Permission is set to be granted for the first work to get under way on a new 2,000-home development – agreement to build the entrance and main roads for the project.
Community leaders have been told that the roads work at the Adastral Park site – now known as Brightwell Lakes – will take place before any homes are constructed, and the initial work will support the first 500 homes.
However, design work on improvements to the wider road network around the 279-acre site - £15m of work including widening of lanes and traffic lights at the roundabouts on the A12 from Foxhall to Martlesham, and also at the A12/A14 Seven Hills interchange – is still taking place.
Suffolk Coastal council’s planning committee is recommended on Thursday to give developers Carlyle Land Ltd and CEG approval for the detailed plans of the junction and entrance from the £100m-plus Brightwell Lakes venture onto the A12, and the main spine road The Boulevard.
They will also be asked to approve the junction with Ipswich Road and its link road to the Boulevard.
A major part of the latest plans is a redesign of the wall alongside the A12 which will be a sound barrier to protect the homes from traffic noise.
Instead of a vertically planted wall with a layered mix of coloured concrete, which was criticised as “hard and stark”, the barrier will now be terraced using stacked timber sleepers to provide a “natural and rustic yet contemporary appearance”.
Planning case officer Ben Woolnough said the applications to be discussed by councillors were for highways and drainage works.
He said: “These early proposals seek to establish key infrastructure to support the delivery of the first phase of 500 homes off the A12 and Ipswich Road.
“The detailed plans covering the junctions also show greater detail on the off-site layout of parts of the A12 and Ipswich Road. These work were also approved as part of the outline permission, however, this submission does not seek further approval of works to the highway.
“The next stage of approval of those works is through agreements with the Highway Authority under section 278 of The Highways Act. That process will follow on from the determination of this application and is highly technical in nature.”
Brightwell Lakes will also include an £18m deal for a new “all through” school with early years, primary, secondary and sixth form education on a 13-acre site for more than 1,800 youngsters.
There will be a new convenience store, community centre, sports ground, open space, and a 1.5-acre employment area.
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