ARCHAEOLOGISTS have been assessing the site where 600 homes could be controversially built.

An inspector agreed Babergh Council could alter its planning policy to allow for a one-off housing development in Brantham in January, with it being adopted at a council meeting in February.

It means 300 homes could be set to be built on greenfield land near the Wardle Storey industrial site in the village.

Landowner the St Francis Group said it needed millions of pounds generated by housing on the land to fund a further 300 homes on the industrial estate – the former home of plastics firm Wardle Storey, which shut six years ago.

This week archaeologists are set to dig around 15 to 20 of trenches across the site to allow for investigative work to take place. Each trench is expected to be 30m long.