WORK is set to get under way again on a new shopping complex in Ipswich after town chiefs rubberstamped some changes to the design.

WORK is set to get under way again on a new shopping complex in Ipswich after town chiefs rubberstamped some changes to the design.

The new Asda shopping complex in Stoke Park, Ipswich, has suffered a series of hold-ups since planning permission was initially granted last year.

The latest came when it emerged that initial designs for flats and shops were not economically viable.

Designers of the development put new plans before town chiefs this week in an attempt to tweak the layout.

The change had to be made because Asda said the L-shaped block made up of 14 other shops and 51 apartments, which follows around the curve of Stoke Park Drive, would not have been economic to build because of level changes.

The amended designs were given the nod by town planners, subject to conditions being met, and work on the complex will restart in the new year.

The delay is the latest in a string of setbacks for the development. The store was due to open this month but construction was put on hold.

In September the Evening Star revealed that a new medical centre expected as part of the multi-million pound development would no longer go ahead.

As part of a building agreement, Asda pledged to build a medical centre in the complex but Suffolk Primary Care Trust pulled out of the project claiming the site was in the wrong location.

A report on the new application states there would be no fundamental amendments to the food store, shoppers' car park and service yard as detailed in the previous application.

A spokesman for Asda said: “Subject to being granted planning consent we intend to develop out the site next year and will keep the local community fully informed of the development timeframes.”

NWhat do you make of the delays and the changes? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN or e-mail eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk