Over the past 16 months, our professional design team has worked intensively to develop detailed proposals for vital ruin repairs, a new Visitor Centre and West Cloister, improved accessible path networks, and site-wide biodiversity enhancements. This work has been carried out in close collaboration with our three Project Partners: St Edmundsbury Cathedral, West Suffolk Council, and English Heritage – as well as the site’s individual landowners: St Edmundsbury Cathedral, West Suffolk Council, and Suffolk County Council.

The response so far has been extremely encouraging. Feedback from statutory consultees, amenity societies, and the public consultation held in September has been overwhelmingly positive, reflecting strong support for the project’s sensitive and thoughtful approach.

Given the Abbey’s exceptional historic importance, the planning process is necessarily complex. Multiple consents are required, including planning permission and listed building consent from the local planning authority, Scheduled Monument Consent from Historic England, and approvals from both the Cathedral Fabric Advisory Committee and the Fabric Advisory Committee.

Separate Scheduled Monument Consent conservation repairs approvals to the ruins are being developed in close consultation with English Historic, alongside England Heritage, the guardians of the site. Additional access improvements within the Great Churchyard also require statutory Faculty approval from the Diocesan Advisory Committee.

Altogether, the applications are supported by more than 140 detailed drawings and 23 specialist reports and surveys, all demonstrating the need for the project and its long-term benefits. This milestone reflects the dedication and collaboration of many partners working together to protect, enhance, and share one of England’s most remarkable historic places. Together, these improvements deliver lasting social, educational, and environmental benefits for Bury St Edmunds, West Suffolk and beyond.

Participants expressed a deep sense of pride and connection to the Abbey. Conservation of the Abbey ruins was unanimously recognised as the project’s most important priority, and the protection of this historic site emerged as the strongest source of excitement and support. Many highlighted the Abbey’s vital role in defining Bury St Edmunds as a town of culture and heritage.

There was also strong endorsement for biodiversity improvements, which respondents saw as contributing to the health and wellbeing of both visitors and the local environment. People were eager to learn more about Edmund’s Abbey – its scale, economy, daily life, and the ruins as they stand today.

The consultation revealed a community deeply invested in ensuring the Abbey’s story continues to inspire future generations, while maintaining a thoughtful balance between the Cathedral, Abbey, and Gardens.

The public consultation supports forthcoming planning applications to the various statutorily consultees (The Cathedrals Fabric Commission for England, The Local Planning Authority and Historic England) in November 2025. The anticipated delivery phase of the project is scheduled from summer 2026 for a three-year period.