A proposed development for 500 homes has moved a step closer after a detailed masterplan was given the thumbs up.

The proposal for Moreton Hall in Bury St Edmunds includes provision for a village centre, incorporating a small convenience store by the Flying Fortress pub, as well as a new secondary school and ground for Bury Town FC.

The masterplan, devised by developers Taylor Wimpey with the support of St Edmundsbury planning officers, was approved by the council’s sustainable development working party on Tuesday, and will now go before full council and cabinet to be adopted.

Councillor Alaric Pugh said: “Developers are learning and adapting their skills and techniques to the modern planning environment. I think this is a very good example.”

Case officer Peter White said the village centre would provide a convenience store and something like a fish and chip shop for the new development, as the existing shops at Lawson Place on Moreton Hall were too far away.

A letter from Mark Edmonds, Taylor Wimpey’s planning and technical director for East Anglia, was also read out that said the masterplan matched the boundaries outlined in Vision 2031, after concerns were raised about the development creeping further east towards Great Barton.

The major dissenting voice was Jeremy Farthing, who wanted the development to include a new train station. Mr White said Network Rail had indicated that this was not possible.

Fellow councillor Jim Thorndyke also raised concerns about the space allocated for the new school, and the volume of development given another 1,250 homes are outlined in the north-east development area on the other side of the A143.

Mr Farthing added: “In this country every single aspect of how we deliver housing is wrong and is driven by greed. This is an awful masterplan and I will be voting against it.”

The masterplan needs council approval before any planning application can be made.

Speaking after the meeting, Mr Edmonds said: “Our scheme has been subject to a thorough public consultation programme, with the comments we received from the local community and key stakeholders helping to refine the masterplan document. Should the masterplan be adopted, a planning application will follow later this year.

“The scheme will deliver a wide variety of much-needed new homes, including affordable housing, plus public open space, allotments, a small convenience store and land for a new secondary school. The new development will also help fund the construction of the new Eastern Relief Road, linking Moreton Hall with the A14 Rookery Crossroads.

“In addition, it will provide a timely boost to the local economy through the creation of new jobs in construction and associated services.”