Residents in Great Barton can now have their say on a draft Development Brief that will bring homes and deliver on the community's ambitions for new facilities.

The draft Development Brief for The Triangle site off School Road, owned by Suffolk County Council and West Suffolk Council, has now gone out to public consultation until 23 December.

As well as delivering up to 191 new homes, the draft Development Brief also looks to achieve many of the community ambitions set out in the Great Barton Neighbourhood Plan adopted in June 2021. These include:

• A number of self-build homes

• Homes heated using renewable energy rather than fossil fuels

• At least 1.1 hectares of land for the expansion of the primary school

• A new drop off / pick up facility serving the primary school

• A multi-use games area (MUGA)


• Children’s play area

• Recreational open space.

It would also seek to meet the local housing with approximately 60 per cent of the properties provided as 2-3 bedroom homes. The mix of homes suggested in the draft Development Brief also includes bungalows, recognising the need for a mix of different types of housing to meet needs.

The development on the site would deliver 1.71 hectares of land for community use, slightly less than the two hectares outlined in the neighbourhood plan, while the draft Development Brief also sets out that land would be allocated for a community building that could be delivered by other funding in the future.

The community ambitions can only be delivered if the site if financially deliverable which is why the draft Development Brief instead suggests between 184 and 191 homes are built.

While it is recognised that the neighbourhood plan put forward on behalf of Great Barton Parish Council suggested a maximum of 150 homes on the site, the planning inspector, in deciding the plan, said a higher number of homes could come forward if it demonstrated as acceptable in a Development Brief.

Councillor Richard Smith, Cabinet Member for Economic Development, Transport Strategy and Waste at Suffolk County Council, said: "As the majority landowner of this site we want to see it put to the best possible use by bringing new homes and investment.

"The views of the public are important to us and will be incorporated wherever possible to ensure that we deliver what the community needs, so I would urge people to let us know their views and ideas through this consultation."