Foxhall Road

Welcome

Thank you for visiting our website to learn more about our emerging plans for land at Foxhall Road, Ipswich. We want to hear from the local community and understand what matters most to you – your input will help shape a neighbourhood that truly works for everyone.

We’re at an early stage of shaping a sustainable new neighbourhood and want to share our ideas and gain your thoughts. We hope to create a special and distinctive neighbourhood that could include:

  • A mix of high-quality homes to meet local needs and respond to current patterns of living, including options for young families, first-time buyers, those looking to downsize and with flexibility for those working from home.
  • Significant levels of affordable housing.
  • Educational facilities to support growing communities.
  • Attractive green spaces, areas for sports and play and nature-rich landscapes.
  • A connected and integrated community with a network of footpaths and cycleways and public transport links.
  • New local facilities including shops, café and community spaces for people to enjoy.

This isn’t just about building homes. It’s about creating a place where people want to live, with supporting services and community facilities that help residents thrive.

Have Your Say

Your voice matters. As we develop our plans, we want to ensure we are aware of local priorities and that they help inform our proposals. Share your thoughts by Tuesday 28th October and help shape the future of your community.

Understanding and responding to the site

Land at Foxhall Road is immediately adjacent to the existing built-up area on the edge of Ipswich, but benefits from an established landscape setting.  We want to retain and enhance this special character such that the neighbourhood can be sensitively embedded within its surroundings.

The site sits within East Suffolk Council’s boundary, towards the south-west, with Ipswich lying to the west. It is immediately adjacent to the A12 and accessed from Foxhall Road. It is to the east of Dobbs Lane. It extends to about 100 hectares but only about 50% of this will be for built development, the rest is open space.

This location has the potential to deliver a new neighbourhood for East Suffolk. At this early stage, we want to understand how local people use and experience the area today, and what you feel should be prioritised if new homes and facilities are brought forward here.

We know how important access to green space, local facilities, and good transport connections are for community life. That’s why we’re asking for your views now – to help shape how any future plans are developed.

Our Proposals

We are sharing early ideas for a new neighbourhood at Foxhall Road. The proposals will be shaped by technical understanding of the site but importantly we want to hear what local people think so that the plans can also respond to your priorities and the character of the area.

Key elements we are exploring

  • Homes: Up to 1,300 new homes, with a mix of sizes and tenures. A significant proportion would be affordable housing to help support local communities and first-time buyers.
  • Local Centre: A hub for community life, with potential space for shops, cafés and flexible community uses all connected with pedestrian and cycle routes to create a sustainable place.
  • Education: A new primary school to support local families.
  • Green Spaces: Protected areas of established green infrastructure and vegetation, new accessible parkland, areas for sports and play, walking and cycling routes. Significant areas of natural open space, including a Suitable Alternative Natural Greenspace (SANG), offering opportunities to enjoy nature and support local wildlife.
  • Active and Connected: To encourage healthy and active lifestyles and to integrate with the wider area there will be a comprehensive network of new and improved walking and cycling paths.
  • Highways improvements: Local improvements to highways and providing contributions towards any necessary off-site works.
  • Sustainable, low carbon and biodiverse: Promoting sustainable living through delivery of on-site amenities, housing to assist in working from home, public transport improvements to encourage sustainable travel and protecting existing habitats alongside ecological enhancements to secure a high-quality biodiverse environment in perpetuity.

Your Views

We want the community to help shape these ideas:

  • Which types of homes would work best for local families?
  • What facilities would you like to see in the local centre?
  • Which green spaces or play areas are most important to your household?
  • Are there places where walking, cycling or public transport could be improved?
  • What do you think are important sustainability measures?

Your feedback will help refine these proposals so that any future plans better reflect what local people want and need.

Share Your Views on the Map

We’ve created an interactive map of the site and surrounding area so you can show us what matters most to you.

Use the map to:

  • Tell us about any important points about your area.
  • Show where better walking or cycling connections could be made.
  • Pinpoint roads, junctions or crossings that feel unsafe or congested.
  • Suggest ideas for community facilities or places to meet.

How it works:

  1. Click anywhere on the map to drop a pin.
  2. Add a short comment to explain your view or idea.

All feedback will be reviewed by the project team and used to help shape our proposals.

Virtual Exhibition

Considerations

Our emerging masterplan provides an overview of our vision. As the plans progress, there will further detailed technical assessments undertaken and these will be available at a later stage of the planning process for everyone to view and comment on.

What we have learnt – East Suffolk District Council are preparing a new Local Plan. With over 4,000 households on East Suffolk Council’s housing register, local families, young people and older residents looking to downsize are all facing challenges finding suitable homes.

How are we responding – Our plans look to provide homes at a scale that also ensures local amenities and facilities are delivered alongside. We could provide up to 1,300 new homes, including a significant proportion of affordable housing, giving local people more options to live in the area they know and value.

What have we learnt – we know that just building houses doesn’t create a sense of place. To thrive, a community must complement high quality residential uses with community facilities and amenities, focused at the heart of the neighbourhood where people can meet and interact that can act as a community hub. We understand that this scale of development will require a new primary school and that local amenities are important to reduce the need to travel longer distances.How are we responding – Our early ideas include a new primary school and flexible community spaces, alongside a local centre with shops, cafés, and everyday services. In a prominent location and at the heart of the scheme, we are exploring a new focal community space: a place to meet friends, relax, and enjoy events. By weaving together education, social spaces, and local services, we want to help create a connected, inclusive neighbourhood where people can thrive.

What we have learnt – the site benefits from some key existing landscape and heritage assets and we want to improve these both for ecological enhancement but for the enjoyment of the local community.

How are we responding – we propose to protect and enhance as far as possible the existing vegetation and woodland areas and improve access to the landscape through the incorporation of a network of green infrastructure including:

  • A large Suitable Alternative Natural Greenspace (SANG) for recreation and nature
  • New play areas for children close to homes
  • Outdoor sports pitches and playing fields
  • A sustainable approach to drainage including natural basin features and wetlands integrated into the landscape
  • Significant areas of protected existing habitats and new habitat creation to support biodiversity net gain

What have we learnt – the site and its immediate surroundings have a distinctive landscape including woodland plantations, a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and Scheduled Monuments including a barrow mound. 

How are we responding – we are proposing that around 50% of the site is retained as green infrastructure.  This will include bringing valuable areas like the SSSI into active management to secure their long-term enhancement and creating natural offsets to features like the upstanding barrow to celebrate the local distinctiveness of the site.  

A sustainable drainage system will be introduced to manage surface water on site and surface water reduce flood risk, and where possible, it will also help address existing surface water challenges nearby.

What we have learnt – We understand that traffic and transport cause a lot of local concerns and that the A12 in particular is an important strategic route.  This is a key component of our considerations, and we understand that there is an improvement scheme in the pipeline for the A12 which we will need to have regard to.  Physical road improvements must be complemented by sustainable travel measures including public transport improvements and active travel routes.  

How we are responding – A full transport assessment is underway, looking at local traffic and future demand. Planned improvements are likely to include:

  • Safer, more direct walking and cycling connections in conjunction with providing day to day amenities on site.
  • Upgrades to Foxhall Road and potentially the A12 roundabout
  • Better access to public transport including potentially as part of improving bus routes and services to the wider east Ipswich area.

Access will be provided from Foxhall Road, with a separate bus-only route from the A12. Detailed designs will be set out in the planning application.

We are at the very start of the planning process, and we want to engage with local communities early.

Bloor Homes have undertaken some initial engagement with East Suffolk Council to provide officers with an overview of the proposals.

East Suffolk Council is also at the very beginning of starting a new Local Plan, which they are aiming to have adopted by 2029. The site could help provide homes to meet the substantial levels of housing needed in East Suffolk. 

Bloor Homes wants to work constructively with the Council on taking forward its proposals for Foxhall Road through an Outline Planning Application.

Once we have sought your views we will reflect on and respond to the comments received in evolving the proposals. Further technical work and assessments will be undertaken. We look forward to engaging further with the Council and other stakeholders as our plans and the Local Plan progresses.

We are currently aiming to having an application ready for submission by Winter 2025/26.

FAQs

Q: How many homes are proposed?

A: Our current plans indicate the site has a capacity of up to 1,300 homes. The precise design, number and distribution of homes will be agreed through the future, detailed applications and engagement with both the community and stakeholders.  

A: Yes, the development will bring forward a substantial proportion of Affordable Housing to accord with East Suffolk requirements. A variety of tenures will be available, with the exact types and proportions to be agreed with the Council and will reflect local need and local policy.

A: No, the development will be phased and built out over a period of around 10-15 years.  Delivery will be managed to help build a community with the local centre and primary school provided when required as part of an approved phasing plan. A construction management plan will be approved as part of the application place to minimise disruption to the local area and ensure a smooth delivery of new homes, as well as associated infrastructure. This can be shared with the Local Community. This website will remain updated throughout the development to ensure the local community is kept up to date.

A: Yes, a Section 106 agreement will be part of the planning process, and the specific contributions will be determined as the plans progress. A Section 106 agreement is a legal agreement between the developer and the local authority that secures financial contributions and other key commitments from the developer that are directly linked to the development and are necessary to make the development acceptable.

A: During construction, the PROWs may be temporarily closed or diverted to ensure safety. However, once the development is complete, the PROWs will be reopened and enhanced. The new design will include green spaces and improved accessibility features, creating a better experience for the wider community, this may include realignment of PRoW to ensure that they best link to destinations.

A: Yes. The plans include playing fields, children’s play areas and other natural and informal recreation spaces, with opportunities to enhance walking and cycling routes for active lifestyles.

A: Bloor Homes wants to deliver a neighbourhood of this scale to secure the sustainability benefits of having local amenities on site, active travel and sustainable transport options and significant on-site biodiversity enhancements. Homes will be built to modern energy efficiency standards and drainage managed sustainably on site.

A: The development may include space for a variety of local retail options and community spaces. Bloor Homes is committed to working with the community to understand their needs and will collaborate with local businesses to provide facilities that best serve residents. This could include options such as a local café, restaurant, and a convenience store.

A: Traffic studies are being conducted to assess existing local traffic and highway network. Measures to improve the existing network where necessary will be detailed in the outline planning application.  We are currently working with Suffolk County Council to understand their concerns and requirements and will continue to keep the Local Community updated.

A: The site will be accessed from new junctions created on Foxhall Road, alongside a bus and active travel only access from the A12.

A: Bloor Homes understands the importance of supporting local facilities whilst ensuring that there are sufficient school places to cater for the development.  Bloor has included provision for a new Primary School and will work with East Suffolk and Suffolk County Council to determine how and when this new school should be brought forward to best support the local area and the development, as well as to understand the impact of our development on Secondary School provision.

A: We will be working with East Suffolk Council and health providers, including the NHS to understand local needs and will continue to keep the Local Community updated. Land within the Local Centre could be reserved for a health care facility, if required.

A: We are bringing the site forward alongside the preparation of a Local Plan. The planning process could be long, with our current programme indicating an Outline Application submission in the coming months. Should that be approved, we would then look to submit a Reserved Matters application (the detail).

A: Yes, parking will be provided in line with East Suffolk Council’s standards, alongside facilities for walking, cycling and public transport.

A: We are at the first stage of developing these proposals.  In preparing an Outline Planning Application we are seeking approval for the principle of development.  However, Bloor Homes is committed to delivering high quality homes and using local materials, and we would love to hear from local people how they would like the scheme to look.  We know that high quality design is a key priority for East Suffolk Council and want to work with the Council to secure a new neighbourhood that feels connected to its surroundings.

A: Bloor Homes is dedicated to positively impacting the local community throughout the development’s lifetime and during construction. We plan to use local suppliers and contractors where possible and are exploring the possibility of offering apprenticeship opportunities. Details about these apprenticeships will be confirmed as the plans progress.

A: The local community has until Tuesday 28th October to submit their comments as part of the consultation. There will be three public exhibitions:

  • Thursday 9th October, 3:30pm-6:00pm, Conference Centre, Kesgrave, IP5 1JF
  • Friday 10th October, 3:30pm-7:00pm Waldringfield Village Hall, Waldringfield, IP12 4QP
  • Saturday 11th October, 9:30am-1:30pm, St Michael’s Church Centre, Martlesham, IP5 3PL

All feedback will be reviewed by members of development team and considered as the plans progress. Bloor Homes is expecting to submit its outline planning application to East Suffolk Council in Winter 2025/26.

A: We’re collecting community feedback, which we will review and refine our plans before an outline planning application is submitted to East Suffolk Council later this year. Residents will have another opportunity to comment through the Council’s formal process and updates will be shared on this website as the project progresses.

Have Your Say

Get in touch and tell us what you think about the early vision for land at Foxhall Road by completing the form below.

Please be sure to share your feedback by Tuesday 28th October so it can be taken into consideration as part of this consultation.

1. About You

2. Local Area

3. Homes and Housing

4. Green Spaces and Environment

5. Community and Facilities

6. Getting Around

7. Final Thoughts

8. Keeping in Touch (optional)

Get In Touch

You can contact the project team and share your feedback by:

  • Emailing us with your comments, questions or feedback at: email: bloorhomes-foxhallroad@havingyoursay.co.uk
  • Calling the team on 0161 711 0293 (lines open Monday – Friday, 9:00am to 5:30pm)
  • Writing to us at FREEPOST SHAPE TOMORROW

If you know someone who can’t access the internet, please get in touch and we can and copies of the proposals and a feedback form in the post.

All feedback received will be summarised and responded to in a Statement of Community Involvement which will be submitted to East Suffolk Council alongside the Outline Planning Application.

About Us

Bloor Homes was established in 1969 by our Chair and founder, John Bloor OBE. We remain a privately owned business with a proud history of building quality homes and are committed to delivering homes and communities with a focus on quality, design and place making, ensuring that high standards are maintained more than 55 years later.

Our dedicated team, from planners and designers to tradespeople and customer service professionals, is committed to creating well-designed, high-quality homes that we would be proud for our own families to live in. This commitment has earned us a 5-star Home Builders Federation rating for six consecutive years, and over 97% of our homeowners would recommend us to family and friends.

As a financially independent and family-owned business, we bring national expertise with regional knowledge. We have a proven track record in delivering strategic land and work in partnership with landowners and councils. Our focus on locally distinctive placemaking and community engagement ensures that we build homes that contribute positively to the areas we serve. We value long-term relationships and are dedicated to creating lasting legacies through our developments.