Picture this: Constable Country could soon be moving to Essex
Villagers want to switch county to halt developersvelopers
HISTORIC Suffolk landmarks immortalised in the paintings of John Constable could soon become part of Essex if villagers get their way.
Residents in East Bergholt believe changing counties is the only way to protect the local landscape from the threat of developers.
It means that settings made famous around the world, such as Willy Lott’s Cottage and Flatford Mill, could be lost to Suffolk forever, so betrayed do the villagers feel by their local council. Sitting in the picturesque Stour Valley and accommodating fewer than 3,000 souls, East Bergholt is in the throes of a bitter fight to stop a new 144-home development. So determined is the parish council to prevent the expansion that it is threatening to break free from Babergh district council and defect to the Essex borough of Colchester. “Colchester seems to place more value on protecting heritage assets,” said Paul Ireland, chairman of the parish council. “It would be a real wrench to leave Suffolk, but the question we have to ask is whether it is better to be in Suffolk and have lots of houses built against our wishes, or to be in Essex and have better protection.”
The area commonly referred to as “Constable Country” is coming under increasing pressure because Babergh District has recently been judged to have less than five years’ supply of housing land. This means local planning control is overruled in presumption of national policy.
Constable was born in East Bergholt in 1776, where his father owned Flatford Mill. He developed his skills painting the local countryside.
Two hundred years on, the parish council is preparing to decide whether to call a local referendum to gain a mandate for seceding from Suffolk.
Peter Dent, who is chairman of the East Bergholt Action Group, said: “I don’t care if Suffolk would miss us. That’s their problem.
“We would like to give it a try and work with a council that would respect the village and the heritage of Constable Country.”
Villages, as well as whole parishes and districts, can be moved from one county to another by acts of parliament and Boundary Commission reviews. The next such report is due next year.
The most important factor for boundary changes, however, is population changes and the importance of maintaining equal parliamentary constituencies, meaning it is unlikely the Commission will accept East Bergholt’s concerns over housing policy.
A spokesman for Babergh District Council, which currently controls the village, insisted the local authority was listening to the people of East Bergholt.
The village has a strong recent history of fighting plans for new homes, winning a judicial review to block the building of 10 properties last year.
‘We would like to work with a council that would respect the village and the heritage of Constable Country’