Green light for £50m development

An artist's impression of how the new centre would look

A £50m development planned for the centre of a Suffolk town has been given the go-ahead.

Ipswich Borough Council backed the scheme proposed by developers Turnstone for the site of the council's former Civic Centre headquarters on Wednesday.

The development will include retail and leisure complexes, 15,000 square metres of shopping space, and a restaurant.

The site in Civic Drive was sold after the borough council moved to its new headquarters in Russell Road.

The Turnstone development will also include a three-story building fronting Westgate Street and 11 new homes.

'A wonderful development'

It was approved at a meeting of the council's planning and development committee.

Councillor Russell Harsant, the committee's deputy chairman, said the scheme received widespread support from councillors.

He said: "This is a wonderful development, especially when it's taking place in such a terrible economic climate."

Mr Harsant said there were hopes a leading supermarket chain could be secured for the site to attract more shoppers to the town centre.