SITES for just one house to those large enough for 3,000 homes have been submitted to Suffolk Coastal to provide the housing the area needs for the next 15 years.
SITES for just one house to those large enough for 3,000 homes have been submitted to Suffolk Coastal to provide the housing the area needs for the next 15 years.
The district council has received 389 suggested places for homes and is to put all of them to the public, probably early next year.
In the meantime, details of all the parcels of land will remain confidential - though several of them are already well known, such as those in the twin Trimleys.
The council received 195 comments from councils, developers and interested bodies to its ideas for the areas housing might be allocated in the new Local Development Plan.
Most people accepted the need to provide extra housing, and felt it should be concentrated in the urban areas - Felixstowe and edge of Ipswich - and market towns, such as Framlingham, Saxmundham, Leiston and Woodbridge.
The area has to provide 10,200 new homes by 2021. About 6,580 already have planning permission, have been built or are under construction - which means sites for only 3,620 need to be found.
But the latest report on the situation and progress has been criticised by the Save Trimley Against Growth (STAG) group, which say the council is failing to sufficiently recognise the impact large-scale housing developments will have on the Trimley villages or the sacrifices the villages have already made to satisfy the housing needs of Felixstowe.
Head of planning services Philip Ridley said no decisions have yet been made on sites for the homes. The council will put the suggested sites to the public for their views with no comment on the council's preferences at the time it announces its preferred option for the future.
He said: “The council will need to assess each of the proposals and come to conclusions as to whether physical limits boundaries should be changed or sites allocated for specific uses, most likely for residential development to achieve the housing targets set in the Regional Spatial Strategy.”
STAG representative Barbara Shout said the group had “considerable concerns” about the public consultation. The group believes the status of the Trimley villages was deliberately changed to allow for development and its views had not been fairly summarised in the report.
She said: “There is disregard for the facts and practicalities regarding housing numbers, affordable homes, and future employment prospects, disregard for the severely adverse affects more homes will have on all aspects of Felixstowe Peninsula infrastructure, and a failure to sufficiently prioritise the absolute requirement to use brownfield land first for major housing developments.”
Where do you think the new homes should be built in Suffolk Coastal? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN, or e-mail EveningStarLetters@eveningstar.co.uk
FASTFACTS: The options the public preferred:
Option Five:
Ipswich Fringe (Kesgrave/Martlesham and villages): 900 homes
Felixstowe/Trimleys: 2,120.
Aldeburgh: Up to 50
Framlingham: 150-300.
Leiston: up to 150.
Saxmundham: 150-300
Woodbridge: Up to 100
Key service centres: 100.
Option Six (Going for Growth - 4,820 new homes)
Ipswich Fringe (Kesgrave/Martlesham and villages): 1,500 homes
Felixstowe/Trimleys: 2,720.
Aldeburgh: Up to 50
Framlingham: 150-300.
Leiston: up to 150.
Saxmundham: 150-300
Woodbridge: Up to 100.
Key service centres: 100.
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