CONSERVATIONISTS in Felixstowe have branded the possibility of a major new housing development in the town as “untenable”.They believe the five proposed sites for 1,600-plus new homes are all out of the question for different reasons and feel the homes should be spread throughout communities in Suffolk Coastal.

CONSERVATIONISTS in Felixstowe have branded the possibility of a major new housing development in the town as “untenable”.

They believe the five proposed sites for 1,600-plus new homes are all out of the question for different reasons and feel the homes should be spread throughout communities in Suffolk Coastal.

The opposition from the Felixstowe Society has been backed by the Suffolk Preservation Society (SPS), which believes there could be up to 1,000 empty homes in the district which if brought back into use could help solve the housing crisis.

Council officers are currently analysing more than 2,000 responses plus several protest petitions submitted during their recent public consultation.

They hope to produce a report by the end of next month asking councillors to agree a preferred option for where the homes should be built in the next 15 years.

The Felixstowe Society said any substantial development in the seaside town or Trimley villages was not viable because of the extra traffic - 3,000 more vehicles - it would generate for the A14.

With one million more lorries set to visit the port each year by 2015, traffic is a real concern.

“There are 13,435 dwellings in Felixstowe and 1,600 more would be an increase of 12 per cent - do we really need such an increase?” said the society.

“The concept of a major build in Felixstowe is untenable.

“Our suggestion is that Suffolk Coastal should consider the more viable proposal of spreading new housing development in small pockets across the whole of its district.”

Society members do not want to see the town's only countryside around Gulpher Road taken for housing as a wildlife corridor needs to be kept between the resort and Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, while other sites would merge communities or take high-quality farmland.

SPS said it did not believe as many new homes would be needed as forecast - it has asked for figures on empty homes and feels efforts should be made to bring these properties into use.

The society found it hard to understand why three of the sites- those in the open countryside on the north side of the A14 and Candlet Road Walton by-pass - had even been suggested “as the implications of their development are profound and adverse”.

The other sites would lead to the amalgamation of Walton and the Trimleys, taking away their identity as separate, special and historic communities.

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