East Suffolk Council

Posted by on 11 October 2022 | Comments

A major council-owned development in Felixstowe has won a prestigious national award for its high-quality and innovative design. 

Deben Fields, also known as the Garrison Lane project, is a significant development on the site of the former Deben High School in Felixstowe. This four-hectare site, which is being developed by East Suffolk Council, will provide new leisure and community facilities and new private and affordable homes. 

Following a submission by architects TateHindle, the scheme was shortlisted in the national Housing Design Awards earlier this year and has now been chosen as the winner of the Project Award. 

The scheme comprises a highly sustainable new neighbourhood of 61 high-quality, innovative homes designed to achieve Passivhaus certification, including 41 affordable homes, and a range of community amenities.  

Cllr Richard Kerry, East Suffolk’s cabinet member for Housing said: “We would like to congratulate TateHindle on this national award, which recognises the excellence and innovation of the Deben Fields design. East Suffolk Council is committed to providing more high-quality sustainable homes to address growing housing demand within the district, as well as improving the health and wellbeing of our residents.”  

Mike Jamieson, Director of TateHindle said: "We were delighted to receive a Housing Design Award for Garrison Lane (Deben Fields). Working collaboratively with East Suffolk Council, we have designed a highly sustainable new neighbourhood that seeks to address the climate emergency, provides much needed new homes and leisure facilities for the area and improves health and wellbeing for residents and the wider community. We look forward to the next exciting chapter of the Council’s housing programme as work starts on site next year." 

The design repurposes the school sports field to create a new cricket pitch and pavilion edged with walking and cycling routes connecting the proposed development with Valley Walk Park – simultaneously preserving green space and providing active, edge-to-edge connectivity. 

The proposed homes have access to outside space and living spaces are 5% larger than prescribed standards to accommodate home working.  

The former school assembly hall is reimagined as a community hall, opening out onto a communal garden and allotment which, along with the new cricket pitch and leisure facilities, create opportunities for social interaction. 

As well as delivering energy-efficient homes, the construction process will be low carbon using durable, low maintenance materials. The homes will be highly insulated with triple glazing to lower running costs.  

The buildings also maximise natural light and solar gain and are futureproofed to allow for sustainable technologies, including heat pumps and air filtration. Solar panels will provide renewable energy to power common areas.  

Planning permission for Deben Fields was granted in 2021, and work is due to start in 2023. 

Information about the properties can be found at www.debenfields.co.uk