LARGE-scale housing development would destroy the character of the twin Trimley villages and leave them little more than suburbs of Felixstowe, community leaders have warned.
LARGE-scale housing development would destroy the character of the twin Trimley villages and leave them little more than suburbs of Felixstowe, community leaders have warned.
Villagers in Trimley St Martin are angry that of the six options for the future of the Suffolk Coastal area, only one would restrict development in their area, and believe the new properties needed should be spread over the whole district.
The options for housing - four of which envisage more than 2,200 homes in Felixstowe, Trimley St Martin and Trimley St Mary in the next 15 years - are the first stage in deciding where housing should go.
Parish councillors have sent in their views on the proposals - and say they will only accept a modest amount of new homes and not sacrifice more open countryside for large estates.
Council chairman John Barker said the council's response had been influenced by the views it had received from residents since Trinity College, Cambridge, revealed its “vision” for the complete development of all the village's fields three years ago.
“This parish council is wholly supportive of a modest amount of new housing development and has no reason to disbelieve either the reasons for it or the numbers of housing required in the East of England region and in particular, the Suffolk Coastal district,” said the council's response.
“However, we feel that all the options put forward within this document, with the exception of Option 1, are all heavily weighted towards high housing numbers for the Felixstowe/Trimleys, which we believe, translates in real terms, to the Trimleys and especially Trimley St Martin bearing the brunt of large scale housing development.
“Large scale housing would destroy any rural character that currently exists within the villages, making them merely a suburban area of Felixstowe.”
Councillors are particularly concerned that of 115 towns and villages in the district, only two - the Trimleys - have had their status changed, purely in order to allow large-scale housing.
Suffolk Coastal will choose its preferred option later in the year and then there will be further consultation.
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
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