Social housing coming to Suffolk village

AFFORDABLE homes are set to be built in a village with a “clear need” for more properties for people unable to find places to rent or get on the housing ladder.

Kirton is said to need 28 homes to rent and 32 for shared ownership, and Hastoe Housing Association has now obtained funding to build four flats and eight houses on the edge of the village.

The land - a one-acre horse paddock - is in Trimley Road, next door to the allotments and The Maltings site, which is also going to be developed with homes in the future.

The homes had been specifically designed as affordable housing with a mixture of both rented and shared ownership, and would be built around an open space or green.

Hastoe Housing Association said they would range from one-bedroom flats to three-bedroom family houses to cater for a wide range of local needs.

Kirton and Falkenham Parish Council wholeheartedly supported the provision of affordable housing, but was unhappy at the current proposals - expressing “great concern” over parking.

“The provision of parking spaces particularly for the larger properties is seen as inadequate; particularly in catering for visitors. Trimley Road, onto which the development will discharge, is a very busy road and cannot accommodate any off-road parking that is not available within the site,” said the council.

“As there is the prospect of further development taking place on the adjacent Maltings site the access onto Trimley Road is not considered adequate.”

Suffolk Coastal's development control south area sub committee is being recommended on November 9 to approve the homes.

“The housing need survey undertaken by the Hastoe Housing Association, in conjunction with the parish council, demonstrates that there is a clear need for affordable housing in Kirton and the number and type of dwellings currently proposed accords with the identified need,” says a report to councillors.