PROTESTERS are expected to pack a hall to overflowing tomorrow night as community leaders give their views on where 1,620 new homes might be built at Felixstowe.
PROTESTERS are expected to pack a hall to overflowing tomorrow night as community leaders give their views on where 1,620 new homes might be built at Felixstowe.
An extraordinary meeting of the town council will take place at the Walton Community Hall, Walton High Street, at 7.30pm with only one item on the agenda.
That will be Suffolk Coastal's “blobs on maps” document - showing potential areas where development might take place.
These include fields between Trimley St Martin and Trimley St Mary, land the other side of the A14 between the Trimley interchange and dock spur roundabout, and sites off the Walton bypass and at Old Felixstowe.
Many members of the Save Felixstowe Countryside campaign group are planning to attend the meeting.
Ken Ferriss, of the group, said: “Our experience so far has been that very few people know this consultation is taking place at all - and very few know just how important it is.
“We cannot let decisions which could destroy the only countryside we have in Felixstowe be taken without the public having its say.
“Our aim is to persuade councillors to reject those sites which use up our valuable countryside but we also want to encourage people to take part in the debate and give their views. Now is the time to do that.
“If they don't, these fields could easily be taken and that will be the start of all of that area of north Felixstowe being destroyed.”
Campaigners say the fields are top quality farmland and the area is used by many people for walking, cycling, bird-watching and horse riding, as well as being a haven for wildlife.
They have set up a forum at www.savefelixstowecountryside.co.uk for people to discuss the issue.
Suffolk Coastal says no decisions have been taken yet and the consultation is a chance for people to indicate which areas they would favour for housing in the future - the next stage would be to narrow these down to specific parcels of land to meet the need.
Members of the public have until March 28 to send in their views.
Where do you think new homes should be built - and does Felixstowe really need 1,620? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN, or e-mail EveningStarLetters@eveningstar.co.uk
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here