News

Forty Years On
Vision 2031
The Guildhall Project
Wetherspoons and the Corn Exchange
Magna Carta 800

This year marks a milestone in the life of The Bury Society. It was in 1971 that a group of local residents assembled and made the decision to form a civic society; we celebrate their vision and their care for Bury St Edmunds over the past 40 years.

What is Vision 2031? It is a consultative process that the St Edmundsbury Borough Council has embarked upon to create a vision for the town’s development over the next 20 years. When the process is complete Vision 2031 will provide a plan for addressing the key issues that face the town.

The medieval Guildhall in Bury St Edmunds is fast being recognised as England's oldest complete Civic Building and the Bury Society considers the Guildhall Project to be one of the most important and significant enterprises for our town for very many years.

Subject to obtaining a sale of alcohol licence, Wetherspoons look set to occupy the Corn Exchange following planning approval and agreement to a 30 year lease by the Borough Council. The Company will lease the first floor of the grade II listed building for £80,000 a year from the council.

Magna Carta 800 is a sub-committee of the Bury Society. It was formed at the beginning of 2011, in equal partnership with St Edmundsbury Borough Council, in order to celebrate the event at Bury Abbey in the year before Magna Carta was sealed by King John in 1215.

Vision 2031

newsvisiongraphic This community-led project is considering a wide range of themes that may need considering to achieve a realistic and comprehensive picture of Bury in twenty years time. The themes include leisure, homes, health, jobs, education, travel and safety, together with sustainability, infrastructure and environmental issues.

Bury St Edmunds will continue to grow over the next twenty years, and around 6,000 new homes will be needed to meet demand. Five growth areas have been identified around the town, and the development of Vision 2031 will help to determine how such growth may best be achieved.

There are three stages in preparing the new Vision.

Stage 1 – Issues and Vision. The council has invited input on perceived current and future issues facing the town. In excess of 20 consultative events have been held. An article on the launch of the process and the consultative process appeared in our spring Review.

Stage 2 – Draft vision. Later in the summer the council will publish a draft document, formulated from comments from stage 1. There will be an opportunity to comment on this draft.

Stage 3 – Final Vision. There will be an opportunity to comment on the re-issued document before it is finalised in early 2012.

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