WORK on a major new £25million development linking Ipswich Waterfront with the town centre is due to get under way this autumn, it was announced today.

WORK on a major new £25million development linking Ipswich Waterfront with the town centre is due to get under way this autumn, it was announced today.

Custom House Square will be created on the HQ of former animal feed firm BOCM Pauls, opposite the Old Custom House.

It will include 214 new flats as well as an indoor craft market, workshops and retail units.

A spokesman for developers ESHA Homes said: “This is a big project and we are looking at between 18 months and two years for development.

“An autumn start on site is our target.”

The spokesman said the development will involve a number of existing buildings on the site such as a Tudor barn, the old Jewish burial ground and an old trading hall.

Work will take place on clearing the site, renovating the buildings and putting foundations into place this autumn, prior to construction work getting fully under way in the middle of next year.

One of the features of the development will be a new square in front of the Old Custom House which will be paved.

Traffic will be able to continue using Key Street.

The 1930s façade of the buildings facing Key Street will be retained and features as one side of the craft market.

The largest building will be 12 storeys with a café on the ground floor and flats above.

It will be styled with a two-storey beacon at the top to give the appearance of a lighthouse.

Does the Waterfront need more homes? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN or e-mail eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk