A market town is set for a more than £900,000 investment in its education and health services, thanks to a major new housing development.

Hopkins Homes is set to provide the money for Needham Market’s primary school and pre-school provision as well as its GP practice in response to its plan to build 266 new homes at the town’s former chalk quarry.

Suffolk County Council, which is responsible for education, has asked for more than £840,000 for primary school spaces and pre-school places.

In its letter, the council says there is spare capacity at Stowmarket High School for secondary school-aged children but there is “no surplus places” at Needham’s Bosmere Primary School.

The NHS has asked for £91,000 to expand Needham Market Country Practice, which currently has spare capacity for an extra 242 patients. The money is needed as the homes development would see more than 600 people added to the town’s population.

In a statement, a Hopkins Homes spokeswoman said the figures had been agreed in pre-application discussions.

She said: “Hopkins Homes has engaged in extensive pre-application local consultation and discussion with the local planning authority to deliver an innovative and unique development to Needham Market providing an exciting collection of new homes; a significant factor concerned S106 obligations.

“We have undertaken an in-depth analysis of what the proposed development could sustain, given the extensive and exceptional costs that this particular project is liable to incur, in order to specifically avoid any such reassessment later.

“It was agreed with the authority that a contribution would be made towards education and community-related matters, which include health, and can confirm that these figures correspond with those discussions.”