Suffolk County Council, has submitted an Investment Zone expression of interest to Government based around sites which are already in existing local plans or have otherwise been identified for development. No new greenfield sites and no new sites adjacent to Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty have been brought forward.

Suffolk County Council worked in partnership with district and borough councils, landowners, the LEP, Chamber of Commerce and key local stakeholders to identify sites that meet the Government’s criteria. All the sites submitted in this bid are supported by Suffolk’s MPs.

The Government’s ambitions and criteria for Investment Zones are focused at accelerating planned growth.

Cllr Matthew Hicks, Leader of Suffolk County Council, said:

“Suffolk has significant potential to contribute to national and international economic growth, but we need to strike a balance between that and protecting and enhancing our environment. These considerations were uppermost in our minds as we developed our proposal."
The 12 sites, which will provide a mix of commercial and residential development, are:

• Western Gateway Cluster
• Suffolk Business Park
• West Mildenhall
• Haverhill town centre
• Ipswich Cluster
• Land adjacent to Copdock Interchange
• Eastern Gateway
• Europa Way
• Hadleigh Road
• Seven Hills
• Lowestoft Cluster
• Lowestoft Inner & Outer Harbour
• Sudbury Cluster
• Delphi Site
• Hamilton Road Quarter
• Chilton Woods

The Government has not given a date by which decisions on which of the many expressions of interest that have been submitted from councils across England, will be taken forward.