Melton Parish Council is coming home after it agreed to spend £425,000 on a new base in the village.

At an extraordinary meeting on Wednesday night councillors voted unanimously to invest in a unit at the Riduna Park development.

The unit, one of 28 in the mixed-use development, is a two storey ‘mid-terrace’ building just metres from the lots owned by Suffolk Coastal District Council (SCDC) and comes with eight parking spaces.

The council propose to split the unit in half and will use the ground floor for themselves as an office and meeting room. The upper floor will be rented out to a business to help with the cost of the unit.

The decision had been provisionally agreed at the last full council meeting on June 27, but was subject to a number of provisions relating to the financing behind it.

The money will come from the Public Works Loan Board, a government body that provides loans to local authorities.

The parish council will be taking out a loan for the full £425,000 fee, which will then be paid over the next 35 years.

The council say repayments for the loan will be similar to the rent they currently pay for an office at Robertsons boatyard in Woodbridge - around £20,000 a year.

The parish council has been without a permanent home for much of its recent history.

In the last decade it has moved from The Lindos Centre to the old Melton Hill offices of SCDC, however the council is now eager to return to the village it serves.

“We are investing in the future of Melton,” said councillor Bryony Abbott.

“Moving back to Melton makes sense. It is a legacy we will leave behind.”

Alan Porter, chairman of Melton Parish Council, said it was now the time to move back to Melton and “be where we should be.”

“I am really chuffed we are strong enough to move forward and do this rather than stay renting,” he added.

“In the long run we will have a saving we can instead use for our community.”

The move is expected to take several months while finances and legal issues are resolved, and building work is completed at the site