Boston Borough Council turns down industrial site bordering Sutterton and Algakirk

Plans to develop a new industrial site bordering the villages of Sutterton and Algarkirk have been rejected.

During a meeting today (Tuesday, January 14), Boston Borough Council's planning committee refused an application from Towermist Limited to build a range of buildings in the commercial, general industrial, and warehousing and distribution sectors on land off Station Road.

Planning permission had originally been sought for a larger site, which also included another field to the northeast. This proposal attracted 120 formal objections and a petition with 164 signatures.

The scheme was later revised to exclude the field to the northeast, reducing the area from 9.37 hectares to 4.4 hectares.

While addressing the committee, local resident David Bradley outlined concerns over the loss of Grade 1 agricultural land, noting: "Once it's gone, it's gone," and argued that the development would be out of character with the area.

He stated: "This development represents unwarranted and unjustified industrialisation of the countryside."

He also highlighted that Cadent Gas was objecting to the plans, even after the revisions, as it runs a high-pressure gas pipeline diagonally through the proposed site.

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Borough councillor James Cantwell (Conservative) argued that the development was "not viable for this area and should be refused."

He continued: "I'm as sure as I can be that this application does not belong in this rural scene, and never before have I seen two villages so united on a shared issue."

Sutterton Parish Councillor Justin Rushworth also urged the committee to reject the application, adding: "It is quite simply the wrong plan, in the wrong place at the wrong time."

However, the agent for the application, Lewis Smith from Robert Doughty Consultancy Limited, noted that the application site was roughly half the size of the original submission and that there were fewer objections following the revisions.

"Whilst we appreciate that members of the public are unlikely to welcome new industrial development, it is clear from the report that there are now far fewer objections to the revised proposal when compared to the original scheme," he said.

He insisted the applicant had already received interest from several parties looking to develop the site.

Even so, members of the committee, including council leader Anne Dorrian (Independent), were "not convinced" by the proposal and voted to reject the plans on the grounds of lack of need for the development and the impact it would have on agricultural land.