Council buys former care home site in Eye for redevelopment

Mid Suffolk District Council has bought a former care home site in Eye which they say they will redevelop to provide “much needed” new housing.

The site, comprising Paddock House and former Day Care Centre in Wellington Road, includes a 30 bed redundant care home and a detached three bedroom bungalow in the grounds.

Mid Suffolk has purchased the site from Suffolk County Council and says this acquisition, as well as others in Stowmarket, and the former Middle School site in Needham Market last year, outlines their “determination”to invest in its market towns.

It added it hoped to provide new homes to meet the needs of local people, with the construction phase bringing in more jobs to the area and boost businesses with increased footfall.

A spokesperson said: “Work to appoint development partners for these sites will begin this summer and any proposals which are drawn up will be subject to a public consultation through the usual planning processes. It is hoped that work on both sites will start next summer.”

Cllr Nick Gowrley, Leader of Mid Suffolk District Council and Portfolio Holder for Assets and Investment said: “We are extremely pleased we’ve been successful in buying two more disused sites from Suffolk County Council.

“We now have prime residential locations in our three market towns across the district and this is significant because it means we can begin work to turn these redundant sites into places to live for local people.

“However, this is not just about meeting the demand for new homes; we firmly believe this sort of investment is crucial in helping to ensure our market towns continue to be sustainable and are able to flourish.”