Great Wilsey Park is located to the north-east of Haverhill, in Suffolk, in an area identified by the local planning authority, St Edmundsbury Council, as an opportunity to build much-needed housing.
This development will deliver essential local amenities for the community, including a day nursery, two primary schools, a health centre, community centre, local shops, small-scale office spaces, and a care home.
The design of Great Wilsey Park places a strong emphasis on nature and the environment. The development will feature woodland trails, accessible parklands, ecologically diverse habitats, and community allotments, ensuring that the site’s history and setting are honoured and preserved.
Once complete, the development will offer more than 2,500 homes.
Construction began in November 2020 under challenging conditions, following the wettest October on record. Despite these tricky conditions, to date MACL has successfully delivered 79 units within the ‘A1 parcel’ and is nearing completion of an additional 108 units on the ‘A8 parcel’.
In August 2024, MACL was awarded the next stage of the development, which includes the delivery of 42 more homes (Phase 2a) and the construction of 860 metres of new spine road, complete with associated footpaths, cycleways, utility services, and lighting. The area developed by MACL now spans an impressive 35+ acres.
To facilitate these works, MACL undertook a large-scale ‘cut and fill’ earthworks exercise, moving approximately 30,000m³ of soil on-site. This approach eliminated the need for off-site disposal, significantly reducing environmental impact and minimising lorry traffic on local roads.
Like the previously secured phases, the groundworks on Phase 2a involved traditional trench fill foundations, substructure brickwork including laying of facing brickwork and suspended insulated floors, and external works such as block paved and tarmac drives, slabbed footpaths and informal Breedon gravel paths.
Sustainability is at the heart of this development, particularly in surface water management. Surface water is returned to the existing open ditches through a carefully controlled system. To achieve this, five large, interconnected flood alleviation basins have been constructed. These basins store excess water during heavy rainfall and release it at a controlled rate, ensuring the ditch network can manage the flow without becoming overwhelmed or causing local flooding.
James Burrows, Site Manager, along with Darrell Kettley, oversee the construction of Phase 2a housing. Meanwhile, Sean Clerkin manages the infrastructure link and flood alleviation works.
- 229 units awarded
3,805m of carriageway awarded
