IPSWICH is enjoying a building boom which is pumping millions of pounds into its economy.Enough homes were built in the 12 months to June this year to create a village the size of Claydon within the boundaries of Ipswich.

IPSWICH is enjoying a building boom which is pumping millions of pounds into its economy.

Enough homes were built in the 12 months to June this year to create a village the size of Claydon within the boundaries of Ipswich.

Today The Evening Star can reveal that building activity has reached such a high that the number of new homes being completed each year has skyrocketed by nearly 500 per cent in less than a decade.

Across Ipswich 833 homes were completed between July last year and June this year - a rise of 280 on the previous year.

There has been massive growth at Ipswich Waterfront, where the number of homes completed was triple that of the previous year.

In total, 355 new homes were completed on the Waterfront, while the Ravenswood development also continued to provide a major boon for the town.

In total 173 homes were built at that development in the 12 months to June.

James Hehir, chief executive of Ipswich Borough Council, said: “We're now building a Claydon in Ipswich every year and it's growing.

“The Waterfront is massive, the growth at Ravenswood is pretty obvious, everybody sees that. But there's also lots of places that people don't see.”

Another 121 homes were completed within Ipswich town centre and the Ipswich Village area around Ipswich Town Football Club.

Almost all the new homes, 98 per cent of them, were built on previously developed brownfield sites.

Keith Haddrell, managing director of Bellway Homes which builds about 100 homes in the town each year, said: “The whole of the Ipswich area has been a growth area since the wet dock took off. It has become a vibrant go-ahead area.

“We've seen the locality grow beyond all measure in the last 10 years. There's an upbeat feel about the place.”

Ipswich has a target of creating 15,000 new homes in the next 13 years but an extra 5,000 are set to be created outside Ipswich Borough Council's boundaries on the fringes of the town.

Mr Hehir said: “It will be a different place. The intention is to build on brownfield sites. We need to create affordable housing and a mix of housing.”

Peter Hutley, project manager at Persimmon Homes which has built 207 homes at the Waterfront since 2002 and has three major Waterfront projects either under construction or in the planning stages, said: “Ipswich presents a unique opportunity. With the transition of Suffolk College moving to the Waterfront and the new university it's going to add a whole new dimension.”

Weblinks: www.persimmonhomes.com; www.bellway.co.uk; www.ipswich.gov.uk

N Do you think Ipswich's building boom will improve the town? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN or e-mail eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk.