In February 2007 we consulted on
a range of issues and options relating to how
the district should develop over the next 15 years.
In relation to new housing the consultation told us that we
should be providing new housing right across the district, with the
majority being concentrated in and around Felixstowe and east of
Ipswich with smaller amounts at the market towns and larger
villages.
The consultation also indicated a preference for larger scale
housing developments to be provided on two or three sites in order
to maximise developer contributions and thereby the provision of
other associated facilities such as sports pitches and affordable
housing.
Further Issues and Options
Following from this we arrived at a likely scale and
distribution of new housing development across the district. Two
areas were proposed for large scale, strategic, levels of housing
growth - Felixstowe with Walton and Trimley Villages (around 1,600
new units) and east of Ipswich (around 1,000 new units).
We also identified the most realistic options in terms of broad
areas of search. These broad areas are presented in diagrammatic
form in the Further Issues and Options document and accompanied by
a matrix which identifies issues relevant to each area:
We asked people to give us their views on each of the areas
identified as well as on any additional areas not identified but
which may offer an alternative, preferable and realistic option for
growth, over an extended 10 week period from 1 February to 11 April
2008.
This generated a lot of interest and a large number of comments.
You can view all of the comments received and the Council's
responses in the document below:
Local Development Framework Task Group meetings
The public consultation comments were reported to meetings of
the Council’s Local Development Framework Task Group on 28 July and
4 August 2008, which, after lengthy debate, agreed their preferred
options for both areas:
28 July 2008 - Ipswich Policy Area meeting (housing
options East of Ipswich) - the Task Group "endorses the
choice of Option 4, land east of Martlesham Heath, as its preferred
option." See the
agenda, reports and minutes for this meeting
(new window).
4 August 2008 - Felixstowe Peninsula meeting (housing
options around Felixstowe and the Trimleys) - the Task
Group resolved "to support organic and evolutionary growth of a
minimum of 1,720 dwellings in the Felixstowe and Trimleys area over
a mixture of sites whilst preserving as far as possible prime
agricultural land for essential food production." See the
agenda, reports and minutes for this meeting
(new window).
Further documents referred to at the meetings as well as the
presentations given can be downloaded below:
Ipswich Policy Area meeting - 28 July 2008:
Felixstowe Peninsula meeting - 4 August
2008:
What happens next?
The recommendations were considered by a
special meeting of the Council's Cabinet
held in Kesgrave on 21 October 2008.
The results of the Core Strategy Further Issues and
Options consultation were fed into the
Core Strategy Preferred Options
document, published in December 2008.
If you have any questions about the Core Strategy and the LDF
please contact the Planning Policy Team on 01394
444761 or email
development.policy@suffolkcoastal.gov.uk.