New plans for exhibition at Ipswich's Waterfront House

Baylight Properties is set to take over the iconic Waterfront building in Wherry Quay, and bring forth a project titled 'At Home with Clay'. 

The intention is to use the granary storage site built by R. & W. Paul to pay homage to clay crafts by having several exhibition spaces and some domestic spaces. 

The plans show that they would aim to reuse some of the silos left in the building so that the Paul family's legacy lives on. 

A public consultation was held on Thursday evening.

The group held public consultations on Thursday. (Image: Shikhar Talwar) Crispin Kelly, founder of Baylight Properties, said: "We are planning to turn it into a visitor attraction, which is going to celebrate the ordinary and extraordinary things that we have at home that are made of clay.

"There are going to be a series of spaces, some of which will be domestic in nature and some will double or triple the height kind of exhibition spaces. 

"There will be a combination of objects that you can hold and play with visual and audio entertainment and other amazing stuff."

Mr Kelly added that the development group has been thinking of these plans for two years, and following the public consultation on Thursday, it plans to submit a formal proposal to the council by the end of the month. 

If approved, the plan is to open the exhibition spaces and the homes by spring 2028. 

If approved organisers hope to open the site in spring 2028  (Image: Shikhar Talwar) The exhibitions will be ticketed, but organisers are aiming to have provisions for free tickets for those who can't afford them. 

The site will also have clay craft workshops and activities for children.

Legal firm Ashtons used the building from 2005 to 2023 before moving to a building in Portman Road.

The property was listed for let by Penn Commercial in September 2023.