TOWN councillors have given the green light to a project to build 190 new homes next door to the new £19.5million Felixstowe Academy campus.

The two developments – the academy is currently under construction – will share the same access off Walton High Road.

Felixstowe Town Council recommended approval for the 190 homes on the 16-acre field, but called for a mini-roundabout or traffic lights at the junction.

If the Tesco superstore and 200 more homes on the Walton Green site on the opposite side of the street get the go-ahead, a roundabout will be built.

Planning consultant Stephen Burgess said the land, owned by Trinity College, Cambridge, had been identified as a potential site for housing.

Of the 190 homes, one-third would be social housing for rent.

Former town mayor Doreen Savage said: “I don’t think there is any particular problem with this application – we have to find additional housing in Felixstowe – except for the access. It would not be so bad if the academy did not feed into the same access-way.”

Councillor Mike Stokell said: “I have grave concerns about traffic movements in this area.”

Mayor Mike Deacon accepted there was a need for more homes, especially affordable housing. However, he was not convinced all brownfield sites had been exhausted and felt prime agricultural land should not be used until they were.

Give us your views on the proposed development. Write to Your Letters, Felixstowe Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich IP4 1AN