Plans for building 11 new homes in a village on the outskirts of Ipswich and near the A14 have been rejected by the district council.

The plans for 11 properties, including four affordable homes and one commercial unit, in Bramford were refused by Mid Suffolk District Council on Tuesday, March 26.

The homes would have been a mixture of two, three, four, and five bedroom homes on the site of the former Bypass Nurseries garden nursery, block paving company and home, on the road into the village. 

The existing home and business premises were to be retained but the former nursery demolished had the plans been approved.

The plans were refused on the grounds that there was no evidence to show the development was informed by a needs assessment, and the development would not lead to an integrated development or create good quality affordable housing.

There were also concerns that the applicant, MCC Developments, did not demonstrate how surface water would be disposed of, and that the lack of footpaths and crossings in the plans would make access to Ipswich more difficult for pedestrians.

An application was originally lodged with the council for 20 homes on the site, which was approved in 2017 but the plans never went ahead and the permission for that scheme expired.

At the end of 2021 a new plan for 29 homes on the site was submitted to the local authority - but this never approved.

The new proposal for seven large homes, four affordable homes and a new commercial building was submitted last year.

After months of discussions with planners, the application was re-submitted at the end of last year but was opposed by Bramford Parish Council for several reasons, including that recent applications for housing developments are removing the green spaces that separate the village from Ipswich, meaning Bramford is "losing its identity".