Anglian Water had originally challenged proposals to connect the planned Beccles and Worlingham Garden Neighbourhood to the existing drainage network, warning the wastewater system could be overwhelmed without upgrades.

But in an updated response submitted to planners at East Suffolk Council, the water company has now removed its objection while recommending that conditions are attached to any approval.

The updated document said: "We note that this site is supported by the council, allocated within the Neighbourhood Plan, and identified as an important contributor to meeting long term housing need.

Anglian Water has now asked for conditions to be attached to any approval for the land north of the A145 earmarked for development (Image: Google Maps)

"Given the scale of the proposal, we fully appreciate that the build-out will occur over an extended period with phased connection.

"Anglian Water is therefore supportive of the principle of development at this location."

The company has set out two recommended conditions.

The first is that no homes can be occupied until the developer has confirmed with the Local Planning Authority that enough wastewater treatment capacity exists for that phase of the scheme.

The second requires a detailed foul water disposal plan for each phase to be agreed by the planning authority in consultation with Anglian Water before any construction begins.

The east parcel includes a school, retail space, and a retirement community (Image: Bidwells)

Anglian Water's Pre-Development Team had initially warned that the Worlingham-Ashtree Water Recycling Centre did not have the capacity to cope with additional flows from the 720-home project.

However, the updated response now says the centre "currently has adequate capacity to support the early phases of the development".

Documents submitted as part of the planning application had said: "Anglian Water have advised that Worlingham-Ashtree MRC is within the acceptance parameters and can accommodate the flows from the proposed development."

The 720-home scheme forms part of a wider proposal for around 1,250 homes across land to the south of Beccles and southwest of Worlingham.

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