Permission has been granted for a further 11 houses to be built at the site of a former fertilizer factory in Ipswich.

The extra homes are on top of part of an 85-home development on land off Sandyhill Lane.

The site which is in the Gainsborough area of the town were submitted to the council in December last year. The applicant, United Living, had requested permission to add a mix of two and three-bedroom houses to the site.

This is in addition to the permission granted by Ipswich Borough Council to build 85 homes on the former Norsk Hydro Ltd site in 2019. This scheme includes a mix of one-bedroom flats as well as two-, three- and four-bedroom houses.

Now, the council has given permission for the additional 11 homes to be built in Sandyhill Lane. The proposed development would provide private garden areas for each dwelling.

A decision on this application was initially delayed, due to Health and Safety Executive (HSE) constraints on the land, and questions over the toxic materials in the soil left behind by the fertilizer factory.

In a notice explaining its decision, the council said that the developer must take precautions in the event that contamination is found.

Before the development can take place, the council will receive a risk assessment which identifies all previous uses of the site, and the potential contaminants associated with those uses.

If contamination not previously identified is found during building words, the development must cease until the United Living has shared a “remediation strategy” with the council.

A long-term monitoring and maintenance plan regarding contamination, including a timetable of reports, will also be followed.