Plans for 61 new retirement living apartments in Stowmarket have been scrapped.

Churchill Retirement Living's plans - submitted to Mid Suffolk District Council earlier this year - would have been built on a site in Prentice Road.

The plans also included four cottages, alongside communal facilities, vehicular access, car parking and landscaping.

A spokesperson for Churchill Retirement Living said: “Following further meetings with the council regarding our proposals, a decision has been made to withdraw the current application and cease our interest in the land.

"Churchill Retirement Living will continue to look for a suitable site to deliver much-needed retirement housing in Stowmarket.”

The developers say there is a local need for this type of home - with the number of retirees in Stowmarket expected to increase by 30% in the next seven years.

The news of the plans being scrapped comes just weeks after Churchill was unable to secure planning permission for a similar, controversial project in Sudbury.