The giant warehouse that has become a ‘plague’ on the residents of one quiet English town

Residents in an East Suffolk village say a massive warehouse built at the bottom of their gardens has become a “plague” on their lives after the industrial development destroyed their semi-rural views.

Work began last year on a large warehouse the size of six full-size football pitches in Nacton, near Ipswich, towering over nearby gardens at over 21 metres tall.

East Suffolk Council approved final plans for the Orwell Logistics Park structure at in late 2021, saying they made the decision properly and followed correct planning processes, but community members say their objections fell on deaf ears, while others said they didn’t realise they could object to the issue at the time.

Mother-of-five Sonia Emmanuel said the construction of the warehouse had been a “nightmare”, and that her six-year-old daughter was “still scared to go outside and play.”

“We feel so imprisoned,” she added. “It takes away from us the happiness of being in our house.”

Equation Properties, the company behind the development, pitched the industrial estate as perfect for a “multitude of businesses” which operate through the Port of Felixstowe “searching to optimise their distribution network to the rest of the UK.”

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But Jenny Upson, 74, who has lived on the Felixstowe Road for 17 years, said that the giant warehouse “overpowers the entire area.”

Before the warehouse was built, Ms Upson and fellow residents had views of a field with lots of trees, classified as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).

She said the view had been “completely wiped out” and replaced with “dark great and white tipped building which totally overpowers the area.”

Ms Upson said that there was an application for outline planning permission on the field behind the properties in 2018, which was granted despite objection from the residents.

She said the reason the residents were “so frustrated” was because the “planning committee took no notice of us whatsoever.”

“Most of us have been here for over 20 years and it’s our established home. You don’t want to have to sell up and move somewhere else, which is extremely expensive to get away from it, so it’s a plague on our lives in a way,” she said.

While the company put a number of “little trees” down nearby in order to liven up the appearance, Ms Upson described them as “little sticks.

“We’re a bit worried that they may not actually grow because they won’t get enough light”, she said. “It cuts off the sun in the afternoon so we don’t get sunsets anymore”.

For Ms Upson and her fellow residents, they hope that the company change the cladding to make it less dark and put in some higher trees.

An East Suffolk Council spokesperson said the development at Orwell Logistics Park was consented to under an outline planning application, which established the acceptable proximity and scale of the buildings.

“The planning application was recommended for approval by the Head of Planning based upon detailed officer assessment, and this was endorsed by members of the planning committee.

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“All properties affected by development are considered equally and impartially across the whole district and are professionally assessed by officers and impartially considered by members.”

The spokesperson said members of the planning committee with “strong local knowledge” visited the site and neighbouring properties on two occasions to consider the neighbours’ views.

“The planning decision was made in accordance with the development plan and planning legislation. The impact of any development on private property values is not a material planning consideration which affects decision making,” the spokesperson said.

“Anyone with an objection to a planning application has the right to submit their concerns as part of the planning process, within the application period. If it was felt that there had been procedural errors in this planning decision, there was an option to request a judicial review within six weeks of the decision date. No judicial review was requested.

“All complainants have been provided with information summarising the decision-making process and the considerations applied.

“This application was fully and properly assessed in its impact on neighbours, and we do not believe there was any fault in the decision-making process.”