A new multi-million pound development of up to 16 new "incubator" business units just off the A14 near Bury St Edmunds is expected to get the go-ahead this week.

West Suffolk Council's cabinet is expect to agree to go ahead with the £12.1m development of the site at the Suffolk Business Park near the Moreton Hall area beside the Rougham junction on the A14.

This would allow allow the construction of a 40,000 square foot of industrial units - each unit would be about 2,000 square feet.

The site would be developed by the council in what is an Enterprise Zone using business rates retained by the council - with support from the New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership and Suffolk County Council.

This is seen as phase one of a new incubator development - if it is successful it would be followed by another development of a similar size providing a further 20 starter units.

One of the points made by the council is that the development would be seen from the A14 - giving it a profile in the area.

The units would be aimed at firms in the in the Advanced Manufacturing and Engineering (AME) sector and are seen as important in increasing business along the A14 corridor between Felixstowe and Cambridge.

The report to cabinet says: "The intention is that the centre, once built, will be managed by a leading business support agency in the AME sector.

The managing partner will be instrumental in delivering high quality support and collaboration opportunities for businesses within and external to the facility.

"Phase two will only be built once the centre has been up and running and has a demonstrated need for additional units and will be the subject of a separate business case.

"Phase two will have the potential to increase the number of units on the site from approximately 16 to approximately 36. There is sufficient space on the site for the car parking provision to be increased in line with this expansion also."

West Suffolk Council's cabinet is set to discuss the propose development on Tuesday and is being recommended to go ahead with preparing the business case for the new development.