Call to have a say on plans for Ixworth, near Bury St Edmunds, which could see hundreds of homes built

Residents are being urged to have a say on homes plans which could transform Ixworth and be the biggest development the village, near Bury St Edmunds, has seen in 35 years.

Ixworth Parish Council is calling on people to respond to a masterplan consultation and outline plans which could see up to 280 new homes built in the village.

Persimmon Homes Suffolk is holding a public consultation on its Crown Lane masterplan for a northern parcel of land west of the A143 Ixworth bypass and south of the A1088 .

Although the consultation documents do not mention how many homes the site might accommodate and the original site allocation was for 145 homes, villagers expect it could be up to 220 homes.

There is also land allocated for a new primary school within the site, while Persimmon could make contributions towards a crossing over the A143 bypass.

Meanwhile, Pigeon Capital Management 6 Limited has submitted outline plans to West Suffolk Council for up to 160 homes and open space on land west of Bardwell Road, in Ixworth.

Ben Lord, Ixworth Parish Council chairman, said now is the time for villagers to have their say.

“We have to take every opportunity to have our voice heard. The scale of this is seismic for Ixworth,” said Cllr Lord.

Parish council concerns about the Persimmon site include its access via a planned ghost junction from the A1088, along with fears the road network around the village is already at or over capacity.

Cllr Lord said adding hundreds of homes and primary school could create up to 1,000 extra vehicle movements a day – with those drivers potentially cutting through the High Street to avoid A143 congestion.

“What we fear could exacerbate this situation is the Pigeon development, which could be a 50 per cent population increase in that part of the village. It could bottleneck our village,” said Cllr Lord.

“And while these two developments are for Ixworth, we can’t ignore what’s going on in the villages nearby: in Stanton Bloor is building 250 homes; we don’t know what the commercial development will be at Shepherd’s Grove, but we can assume it will be large - it’s not just what’s going on in Ixworth, it’s our neighbours as well.”

In addition to the traffic and road safety implications, Cllr Lord raised the question of GP capacity and the concern a long hoped for footbridge over the A143 might never materialise.

“We have been campaigning for 14 years for the footbridge, which should really have been installed when the bypass was built. It’s nothing short of a miracle no one has been hurt or killed,” said Cllr Lord.

“Ixworth is malnourished for access to the countryside. We are very keen for that access to be built and we are concerned we may not get it at all if it is deemed it is not needed.

“This is the biggest development in the village for 35 years. If we don’t get it right with these two developments and the village infrastructure, the problems will be inherited for generations to come.”

The Persimmon consultation is open until March 19. Go to www.crownlaneixworth.co.uk for more information and to respond.

The Pigeon development outline plans – reference DC/25/0370/OUT – are on the West Suffolk planning portal, with the consultation open until March 31.