CAMPAIGNERS fighting proposals to build 1,620 new homes on fields at Felixstowe and the twin Trimley villages have called for the consultation period to be extended.

CAMPAIGNERS fighting proposals to build 1,620 new homes on fields at Felixstowe and the twin Trimley villages have called for the consultation period to be extended.

Protesters say eight weeks is not long enough to consider such a huge and important issue and want Suffolk Coastal officials to organise a massive public meeting in the area.

Campaign group Save Felixstowe Countryside says it has found most people in the resort do not even know there are plans to build on the fields on the town's northern edge.

Julie Cornforth, of Gulpher Road, a member of the group, said: “We have done campaigning door to door and in the street and most people haven't a clue what is going on - they don't know there is consultation and they don't know there are plans to tear up our countryside and build on it.

“Suffolk Coastal may have put it on its website but not everyone is looking at the internet.

“They should write to every single household in Felixstowe and tell them what is being considered.

“This is a huge issue which is going to change the face of the town forever and everyone should have their say on it - is taking our countryside the legacy which should be left to our children?”

Former Trimley St Mary parish councillor Barbara Shout has written to Suffolk Coastal planning officials to ask for a public meeting - especially as councils are putting forward alternatives sites which were not in the consultation.

“The deadline of March 28 must be extended in order that all interested parties may have their questions replied to,” she said.

“The 100 people who managed to get into Walton Community Hall at Felixstowe does not represent even a small fraction of the local population and therefore the word consultation becomes void.”

Ian Cowan, of Save Trimley Against Growth, said an extension to the consultation period was vital because of the issues which have been thrown up, particularly identification of a potential major site at Trimley St Martin.

Suffolk Coastal officers have stressed the current consultation is only the first stage to gauge where the public would find it acceptable for future homes to be built.

There would be further consultation later.

Where should 1,620 homes be built in the Felixstowe area? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN, or e-mail EveningStarLetters@eveningstar.co.uk