Community leaders will discuss proposals to sell off more land at the Eastern Gateway business park on the outskirts of Ipswich.

Ipswich Borough Council's executive committee will meet next Tuesday to consider plans to dispose of two further acres at the site, just off junction 54 of the A14 near Sproughton.

If approved and a sale is finalised for plot 9 at Eastern Gateway, it will mean almost 70% of the developable space will have been sold to the private market.

Council leader Neil MacDonald is welcoming a sale of further land and believes the progress of the Eastern Gateway project is "a vote of confidence in Ipswich".

Ipswich Borough Council bought the site, which was the former home of a sugar beet factory, back in December 2014.

The site has been built out in stages, with firms like Amazon and La Doria already having a presence there.

Ipswich Star: Ipswich council leader Neil MacDonaldIpswich council leader Neil MacDonald (Image: Newsquest)

A 20-acre plot of land at the site is set to be sold next year, it has also emerged.

Eastern Gateway is about six miles from the Port of Ipswich, 17 miles from Felixstowe and 30 miles from Harwich – making it a key site for logistics firms.

The council's agenda added: "The sale will be subject to the purchaser securing planning consent and completing site due diligence, and the council delivering the plot to an agreed specification together with the completion of the required utilities to service the site.

"If the sale proceeds, 69.8% of the developable land at Eastern Gateway will have been sold, leaving 18.95 acres for future disposal.

"The sale is expected to complete in the second half of 2024 and become operational 12 months later.

"The purchaser estimates that between 30 to 50 full-time equivalent new jobs will be created by its development on the plot."

The identity of the proposed buyer was not revealed in the agenda.

Mr MacDonald said the authority was happy with the progress of plots being sold at Eastern Gateway.

He said: "The council took over a derelict site and brought it back to life. The key focus was on jobs creation for the people of Ipswich.

"I think we're pleased with how it is going – we will be even happier when we see the 20-acre site sold.

"It shows that it's a vote of confidence in Ipswich."