the council and the communities it serves to say no to some of the speculative development that may otherwise come forward.
Cllr Frank Stennett, Cabinet Member for Planning at West Suffolk Council, said: “The Local Plan is crucial to our communities, now and into the future. We know locally that more homes are needed through the work that shaped our housing strategy and from the households currently on our housing register. And we know through our continuing engagement with businesses that land is needed to support their ambitions for growth, delivering new jobs and skills as well as to encourage new businesses development including start-ups in West Suffolk. But the local plan isn’t just about homes and employment. That’s why we are encouraging everyone to take part, to Shape Tomorrow Together through this, the very first stage of consultation on a brand-new plan for West Suffolk.”
The national process for preparing local plans has also been changed to streamline the plan making process.
The first stage of the new local plan is a scoping consultation which runs from 9am 16 June to 5pm on 28 July 2026. It asks people for their views on what is important to them and what the local plan should contain, how they would like to be kept engaged going forward and consulted with during the preparation of the plan. The feedback received will help inform the first draft of the Local Plan to be published in spring 2027, as well as the development of a new community engagement strategy. The new local plan will take around 30 months to prepare, with adoption of the plan currently scheduled for May 2029.
To Shape Tomorrow Together visit https://westsuffolk.inconsult.uk/Scoping_Consultation_2026/consultationHome
West Suffolk Council will also be holding a number of drop in events to raise awareness of the consultation and provide an opportunity for residents to talk to planning officers. People do not have to attend an event to have your say. All of the events are open to any resident from across West Suffolk – they are not specifically about the area in which the drop in is being held. The table below details these events.
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Date |
Location |
Time |
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Sunday 21 June |
Bury St Edmunds Community Market, Abbey Gardens |
11am to 4pm |
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Wednesday 1 July |
Bury St Edmunds Market |
9am to 4pm |
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Friday 3 July |
Haverhill Market |
9am to 3pm |
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Saturday 4 July |
Mildenhall Hub |
9am to 1pm |
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Tuesday 7 July |
Newmarket Market |
9am to 3pm |
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Thursday 9 July |
Brandon Market |
8.30am to 1pm |
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Saturday 18 July |
Clare Market |
8.30am to 1.30pm |
