Residents have had the chance to question council officials about the future of the twin villages of Copdock and Washbrook just outside Ipswich.

Thursday evening’s meeting at the Copdock Cricket Pavilion gave local residents the chance to ask planning officials about the new Babergh and Mid Suffolk local plan that is currently being drawn up.

There are fears that if all the land that has been suggested for homes in the draft local plan is developed the character of the villages could change forever.

At present there are 464 homes in Copdock and Washbrook – but the total number on all the sites in the draft local plan is 623.

However officials from Babergh say it is extremely unlikely that so many homes would be built – the plan is at an early stage and amount of land earmarked for homes in the final document is likely to be much smaller than the current figure after local consultations.