More than 50 new homes are to be built near Lavenham in Suffolk.

Suffolk County Council is planning to develop 51 'affordable' houses on a 4.5-acre site owned as part of its County Farms estate in Cockfield village.

The council said by taking the lead on this project, it cane ensure the development delivers the proposed benefits for the local community including provision for community space, powers to adapt local speed limits as required and improvements to local footpaths.

Plans include developing;

• 12 affordable rented homes for local people

• six affordable shared ownership homes

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• five homes specifically for first time buyers

• five bungalows for local residents who wish to downsize

• 14 houses to be sold on the open market

• Nine self-build plots (five of which are primarily aimed at providing affordable homes for local people)

Cllr Richard Smith said: "We want to make the most of the local assets we have as an authority and work with experienced partners to deliver the homes and services our communities need in years to come.

"We take a dynamic approach to finding ways to meet the continuing financial challenges we face as a council and this project will result in financial returns that can be used to support the frontline services we continue to deliver to local residents. I am very pleased that there is consensus to proceed with this development in Cockfield.

"We are a largely rural county and we want to see local rural communities thrive. We are treating this as a pilot project and as we move forward with this work, we may find other sites that offer similar potential opportunities to deliver the housing that’s needed as our population continues to grow in the future."

(LM/MH)