IPSWICH: Developers say around 330 new jobs will be created in Ipswich with the latest multi-million pound project for the Waterfront.

Richard Cornwell

IPSWICH: Developers say around 330 new jobs will be created in Ipswich with the latest multi-million pound project for the Waterfront.

After five years of discussions, full plans have now been submitted which it is hoped will be approved for an exciting redevelopment of Ransome's Wharf between Duke Street and Coprolite Street.

The land at Orwell Quay - which at one time housed a massive shed for Ransome's lawnmowers - has been a car park and occasional boatyard since 1997.

Now London Provincial and Overseas Ltd want to regenerate it with three boat-shaped high-rise buildings featuring 200 flats and maisonettes, a 90-bed hotel, health club and spa, offices for businesses, shops and restaurants, a 314-space car park and public open space.

Ipswich Borough Council leader Liz Harsant said today that the scheme was “an exciting move in the right direction” and the jobs would be a big boost for the town.

“It really would be wonderful if the recession would start to lift and we could see some development happening and we need to make it easier for developers, who are facing very difficult times,” she said.

“This development would create a large number of new jobs, as would the proposed Tesco, which could bring 900 jobs.”

The project for the 1.6-acre site - which has been designed by KDP Architects - would include a “central forum” for weekly markets and craft fairs, gardens with trees and seating, and as well as the 314-space underground car par, there would be parking for 236 cycles and 136 motorbikes.

A report on the proposed shopping element says the intention is that the facilities will “complement, rather than compete” with town centre shops and serve the expanding Waterfront population.

Is the development a good idea? Write to Evening Star Letters, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN, or email eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk.

FASTFACTS: Waterfront

Development of Ipswich waterfront is a massive regeneration project which has seen hundreds of millions of pounds invested in the past decade.

University Campus Suffolk is one of the key projects - with the main campus building in the heart of the old wet dock.

Luxury apartments and restaurants have helped create a new riverside place for people to spend their recreation time, breathing new life into what was once a partly derelict area.

Last month the Jerwood DanceHouse featuring three dance studios, a 200-seater studio theatre and waterfront caf�, opened on the former Cranfields Mill site, providing world-class facilities.

Elsewhere plans have also been put forward for a giant Tesco between Stoke and Princes Street bridges.