Rushmere St Andrew residents living next to Ipswich Town’s facilities in Playford Road have reached breaking point due to the impact of the site being redeveloped.
This follows Rushmere St Andrew Parish Council writing formal letters of complaint to the club and East Suffolk Council due to floodlight, parking and construction issues raised by the community.
Mr Hendry’s garden now consists of views of the new first team building and Kieran McKenna’s ‘buggy shed’ (Image: Contributed)
Homeowners living in The Mills, which is located next to the main entrance to the training ground, have spoken of several upsetting issues they have faced daily.
Laurence Hendry – whose home in The Mills backs onto the club’s site – claimed that his home has physically trembled during construction work with large vehicles moving on caterpillar tracks.
He also raised issues with the number of cars parking in The Mills, claiming more than 17 cars regularly park on the cul-de-sac during evenings.
Another neighbour claimed that the large volume of cars stems from the women’s team training in the evenings which is compounded by existing car parks being closed for redevelopment.
Homeowners of The Mills state up to 17 cars have filled the road and members have been seen urinating by the trees (Image: Contributed)
Last year, Ipswich Town were given planning permission to redevelopment their Playford Road site including the creation of a state-of-the-art first team building.
The redevelopment also includes the extension and refurbishment for the academy and women’s teams as well as the redevelopment of the car parks.
Chairman Mark Ashton recently told this paper that the redevelopment of the training ground will be complete in June – which residents told us gives them some ability to ‘grin and bear’ the parking issues until then.
Homeowners have stated that their houses are ‘illuminated’ by floodlights (Image: Contributed)
Mr Hendry alongside other locals also claim to have spotted club members urinating in The Mills at the side of the pavement.
Mr Hendry wrote a formal objection when the redevelopment plans were announced with the new first team building located in close proximity to his home.
Previously, his garden view was of a row of conifer trees that separated him from the training ground.
However, those have now been removed, leaving him and his wife with views of the new first team building as well as a shed for Town manager Kieran McKenna to ‘store his golf buggy’, Mr Hendry claimed.
Elsewhere, homeowners living on the northern side of the training ground in Eaton Place have claimed recent work to cut down large trees on the site’s border have caused havoc.
The row of trees that previously separated the northern boundary and Eaton Place (Image: Contributed)
Tens of large trees previously separated the club’s facilities and Eaton Place homeowners but after they were felled, those homes are now ‘illuminated’ by floodlights.
The club have told us that they regularly take readings for the level of light produced and they fall under the allotted amount.
Those living in Eaton Place told us that the floodlights have recently not been turned off until past 11pm and also raised issues with the level of HGV activity.
Eaton Place – a private road – has seen more than 60 HGVs use the road a day since construction work began and residents claimed that work regularly begins earlier than the permitted 7am starts.
Residents said that ever since the homes were built – more than 10 years ago – the club and themselves have lived in ‘perfect harmony’.
The community reiterated that they want to see the club thrive and be a big success as it helps the town but the recent ongoings have caused too much disruption to their daily lives.
Rushmere St Andrew Parish Council held an emergency meeting and called for ‘urgent action’ from the club, East Suffolk Council and Suffolk County Council stating the issues are ‘affecting the quality of life’ for residents.
East Suffolk Council previously stated that they are aware of the concerns raised by the homeowners and parish council.
Floodlights from the goalkeeper’s area have been switched off recently and are due to be replaced (Image: Contributed)
An Ipswich Town Football Club spokesperson stated that the club were given relevant planning permission for all of the work they have carried out, while measures have been taken to limit the impact on residents, including the creation of a new car parking area on the Bent Lane side of the site.