Number of new homes in Suffolk revealed in government data

According to government statistics, some 1,603 new builds were recorded across the West Suffolk, Babergh, Mid Suffolk, Ipswich and East Suffolk districts combined in 2012/13.

In 2022/23, 3,465 new homes were built across the five areas - a rise of 1,862 on the total recorded a decade earlier. 

The biggest rise was seen in Mid Suffolk where in 2012/13 296 new builds were erected while in 2022/23 some 1,143 were built. 

In West Suffolk 512 new builds were built in 2012/13 with 914 built in 2022/23. 

255 new homes were built in Babergh in 2012/13 while 2022/23 saw 522 created. 

Meanwhile in East Suffolk the number rose from 457 new builds in 2012/13 to 761 in 2022/23. 

Ipswich recorded 83 new builds in 2012/13 and 125 in 2022/23. 

But according to the Government this is not enough and in July it announced  plans to "overhaul" the planning system with councils in England given new mandatory housing targets to "pave the way to deliver 1.5 million more homes." 

In Babergh, this would mean the current target of 416 new homes per year will move to 763, while in Mid Suffolk the number will rise from 535 to 753. 

East Suffolk will rise from 905 to 1,696, West Suffolk numbers will increase from 765 to 1,200 and Ipswich's will increase from 466 to 755. 

Residents in many areas, including Thurston in Mid Suffolk where 60 new homes have been approved despite objections, are concerned by the increasing number of new builds being approved. 

A spokesperson for Babergh and Mid Suffolk District Council said: "Our role as district councils and planning authorities is to try to ensure that residents and communities have sufficient housing, employment, and inward investment; that environment and heritage is protected, and infrastructure is in place for healthy communities and thriving towns. 

"We work with communities to ensure they have a say over sustainable development in their areas through our Joint Local Plan and the Neighbourhood Planning process, but ultimately the decisions made by our planning committees must be in line with Government planning policy or risk being overturned on appeal."

The councils also stated that since 2018, more than £15m has gone back into Babergh and Mid Suffolk via the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL), which has funded new schools, medical facilities and improvements. 

Meanwhile in west Suffolk, developments in Clare which has previously been dubbed 'Suffolk's Smallest Town' are also causing concern. 

Land off Cavendish Road in Clare where 70 homes are planned (Image: Newsquest) Last week the parish council hit out at a new proposal for 70 homes, stating the town was "at breaking point". 

Plans for 100 homes, 30 of which are affordable, to be built on land to the east of Beeches Road, in West Row have also been given final sign-off.

Richard O'Driscoll, cabinet member for housing at West Suffolk Council, said: "The concerns of residents are completely understandable, and this council is committed to listening to those concerns and ensuring that all new developments are of the right type and enhance existing communities.

"That said we also have a moral duty to meet the needs of many other residents who are far from adequately housed."

Richard O'Driscoll (Image: WSC) He explained the council is set to consider a new Housing, Homelessness Reduction and Rough Sleeping Strategy, which has been recommended for approval, in a meeting next week.

"Our strategy sets out the approach this council will take to ensure that everything that can be done, will be done to enable our residents to live in a decent home that meets their needs, and at the same time contributes to creating thriving communities," he said.

"We will also ensure that we will use our powers as a planning authority to avoid the type of over development we have seen in other areas."

East Suffolk is no stranger to new developments in recent years, with plans for the major 2,000-home North Felixstowe Garden Neighbourhood scheme currently causing concern.

Proposals for 185 homes north of Hall Lane in Oulton have also been given the go-ahead by members of East Suffolk’s planning committee this week.

Cllr David Beavan, East Suffolk Council's cabinet member for housing, said: "It is very important to us to provide the housing so desperately needed whilst conserving the natural beauty and resilience of East Suffolk.

David Beavan (Image: Sarah Lucy Brown, Newsquest) "The housing market failure we need to address is the unaffordability of housing for ordinary people. Two working people on an average wage cannot afford to buy or rent an average home. This is where we must help.

"We are not interested in being led by unaffordable, unplanned speculative development and second homes, which could happen if we can’t meet unrealistic government targets."

And, following the government announcement in July, council leader Caroline Topping wrote to Matthew Pennycook, Minister of State for Housing & Planning, to express her concerns. 

In the letter she wrote: "We urge you to ensure that councils like us, who are performing well, who are already well-invested in a plan-led approach to providing new homes and who are preparing for long-term housing under Local Plan reforms, are protected from the potentially catastrophic risks of unplanned development."

Carole Jones, Ipswich Borough Council’s portfolio holder for planning, said: "We have inherited a housing crisis. Nevertheless, having a decent home is a basic necessity for everyone.

"We will work in conjunction with our neighbouring councils to meet our housing targets."