5.19.1 The village has very limited services and facilities including:

• a public house
• a play area and village hall within the settlement boundary
• a good bus service (more than one an hour) links the village to nearby Mildenhall with its many services and facilities.

Constraints and opportunities

• An area of Flood Zone 2 and 3 runs west/east to the north of the settlement along the River Lark.
• Worlington does not have a conservation area but has seven listed buildings within the settlement boundary.
• The Royal Worlington and Newmarket Golf Course to the south-east of the settlement is a designated county wildlife site.
• A cricket pitch/sports ground and pavilion are located to the north of The Street.
• The settlement and its environs contain several known archaeological sites, tree preservation orders and records of protected species.

Settlement status

5.19.2 Worlington is designated as a secondary village in the current local plan as it provides limited local services but can still meet some of the day to day needs of its residents. Given this and its close proximity to Mildenhall, it is proposed that the Worlington is categorised as a Type A village in the new West Suffolk settlement hierarchy, which means that the opportunity for allocating small sites in or adjacent to the village could be explored through the preparation of the local plan.

Site options

5.19.3 The level of development will be influenced by the settlement strategy which will determine the distribution of development across the district as well as the existing environmental and physical constraints and the overall capacity for growth in the settlement.

5.19.4 A number of sites have been submitted to the council by landowners and developers for potential inclusion in the local plan. Included sites in the Strategic Housing and Economic Land Availability Assessment (SHELAA) that lie within or adjacent to the settlement boundary are shown on the map below, as these have passed the initial tests of being suitable, available and achievable, and so are more likely to be sites that could be suitable for allocation in the local plan.

5.19.5 It is important to note that at this stage these sites have not been selected as preferred sites for development, but we are seeking views on them to assist with the preparation of the next draft of the plan, where decisions will be made on which, if any, sites would be suitable for allocation.

5.19.6 The table below provides information on these sites, setting out information on the proposed use and planning status. Also below is a map of the main settlement constraints to assist you in making a response.

5.19.7 Your comments on these sites will help in drawing up the next draft of the West Suffolk Local Plan for consultation in 2021. This will set out the council’s preferred options for the distribution of housing and other land uses across the district. The council will also consult on the preferred sites across the district to achieve this distribution.

Worlington settlement constraints map

Worlington settlement map showing SHELAA included sites

Worlington - included SHELAA sites