A councillor has said delays to a planned new 1,800 pupil school as part of a major Suffolk development could cause the cost of providing community facilities to rise and could lead to council tax increases.

An article by Martlesham Parish Council in the village's monthly magazine revealed the design of the new school to be built as part of the 2,000 home Brightwell Lakes development had 'fallen behind schedule' as work continued on the environmental aspects of the design.

However, the overrun has caused concern for parish councillor Mike Irwin, who feared that the extra time would mean that the value of developer contributions towards the cost of infrastructure would be reduced because of inflation.

READ MORE: Brightwell Lakes estate near BT in Martlesham launches

He said the shortfall between the contributions and the new cost of providing facilities such as the school, a community and medical centre and play areas may have to be made up by raising council tax.

He added: "The contributions that the developer has got to make were fixed five years ago and as things go on and it takes longer and longer to build homes there, that money is going to be less valuable."

In November, the EADT reported that the Brightwell Lakes estate had been launched with the opening of two show homes.

READ MORE: Councillors 'concerns' about 2,000 home Martlesham estate

The site is being developed in stages, with the first phase involving 122 two, three, four and five-bedroom homes aimed at young professionals and growing families.

The £100 million-plus project will also include a new convenience store, community centre, sports ground, open space, outdoor play areas, community orchards and a 1.5-acre employment area.

A Brightwell Lakes Forum has been set up involving represents of local councils to discuss the development, to the south and east of Adastral Park at Martlesham, where BT is based.

READ MORE: Martlesham news

The information about the delay to the school design was revealed at this forum meeting.

Mr Irwin said: "The design work is falling behind and the reason for that is that they are trying to include higher environmental standards for the school and that is good news, but the bad news is that it might cause a delay, which is regrettable.

"However, they should have thought about why the standards were not in place already. Why the high standards were not already in place and did not have to be revisited."

A Taylor Wimpey spokesperson said: “We can confirm that we are working closely with Suffolk County Council to ensure that our build programme aligns with the local needs for a school in the area.”

READ MORE: Suffolk news