Plans for 85 new homes near Ipswich Port move forward
Eight will be one-bedroom flats. There will be 36 properties with three bedrooms, 21 two-beds and 20 four-beds.
Last updated 11th Apr 2023
Details of an 85-home development in Ipswich have been approved.
The house types and layout of the development to the west of Sandyhill Lane near Ipswich Port were approved by Ipswich Borough Council yesterday.
This follows the granting of outline permission in October 2019.
A planning statement on behalf of applicant United Living describes an “appropriate and diverse” mix of dwellings, while the officers’ report explains the housing mix “meets local demand”.
The details show all buildings will have two storeys and more than half will be semi-detached mews-style properties.
Eight will be one-bedroom flats – four ground floor and four first floor. There will be 36 properties with three bedrooms, 21 two-beds and 20 four-beds.
However, none of the homes will be affordable. This was decided at outline stage – when the usual requirement of 15 percent affordable properties was removed because of the “abnormal” costs associated with building on contaminated land.
Another area where usual requirements are not met is the density of homes, with 43% below the minimum requirements for private amenity space.
The reason behind this is the constraints of the Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE) ‘consultation zones’, which represent the level of risk or hazard from pipelines across different parts of a site.
This means development needs to be denser where the risks are lowest – in the north eastern section – so there can be fewer homes where risk is higher.
The officers’ report points out that the planned open space is large, though it is concentrated in certain areas. It comprises half the entire site, much more than the required ten percent, and includes a play area at the centre of the development.
Officers conclude: “Given the constraints of the site and the provision of a large area of public open space, it is considered that on balance the provision of private amenity space is acceptable.”
Suffolk County Council Highways were previously concerned about cycle infrastructure, but this has been dealt with by adding two pathways for cyclists and pedestrians to the plans.
Each home will have car parking spots, space for on-street visitor parking, a lockable shed for cycle storage and electrical vehicle charging provision.