Needham Market Mid Suffolk council offices to be sold

Mid Suffolk District Council has revealed funds raised from the sale of its offices in Needham Market's High Street will be reinvested into its ongoing regeneration scheme. 

The council has already delivered phase one of the scheme, creating 32 homes and a retail unit, which is home to Co-op. 

Marketing of the site is expected to start in the coming weeks (Image: Mid Suffolk District Council)

However, the development partner involved in the project has taken a step back ahead of the second phase. 

The second part of the scheme includes 48 open market homes, as well as the redevelopment of the Grade II-listed Hurstlea House into 12 apartments.

Mid Suffolk District Council’s cabinet member for housing and property Richard Winch said: “As a local authority, we are not in a position to take on the full burden of financial risk to complete this project alone – but we are confident that there will be commercial interest in this site and another party will come on board to deliver the scheme in line with current planning consent. 

Councillor Richard Winch (Image: BMDC)

“Receipts from the sale of the land can then be reinvested into projects which help us to improve the standards of our council housing across the district.”

Any new developer would be bound by existing planning conditions for the scheme, which includes the number of homes to be built on the site, agreed landscaping, and the retention and sympathetic conversion of Hurstlea House.

The council has already written to neighbouring residents and briefed town councillors, and is committed to keeping everyone fully informed, with marketing of the site expected to start over coming weeks.

Forty-one homes have already been built on the former site of Needham Market Middle School, which forms of the council's regeneration scheme.