Council chiefs have chosen a preferred bidder to help build nearly 3,000 new homes in Suffolk as part of a £700million project.

Suffolk County Council has agreed to join forces with Lovell Partnerships to form a property development alliance, a joint venture for housing-led developments to be built on council-owned land.

Lovell Partnerships were identified as the preferred bidder following a nine-month procurement process.

Contracts are expected to be concluded in the spring.

Five initial sites have already been identified at Lowestoft, Mildenhall, Bramford, West Row and Newmarket for around 2,800 homes plus new schools, employment land and open spaces

The proposed partnership includes an option for further sites in future should additional suitable council-owned land become surplus to requirements.

Lovell Partnerships, part of the Morgan Sindall Group, is participating in a number of joint ventures with councils across the UK to support similar projects.

The 50:50 partnership is intended to deliver around £700m of gross development value over the course of the proposed 15-year agreement, with the option to extend to a further five.

The partnership will benefit from working with other companies within the Morgan Sindall Group, as well as local suppliers, to enable it to deliver the works at pace.

Richard Smith, Suffolk County Council cabinet member for economic development, said: “The council is very pleased to be working in partnership with Lovell to deliver high quality and sustainable homes.

“This will help meet the needs of the people of Suffolk, provide much needed social housing and new community facilities and provide value for tax-payers.

“The partnership will also generate significant funds for the council over the long-term for strategic expenditure and investment.”

Steve Coleby, Lovell managing director, said, “Partnership working is at the heart of what we do and we share our partner’s ambitions for high quality new homes, climate resilience and maximising opportunities for local communities in the places we will be creating together.”

Simon Medler, regional managing director for Lovell in East Anglia, added: “Opportunities of this scale, that can bring so much local opportunity and benefit, are rare and our East Anglia regional team is proud we have been selected."