Plans for a new visitor centre at the Ipswich Garden Suburb country park have been approved.

The proposals from Crest Nicholson housebuilding company were discussed in an Ipswich Borough Council planning and development meeting on Wednesday.

Sarah Cottingham, an agent speaking on behalf of Crest Nicholson, said: "We feel the building has been successfully designed to cater to all users and will provide a destination space for users of Ipswich Park.

"We believe it will be a great community asset."

The centre will be located in a county park integral to the Henley Gate development, which represents about a third of the total Ipswich Garden Suburb.

Plans for the suburb will eventually see it stretch from Henley Road to Tuddenham Road, providing up to 3,500 homes, three new primary schools, a new high school and a new shopping centre.

The development is expected to take a whole decade to complete, but first homes are now being built by Crest Nicholson at Henley Gate.

The new visitor centre will feature an exhibition space and reception area, a community space, a kitchen and café, toilets and changing rooms.

A single-storey building will provide an office and a mess room for rangers who will maintain the park.

The centre will also have timber walls, large areas of glazing and decking, allowing visitors to sit outside during spells of warm weather.

38 car parking spaces have been proposed, including four disabled slots and five electric vehicle charging spaces.

A minimum of 12 cycle spaces will also be provided.

Speaking at the meeting, Councillor Carole Jones, said: "This is a very good application and I'm very happy with it.

"I welcome this proposal."

Following approval from Ipswich Borough Council, further details will now be considered and clarified at the next stage of design.

Upon completion of the country park and visitor centre, the site will be taken over by the borough council which will manage the country park as part of its parks department.