4.11.1. West Row is a village located approximately two kilometres to the west of Mildenhall, which until 2019 formed part of a combined parish with Mildenhall. The village has a population of 1,725 (2019 mid-year estimate). RAF Mildenhall (the United States Air Force in Europe (USAFE) airbase) is immediately north-east of the village and to the south the settlement extends to the River Lark. Facilities include a primary and pre-school, village store and post office and sports and leisure facilities.

4.11.2. The parish council have embarked on the process of preparing a neighbourhood plan. The neighbourhood plan area was designated by West Suffolk Council on 14 May 2021.

Constraints and opportunities

• Mildenhall USAFE airbase is located adjacent to West Row.
• There are aircraft noise constraints to the north, associated with RAF Mildenhall airbase flight paths.
• Land to the south lies within flood zones 2 and 3 of the River Lark.
• The Breckland Special Protection Area (SPA) is approximately four kilometres from village.
• Potential for settlement coalescence with Mildenhall to the east to be avoided.
• Existing rural road network is unlikely to be able to support high growth.
• Good footpath and cycle links to Mildenhall.
• Growth in West Row needs to be considered in conjunction with growth in Mildenhall as their infrastructure is closely related.
• There is at least an hourly bus service from 9am (at the latest) to 5pm (at the earliest).

Preferred allocation

4.11.3. One site is proposed as a preferred sites for residential development in West Row providing an indicative capacity of 152 dwellings. The site is currently allocated in the former Forest Heath Site Allocations Local Plan and the level of development proposed is influenced by the overall housing requirement and the settlement strategy. This determines 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. Further information on how housing numbers have been derived can be seen in part one of the local plan.

4.11.4. Further information on alternative site options considered but not taken forward can be seen in the table of omission sites in appendix B.

4.11.5. Information on infrastructure can be seen in the draft infrastructure delivery plan (IDP) (2022) which sets out baseline data for each settlement.

West Row settlement constraints map

West Row preferred allocations map