SUFFOLK residents will be asked next month whether Ipswich should find room for up to 9,000 new homes in addition to the 15,400 already in the pipeline.
SUFFOLK residents will be asked next month whether Ipswich should find room for up to 9,000 new homes in addition to the 15,400 already in the pipeline.
With the borough earmarked by the government to bear the brunt of housing construction in Suffolk, the East of England Regional Assembly wants to know if there is support among townsfolk to take even more houses and flats.
Ipswich Borough Council is currently consulting on its draft development framework, which includes the likelihood that 6,000 homes will have to be built on the northern fringe - bordered by Tuddenham village and Valley, Henley and Tuddenham Roads.
The regional assembly has the responsibility to deliver government demands for the six counties in the region to take 508,000 new homes by 2021, but ministers are now seeking thousands more in the ten years following that.
A “have your say” meeting will be held on September 16 in Suffolk County Council's Endeavour House offices at 7pm to listen to concerns and to explain how councils must deliver the additional roads, public transport, schools and health facilities to cope with the influx of new residents.
Regional assembly chairman John Reynolds said the consultation was designed to promote public debate on planning for the region's future and specifically the issue of extra homes.
He added: “We need to plan ahead to ensure that people can gain access to homes they can afford and that new homes are close to jobs, transport and other public services.”
The government has asked the assembly to revise the East of England Plan which set out how many new homes should be built each year until 2031. It has set a deadline of 2011 for the revision, but it is the responsibility of councils to determine the exact locations of where the housing should be built through their local development frameworks.
Anyone wishing to attend the meeting can book a place online at http://events.eera.gov.uk/conferences or contact Jayne Cole on 01284 729405 or e-mail jayne.cole@eera.gov.uk.
Should more homes be built in Ipswich? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich IP4 1AN or e-mail eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk.
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