COMMUNITY leaders who have already backed proposals for big new estates on fields on the edge of Felixstowe are holding a special meeting next week.

COMMUNITY leaders who have already backed proposals for big new estates on fields on the edge of Felixstowe are holding a special meeting next week.

Residents will be allowed to speak at the event and campaign groups fighting the moves to build nearly 2,000 new homes at the resort have already registered to have their say.

Last year Felixstowe Town Council outraged campaigners when it backed proposals for the resort to expand in the next 16 years and agreed with suggested countryside sites off Candlet Road and Gulpher Road on the edge of the town.

Since then Suffolk Coastal council has put forward a new view - saying the homes should instead be scattered across the town, Trimley villages and possibly elsewhere on the peninsula.

Now the town council is being asked for its views again as part of the consultation over the Local Development Framework (LDF) strategy, the planning policy for the area up until 2025, and has a chance to change its mind.

Town clerk Susan Robinson said the council would be holding a special meeting on Monday to discuss the LDF and make recommendations to Suffolk Coastal. The meeting will be held at Orwell High School, Maidstone Road, Felixstowe, at 7pm with doors opening at 6.30pm.

“There will be seating for approximately 230 people and the venue has been chosen as the largest available so that concerned local residents can listen to the council debate this important issue,” said Mrs Robinson.

“There will be a 45-minute period at the beginning of the meeting for residents to have their say.”

Speakers will be allocated three minutes each and can register in advance of the meeting by ringing Felixstowe Town Hall on 01394 282086 or e-mailing susan.robinson@felixstowe.gov.uk

Save Felixstowe Countryside, Felixstowe and District Allotment Association and the Felixstowe Society have already registered to speak.

Environmental consultants Entec have been commissioned to look at possible sights for the new homes and have just started consultation in the area to see where people feel the homes should be put.

Where should new homes be built at Felixstowe - should the resort expand? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN, or e-mail eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk