Why we produced the Bury St Edmunds MAP?

Change within the town centre is inevitable. It is known that our local population will grow.  West Suffolk is a desirable place in which to live and we need to look to 2031 and beyond to make sure we have the right mix of town centre facilities to support our growing population.

Bury St Edmunds has one of the best retail, culture and leisure centres in the region and continues to attract people from across Suffolk and neighbouring counties. Our ambition is for our town to continue to be vibrant and prosperous, especially as other centres are looking to increase their offer - so we need to start planning for the future.

We know that there are current pinch points to the parking and roads infrastructure; the MAP gives us the opportunity to tackle these issues for car and other road users, plan for future growth and ensure that the town centre is accessible for people with a range of different needs, including pedestrians, cyclists and public transport users.

Without masterplans, all local authorities can do is react to planning applications submitted by developers and others on an ‘as they arrive’ basis. A masterplan enables us to be proactive, tell developers what the people of Bury St Edmunds want to see and provide encouragement and certainty for investors, residents and visitors in our town.

The MAP masterplan provides a positive framework for an area that can not only help demonstrate to investors in the outside world that we’re ‘open for business’ but can also provide certainty for developers and residents in knowing what has to be met when preparing planning applications.