Plans have been submitted to build nine new homes on the site of a former GP surgery which closed two years ago.
Mid Suffolk District Council received plans to build nine new homes where Barham and Claydon GP Surgery used to stand just off Kirby Rise outside Ipswich.
The surgery closed in June 2021 after staffing cover became too reliant on locum health professionals and prevented it from continuing as a viable surgery.
At the time of closure, the surgery had more than 3,000 patients.
The surgery facility was then taken away from the site in July of this year leaving a space clear for planning to be submitted to build homes.
The application would result in the erection of nine homes, all a mixture of two, three and four beds.
There would be two terraces of three houses, with a further three detached houses.
Each of the detached houses would have its own access points off Kirby Rise, with dedicated parking.
A total of 15 parking spaces will be made available as part of the development, and each house would have a dedicated garden space.
In keeping with other houses in the area, the houses are proposed to be two-storey.
A pre-application response they received, states that the site is 'within the built-up area boundary for Claydon and Barham, and is located in a suitable location with good access to all services and facilities.'
The application states that care has been taken to ensure that the new houses do not give rise to overlooking other properties.
Mid Suffolk District Councillor for Claydon and Barham, Cllr John Whitehead, said he and residents are concerned about the plans.
He said: "I attended a meeting of Barham Parist Council on August 7, which was well-attended by residents who used the public forum to express their concerns about this application.
"I totally share their several concerns - that nine houses on that compact parcel of land feels like an overdevelopment of the site, that bungalows similar to those built on the opposite side of Norwich Road (in Cedar Farm Close) would be more appropriate for the site, and that Kirby Rise is a very narrow road which already suffers from parking issues.
"There are presently over 350 additional new homes with permission granted in Barham - that's already the equivalent of building an entire new village the size of Henley or Coddenham - so why squeeze another nine onto what could be amenity land or allotments?
"There is a lot of anger locally that the infrastructure needed to support all this housing isn't forthcoming.
"The local GP surgery that was on the site, was closed with just three weeks notice to patients in June 2021 and over 3,500 patients were redirected to either North Ipswich or Needham Market - top-sliced onto those already busy surgeries.
"Given the housing growth in Barham, Great Blakenham and Bramford it is immensely disappointing that local NHS management are not prepared to fund the provision of local primary care health services in a location convenient for those village residents despite two local sites for a GP surgery being potentially available in Barham."
The public consultation period runs until August 28, with the planning committee to come together after that date to discuss the application.
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