31/07/2024
Green light for 29-home affordable housing project in Suffolk
Flagship has been given permission for a new affordable housing development off Station Road in Haughley.
Plans for an affordable 29-home development in a historic Suffolk village have been approved.
Mid Suffolk District Council’s planning committee has given Flagship Group approval for the project on land north of Station Road in Haughley, near Stowmarket.
Mark Williams, head of land and planning development at Flagship Homes, the group's development subsidiary, said it would provide much-need homes for families in a popular and well-connected part of East Anglia.
Mr Williams said: “We are thrilled to have been given approval for this development. It paves the way for much-needed affordable housing for families. We’re looking forward to starting construction and bringing this vision to life."
A site map of the planned Haughley development.
Sixteen of the homes will be for social rent, meaning they will be allocated to families on local council waiting lists and will be let by Flagship’s housing association, Samphire, at roughly 60% of market value.
The other 13 homes will be for Shared Ownership – a hybrid of buying and renting which allows people to get onto the housing ladder without a large deposit.
There will be a mix of bungalows and two, three and four-bedroom homes, situated around a village green with space for a children’s play park.
The location of the Flagship development approved for Haughley.
The new homes will be energy-efficient, featuring electric vehicle charging points and air-source heat pumps for heating. There will be pockets of land to promote biodiversity as well as bird and bat boxes. Fences will feature small gaps creating ‘hedgehog highways’ so the animals can pass through.
Mr Williams said: “The environment is at the heart of the plans. These will be low-carbon homes, and we’re taking measures to ensure wildlife can continue to thrive at the site.”
The 1.28ha site is within Haughley’s settlement boundary and had already been allocated for new housing. The village has a rich history, and is home to the remains of one of the best-preserved Norman motte and bailey castles in England.
Building work is due to begin in November, and the first homes at the site should be finished by October next year.