Felixstowe residents are invited to join a new panel which will enable the views and needs of local people to be considered in the development of a new garden neighbourhood in the north of the town.

East Suffolk Council is leading the master-planning process for a new neighbourhood in the north of Felixstowe.

Master-planning shows how a site will be developed, illustrating how buildings, roads and public spaces could look when the development is complete. An effective masterplan sets a clear vision for the development and includes input from professionals and the local community.

Approximately 143ha of land to the north of Felixstowe and Trimley St Mary were identified in the Suffolk Coastal Local Plan 2020 as being suitable for a garden neighbourhood comprising green infrastructure, community facilities and employment land alongside residential development.

This project, known in the Local Plan as the North Felixstowe Garden Neighbourhood, aims to create a connected, sustainable and healthy environment with the correct infrastructure for the whole town.

East Suffolk Council is now leading the master-planning process, aiming to develop an outline planning application for the site which will be submitted at the end of 2024 or early in 2025.

Community engagement is at the heart of the master-planning process and over the next 12 months, a range of events, workshops and ways to comment will be developed to ensure the local community is kept up to date with the project, and that local needs are being considered.

An important element is the formation of a Citizens' Panel, a demographically representative group of local people brought together to learn about the project and provide their thoughts about the project.

The panel will explore issues around climate change, community facilities, affordable housing, energy and local employment. Participants will be paid in kind for their involvement in the panel. 

Cllr Toby Hammond, East Suffolk's cabinet member for Economic Development and Transport said: "This is the beginning of a thorough programme of public engagement where we will be providing residents and businesses with many opportunities to give their views on the North Felixstowe Garden Neighbourhood scheme, and to help ensure the new development provides the appropriate infrastructure needed by local communities.

"I would urge people to register their interest in joining the Citizens' Panel and also to come along to our first event on Saturday 3 February to find out more about what is being proposed."

Register your interest in joining the Citizens' Panel.

Forms are also available at Felixstowe Town Hall.

Residents are also invited to attend the first engagement event at The Orwell Hotel on Saturday 3 February (10am to 3pm), with presentations from 11.30am.

The garden neighbourhood is a long-term project, estimated to complete within 20 to 30 years.

The key elements of the masterplan:

• Leisure-led, with early delivery of a new leisure centre as a priority
• Primary school and Early Years provision
• Protection of the Grove Woodland and provision of accessible natural green space
• Enhancement of existing landscape for public use as well as biodiversity net gain
• A community hub comprising a variety of services and facilities in accessible locations. Facilities could include a convenience store, shops, meeting places, education, care and medical facilities.
• Open space for recreation through retained space, re-provision, enhancement or new provision
• Sustain and enhance the significance of heritage assets
• Integration of the new Garden Neighbourhood with the existing community of Felixstowe and surrounding countryside
• A network of pedestrian, cycling and vehicular routes whilst protecting and enhancing local Quiet Lanes
• Design and layout that supports inclusive use
• Employment land for non-port related small business units
• Housing for later life
• Up to 2,000 dwellings, providing a mix of housing types, sizes and tenures

These elements will be brought forward through landowner collaboration and community engagement.

The principles of the masterplan are:

• Protecting the environment and ensuring that nature is protected, enhanced and accessible to people.
• Creating communities that are socially, economically, and environmentally sustainable with a focus on equality, diversity, and inclusion.
• Creating a development that creates an exemplar place and a thriving new community that works with and for the wider Felixstowe town.

The project is being delivered by East Suffolk Council, LDA Design, PJA, SLR, Expedition Engineering and Fenn Wright.