An independent trust has drawn up the proposal for a series of fishing lakes and wildlife habitats covering 400 acres of farmland at a cost of £ 4.8M. The project has been named Sleepy Hollow and it is claimed it will provide 50 full time jobs. Talks are now going on with Suffolk Coastal District Council and an outline planning application is said to be imminent.
The trust behind the project is the Fisheries and Conservation Environmental Sanctuaries (FACES), who have applied for National Lottery funding to help it buy Darsham Hall Farm, that covers 200 acres of arable land.
Residnets, however, are upset over a lack of public consultation and worried about the impact of the project on the community.
If outline planning permission is granted and the land acquired, the first phase will include the creation of a 24-acre fishing lake, a series of ponds, marshland, woodlands and other wildlife habitats and an educational field centre.
The second phase involves the purchase of a further 200 acres of land and the creation of more wildlife habitat.
Parish council chairman Ron Reeve said, ‘All kinds of rumours are going around. The project may turn out to be marvellous, but until we get the facts, we can’t judge.
‘They are talking about a 400-acre project, but Darsham only consists of 1,500 acres and it could make a big impact on people’s lives here. The sheer scale is frightening people.’
Project director Paul Hammond said, “We are a conservation body and we are only interested in quiet recreation. This is certainly not going to be a Center Parcs,’
Darsham Hall Farm is part-owned by Heveningham farmer Alan Fairs, who said,’People weren’t given any information because nothing has happened yet.’
As reported in ‘Suffolk Now’.
