CONTROVERSIAL plans to sell off a historic house and a derelict part of a much-loved town centre park have been approved.

Dave Gooderham

CONTROVERSIAL plans to sell off a historic house and a derelict part of a much-loved town centre park have been approved.

Babergh District Council's strategy committee has approved plans to sell off parts of Belle Vue Park in Sudbury - including the 1780s house.

Derelict land on the council-owned site will be offered to the Hardwick House GP practice but has led to fears in the community about the future of the park.

Nick Ridley, chairman of the strategy committee, denied any accusations that the council had acted in an undemocratic or secretive manner and stressed that only a small part of the green space would be affected.

He said: “Only a line of shrubs between the old swimming pool site and the Belle Vue House site is likely to be included in any development - the rest will be left untouched and possibly receive some additional improvements to make them even more attractive to users.”

Mr Ridley said Babergh was initially approached by agents acting on behalf of Hardwick House and that the outline concept offered “significant benefits” to residents in the town.

In a separate development on the same site, Belle Vue House is expected to be offered in a land swap deal with developers McCarthy & Stone which plan to turn the area into retirement homes.

This would then free up land for a mixed development in Francis Road improving the “viability and vitality” of parts of the town centre.