For the purpose of this website, and to avoid any confusion, the term 'Martlesham Heath' relates to that land owned by MHH and to the private property on the housing estate of Martlesham Heath, motorised access to which is made via Eagle way.

Any property within the postal area of Martlesham Heath but which does adhere to the definition in the paragraph above is not subject to the information displayed on this website.

The Land Maintenance committee, as the name suggests, manages the maintenance of the open areas of land that are owned by MHH. This includes the woodland to the south of the village green, the Western Corridor (excluding the SSSI), various shrub beds and the parking spaces labelled MCL throughout the estate.

Occasionally they arrange working parties to deal with some seasonal issue, such as the cutting back of summer growth in the woods.

The Finance and General Purposes committee manages the commercial and legal aspects of the company, the maintenance of the buildings owned by MHH (e.g. the Control Tower and the Clock Tower in Manor Rd.) and the general administration involved in running MHH.

People are needed for both and it depends on your interests as to which one you would best serve. Each of these meetings are held once a month.

A monthly Board meeting is held on the third Monday of each month. It discusses matters that have arisen and presents reports from the LMC and F & GP committees.

Drop a note, expressing your interest to the address at the bottom of this page. We will definitely get back to you.

Annual General Meeting and Board Meetings

St. Michael & All Angels Church Centre
The Square
Martlesham Heath

Our AGM normally takes place in February and is held in the main part of the building

Our Board Meetings take place on the third Monday of the month (apart from February) at 7.30 p.m. and are held in the meeting room annex of the building

The AGM and Board meetings are open to all residents of Martlesham Heath

A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom.

An SSSI may be made on any area of land which is considered to be of special interest by virtue of its fauna, flora, geological or physiographical / geomorphological features.

The decision to notify an SSSI is made by the official nature conservation body for that part of the United Kingdom (i.e. Natural England).

The law protects the interest features of SSSIs from development, from other damage, and also from neglect.

The owners and occupiers of SSSIs are required to consult the appropriate conservation body (Natural England) if they want to carry out (or permit) activities on the land.

Natural England is an Executive Non-departmental Public Body responsible to the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. Their purpose is to protect and improve England’s natural environment and encourage people to enjoy and get involved in their surroundings.

Their broad remit means that their reach extends across the country. They work with people such as farmers, town and country planners, researchers and scientists, and the general public on a range of schemes and initiatives.

Put simply, their aim is to create a better natural environment that covers all of our urban, country and coastal landscapes, along with all of the animals, plants and other organisms that live with us.

The task of managing an SSSI differs significantly from the task of managing the other parcels of land owned by MHH.

With the approval of the 2008 AGM, the MHH Board considered the options available for an independent Registered Charity to own and manage the SSSI.

The preferred option was to set up a company Limited by Guarantee, which would then apply for Registration with the Charity Commission.

The 2009 AGM gave approval to the MHH Board to:

- seek directors of this new company (Martlesham Heath SSSI Ltd.)
- register the new company with Companies House and then with the Charity Commission
- transfer the lease of the SSSI to Martlesham Heath SSSI Ltd.

The Memorandum and Articles of Association of Martlesham Heath SSSI Ltd. state that its objectives are to:

- Promote for the benefit of the public the conservation protection and improvement of the physical and natural environment and promotion of biological diversity, including, but not necessarily restricted to, that parcel of land at Martlesham Heath, Suffolk, designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest.
- Advance the education of the public in the conservation, protection and improvement of the physical and natural environment.

The site notified by Natural England as being a Site of Special Scientific Interest is marked in yellow on the accompanying map.

It should be noted that this site is divided by ownership into two separate areas:

- The area to the south of the Martlesham Heath development boundary and which contains the remains of the airfield runway. This area is in private ownership and is not managed or owned by MHH or by any body directly associated with MHH.

- The area to the north of the development boundary and which makes up part of the area locally known as the Western Corridor. This is the area managed by Martlesham Heath SSSI Ltd.

Bradford Property Trust was formed as a company in April 1928 to trade in residential property.

In 1942 BPT purchased the 7,420 acre Brightwell estate near Ipswich which included freehold rights to the RAF airfield at Martlesham Heath.

In April 1962 the RAF gave up their lease on the airfield and Martlesham Heath became the site for a BPT planned development of 1000 homes. In 1972 after a decade of planning battles the company gained informal planning approval for the scheme with detailed planning permission for the first hamlet in 1973.

In 2000 the company put itself up for sale on the basis of poor share price performance. A consortium led by Deutsche Bank Private Equity, supported by BPT rival Grainger Trust won a four-month-long bidding process to take the company private.

Grainger finally aquired it in 2003.

Grainger plc is a British-based residential property business. It is headquartered in Newcastle upon Tyne and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. Grainger owns, acquires and trades regulated and market-let tenanted properties and has a substantial portfolio of home reversion properties. Grainger undertakes fund, property and asset management along with residential-led development.

The business was established in 1912 as the Grainger Trust to acquire tenanted residential properties in Newcastle upon Tyne. In the 1970s and 1980s it acquired large residential estates from British Coal, British Rail and Reckitt & Coleman.

In 2003 it acquired Bradford Property Trust.

In 2007 it changed its name to Grainger plc.

MHH (or MCL originally) owns some 70 hard-standing car parking spaces on Martlesham Heath. These were originally provided specifically for the use of visitors to the village. However, circumstances have changed considerably during the past thirty years, and most notably there has been a great increase in car ownership. Many families own two or more cars, but often do not have garaging or parking space on their own property, so that a large number of cars are parked regularly on the highway. In some places this causes serious congestion.

In November 2004, after a review of the use of these spaces, the Company decided that it was both impractical and inappropriate to enforce the original rules. The following policy was therefore adopted.

• MHH car parking spaces will be available for use by residents, as well as visitors, on a first-come, first-served basis.
• Regular use of a space confers no preferential entitlement for future use.
• Car parking spaces may only be used for cars that are taxed and in regular use on the road.
• Spaces must not be used for storage of untaxed or unroadworthy cars, equipment, materials, skips or any other non-approved use.
• People deciding to use MHH spaces should ensure that their vehicles do not drip oil or otherwise contaminate the parking space. Users causing problems with the cleanliness or condition of spaces may be charged for the cost of cleaning or repairs.
• Users are asked to park carefully within the spaces.

Please note that MHH does not allow parking on any of the grassed areas that it owns, and parking is not allowed on any of the road verges that are, in general, owned by Suffolk County Council. As well as causing damage to the grass, this causes problems for the grass-cutting contractors. Residents are asked to observe these rules in order to avoid damaging the appearance of the Village

If you are buying or selling a property on Martlesham Heath, and to ensure continuity of membership, would members please note the Draft Deed of Covenant, which refers to Clause 12 of the Fourth Schedule of the original Conveyance (this may be different for leasehold properties, e.g. Lancaster Drive, Bader Court, Lark Rise):

Clause 12. Not to sell or otherwise transfer the property without requiring the Purchaser or other transferee from him (a) to become a member of Martlesham Heath Householders Limited in succession to the Purchaser and (b) to enter into a separate Deed of Covenant with the Vendor (or such other person as the Vendor shall require) in the same terms as this covenant and to produce such completed Deed of Covenant duly stamped and dated to the Vendor's Solicitors Messrs. Taylors of 119 High Street Newmarket in the County of Suffolk (or to such other person as the Vendor shall require - please send directly to Martlesham Heath Householders Ltd., PO Box 897, Martlesham Heath, IPSWICH, Suffolk IP1 9PB) within twenty-eight days of completion of any such re-sale together with (i) a cheque for £1.00 (or such other sum as shall properly be payable on the issue of a new Membership Card - the current fee is £75[no VAT payable]) in favour of Martlesham Heath Householders Limited

and advise MHH when they are selling their property by contacting the Administrative Secretary, before completion.

T H I S   D E E D is made the______day of______ Two Thousand and_____

B E T W E E N 

BPT Ltd (formerly THE BRADFORD PROPERTY TRUST PLC) c/o MARTLESHAM HEATH HOUSEHOLDERS LTD., PO BOX 897, MARTLESHAM HEATH, IPSWICH, SUFFOLK IP1 9PB (hereinafter called “the Vendor”) (1) and  _________________________  (hereinafter called “the Purchaser”) (2)

WHEREAS

1. This Deed is supplemental to a Conveyance dated  ____________ and made between the Vendor (1) and (2)  (hereinafter called “the Conveyance”) in respect of the property known as  XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX, Martlesham Heath, Suffolk (hereinafter called “the Property”)
2. To comply with Clause 12 of the Fourth Schedule of the Conveyance, the Purchaser(s) have agreed to execute this Deed

NOW THIS DEED WITNESSETH as follows:

The Purchaser(s) hereby jointly and severally covenant(s) with the Vendor that they will not sell or otherwise transfer the Property without requiring the Purchaser or other  transferee from them:-

1. to become a member of Martlesham Heath Householders Limited in succession to the Purchaser and
2. to enter into a separate Deed of Covenant direct with the Vendor in the same terms as this covenant

I N   W I T N E S S  whereof the Purchaser(s) has/have executed this instrument  as their Deed the day and year first hereinbefore written

 

SIGNED by the said _________________

 

As his/her deed in the presence of _________________

 

SIGNED by the said _________________

 

As his/her deed in the presence of _________________

It all depends on location and time of year.

Where the gorse is growing on the Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) special guidelines apply.

1. Clearance work would normally be expected and allowed to take place from October to February inclusive. That is, outside of the nesting season.

2. From March to September work would not be encouraged but in circumstances where safety is an imminent concern and where you as the householder can provide independent approved verification that there are no birds nesting in the gorse, Natural England will in all likelihood allow the work to go ahead.

3. If independent verification shows that birds are nesting in the gorse, a license from Natural England will be required before any work is undertaken.

Where the gorse is growing on MHH land which is not part of the SSSI you as the householder may have the gorse back to a depth of 3 metres from your boundary.

If the garden depth plus 3 metres of firebreak is not considered sufficient to provide appropriate protection for your dwelling, you as the householder should seek an exemption from the 3 metre rule by contacting MHH directly.

It should be noted that you as the householder are responsible for the cutting, removal and disposal of the vegetation and the ongoing maintenance of the firebreak.

Some trees deal with wounds or with pruning better than others. Silver Birches for example will nearly always decay from a cut or wound as they are poor at isolating and compartmentalising a damaged area.

In general then, if a Birch requires attention it will normally necessitate full removal of the tree.

In general, MHH will not undertake tree work on the sole basis that the tree or group of trees is shading a property.

If however the tree is considered to be a safety risk to life or property, or if the tree is causing damage to property then action will be taken.

In the first instance this will take the form of an on site assessment by one of our tree surgeons.

Their report and associated recommendations will be considered in the context of the objectives of MHH and appropriate steps carried out..