IPSWICH Village is to get a major boost with the construction of 76 new homes beside the Alderman Canal.Bloor Homes has applied for planning permission for the development which would be the first new homes to go up as part of the new project.

IPSWICH Village is to get a major boost with the construction of 76 new homes beside the Alderman Canal.

Bloor Homes has applied for planning permission for the development which would be the first new homes to go up as part of the new project.

They are to be built beside the BT headquarters in Handford Road.

The development will included houses and flats – with between one and four bedrooms the flats will be built in two four-storey blocks and the application also includes garages for residents.

"We hope planning permission will be granted in the near future so we can start work on the site by the end of the summer," said Andrew Marns from Bloor Homes.

"That land is earmarked for residential development so we hope there aren't major problems with the planners."

The new homes are in a different part of the Ipswich Village area than is currently the focus of development.

At present most of the work is focussed on the Russell Road area with the new Crown Court building taking shape and Endeavour House – the new home for the county council – nearing completion.

More flats could be built on the current site of Ipswich Buses – the company is moving to a new site off Hadleigh Road next year – and on the land currently occupied by the household waste site and industrial units.