Ravenswood is a district within

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line r ...

, in the

district, in the county of

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include L ...

, England. It is sited on the old

Ipswich Airport Ipswich Airport was an airfield on the outskirts of Ipswich, Suffolk England. It was known as RAF Nacton when No. 3619 Fighter Control Unit of the Royal Auxiliary Air Force were based there. History The site of Ravens Wood was purchased by th ...

to the south-east of the town. The area has grown rapidly due to private housing development. The old airport building has been transformed into small flats, and part of the terminal has been redeveloped for commercial purposes. 1172 homes have been built on the site so far, with a few hundred more to be built in the coming years, along with a planned sports park. The estate is bound to the north by Nacton Road, bound to the west and south west by Gainsborough Sports Centre and the Orwell County Park. It is also bound to the south by the A14 and a disused airport access road.

Construction

The development was planned to be environmentally sensitive. Space for cars is limited, with traffic calming measures and frequent bus service links to the town centre. Mixed cycle paths and walkways are also a feature. Incorporated into the design of the buildings and sewers is a sustainable urban drainage system which allows rainfall to be returned to the environment without going through the sewerage system. A number of pieces of public art have been installed: "Formation" by

Rick Kirby Rick Kirby (born 1952) is an English sculptor born in Gillingham, Kent. He started his career as an art teacher, before quitting after sixteen years to focus on his work. Much of his work is figural, reflecting an interest in the human face a ...

at the entrance, designed to commemorate the areas links with aviation; "Handstanding" by

Martin Heron Martin Heron is a sculptor from Northern Ireland working with steel. He is a member of the Royal British Society of Sculptors and The London Group. His art is found outdoors in public places in Northern Ireland. His sculpture "For the Love of Em ...

near the school; "Green Wind 2" by

Diane Maclean Diane Maclean is a sculptor and environmental artist, she is a Fellow and council member of the Royal British Society of Sculptors. Maclean gained a Bachelor of Arts in Fine Art from the University of Hertfordshire, having previously gained a BA ...

as a focal point beyond the end of Downham Boulevard on the Tump; and "Propeller" by Harry Gray has been placed adjacent to the green. The estate was fully built by

Persimmon plc Persimmon plc is a British housebuilding company, headquartered in York, England. The company is named after a horse which won the 1896 Derby and St. Leger for the Prince of Wales (the future Edward VII). It is listed on the London Stock Exc ...

and

Bellway Bellway plc is a residential property developer and housebuilder based in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. History The company was founded in 1946 by ...

, as well as Charles Church to the South of the estate. 4 restaurants have also been constructed at the entrance of the estate. In Autumn 2019, a resident discovered an untapped fund for community projects from

, who built much of the housing on the estate, which totalled about £60000. Soon after Some of the fund was used to pave a dirt track from the edge of the estate to the country park near

The Tump ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in ...

on the nearby Brazier’s Wood . More recently, a new fencing project by

Ipswich Borough Council Ipswich Borough Council, founded in 1974 after the abolition of the County Borough of Ipswich, governs the non-metropolitan district of Ipswich in Suffolk. It is the second tier of a two-tier system, fulfilling functions such as refuse collectio ...

has closed off some of the nearby meadows to help safeguard Rare

Skylarks ''Skylarks'' is a 1936 British comedy film directed by Thornton Freeland and starring Jimmy Nervo, Teddy Knox and Nancy Burne.Low p.386 Nervo and Knox were a comic team, who became associated with the larger Crazy Gang grouping with whom they ...

from human activity and disturbance. The area is also a habitat for

Muntjac deer Muntjacs ( ), also known as the barking deer or rib-faced deer, (URL is Google Books) are small deer of the genus ''Muntiacus'' native to South Asia and Southeast Asia. Muntjacs are thought to have begun appearing 15–35 million years ago, ...

ladybirds Coccinellidae () is a widespread family of small beetles ranging in size from . They are commonly known as ladybugs in North America and ladybirds in Great Britain. Some entomologists prefer the names ladybird beetles or lady beetles as they ...

and

lizards Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most oceanic island chains. The group is paraphyletic since it excludes the snakes and Amphisbaenia a ...

due to the

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush ( Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes, like clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur natur ...

and

heathland A heath () is a shrubland habitat (ecology), habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great B ...

habitats being suitable for wildlife. At the end of 2019, plans for The Stephen Hawking Neurological Centre next to Bluebird lodge along the South of the estate. It has a planned capacity of 24 residents and will be a local centre for the charity running the site. As of December 2021, no construction has occurred yet, but it may begin in 2022. In March 2021, Ipswich Borough Council approved plans from

Handford Homes Handford is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Alick Handford (1869–1935), English cricketer *Clive Handford (born 1937), Anglican bishop *Frank Handford, English rugby union player *James Handford (1890–1948), English cricket ...

, a housing company owned by Ipswich Borough Council, for 96 new homes on areas U, V, and W. There is a lot of criticism about the plans, due to the high number of social homes in the same place, potentially breaking the 35:65 social to private home plan that made the estate successful and attractive for residents. Despite these criticisms, construction will begin in early 2022, and it will go ahead as planned.

Amenities

Ravenswood has a primary school with a good Ofsted rating, sports centre and an

NHS The National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK). Since 1948, they have been funded out of general taxation. There are three systems which are referred to using the " ...

independent care centre. A retirement home named after

Jamie Cann Jamie Charles Cann (28 June 1946 – 15 October 2001) was a British Labour Party politician who was the Leader of Ipswich Borough Council from 1979 to 1991, before being elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ipswich at the 1992 general ...

the MP for Ipswich who died in 2001 is also in the area. Behind the former airport terminal building, which has been converted into apartments, a small shopping centre has been built with one public house.

Orwell Country Park Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950), better known by his pen name George Orwell, was an English novelist, essayist, journalist, and critic. His work is characterised by lucid prose, social criticism, opposition to totalitari ...

is near to the area. The estate also features more care homes, known as Bluebird Lodge and Prince George care home. Patches of gym equipment have also been installed due to money received from a community fund in 2019.

References

External links

{{coord, 52.02943, N, 1.19543, E, type:city_region:GB_source:enwiki-osgb36(TM193416), display=title Ipswich Districts

Construction

Amenities

See also

References

External links