Suffolk County Council has completed the sale of development land at Chilton Woods to developer Taylor Wimpey - allowing planning to start on a new development of more than 1,000 homes near Sudbury.
The £35m sale should lead to the creation of a new community in the parishes of Chilton, Acton, Sudbury and Long Melford. The Chilton Woods site had been allocated for development in Babergh Council’s Core Strategy and was granted outline planning permission by the district in 2018.
Taylor Wimpey has purchased a portion of the site and will deliver 1,150 new homes, a quarter of which will be affordable for rent or shared ownership.
The housebuilder will also provide a village centre with shops, a pub and a community hall, large areas of new community woodland, land for a new primary school and pre-school, sports pitches, allotments and play areas for young people.
The outline planning permission also includes an employment development, county wildlife site, hotel and household waste recycling centre which Taylor Wimpey will not be delivering. Other land owners have the opportunity to bring forward developments which would be considered by Babergh District in the context of the outline planning permission.
The site is about 210 acres, mainly agricultural land, including part of a former local airfield. Acton Lane runs through the centre of the site, connecting Sudbury to Newman’s Green and Acton to the north.
Nick Gowrley, Suffolk County Council Cabinet Member for Housing, said: "Completing the sale of this part of the Chilton Woods site for this price represents a fantastic financial return for the taxpayers of Suffolk.
“Taylor Wimpey will now take ownership of a significant portion of the site and I look forward to seeing plans and work progress. Development of this site strengthens our ambition to support the need for increased housing and employment in Suffolk, working with our partners to utilise council owned land where there is local need.”
David Pelle, Land and Planning Director for Taylor Wimpey London, said: “Our vision for Chilton Woods, as outlined in our draft Design Code for the development, is to create a healthy environment to live and work in, set within an extensive network of community woodland and green spaces.
“We are undertaking a wide programme of community engagement and consultation, and the feedback provided by local residents is helping to shape our plans as they develop. We look forward to submitting our reserved matters planning application for the first phase of new homes in the coming months.”
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