The completely ‘unspoiled’ UK village that property developers have their eyes on

Tucked away in a sleepy Suffolk valley, Higham is home to just 155 residents. But soon, that number could skyrocket under new plans.

At a local council meeting held in July 2026, development company, Pigeon, were asked by West Suffolk Council to come up with plans for new-build homes in Higham. The brief? ‘Large-scale’.

Due to requirements set by the Government, the council is required to provide 1,100 new homes per year to meet demand. This means either adding to larger villages or building entirely new ones.

The minutes from the meeting reveal that Higham, just west of Bury St Edmunds, is the village chosen, thanks to its ‘strategic’ location on the A14, halfway between Bury St Edmunds and Newmarket. It’s also just over 20 miles from Cambridge.

At the moment, most of the houses here are the very cottages one might expect to see in a chocolate box village.

There are wooden beams, exterior walls packed with local stones, and big gravel driveways, backed by miles and miles of green countryside.

In December 2025, a one-bedroom terraced cottage sold for £200,000, while in October, a four-bedroom detached home went for £647,500.

While Pigeon’s plans are still in the very early stages, similar developments pencilled in for the West Suffolk area, including Stonemill Park and Westmill Place, show homes with shiny wooden fronts, great big garages, and neat rectangular gardens.

A stark contrast to Higham’s existing family homes, many of which date back centuries and attest to the area’s Anglo-Saxon roots.

‘The valley is completely unspoilt’

Bin Johnston is 66, and until moving last year, he’d lived in Higham for 36 years.

Every morning, he walked around the ‘beautiful’ countryside. He tells Metro: ‘The views from Upper Green across to Ely Cathedral 16 miles away on the horizon, are stunning, and the valley is completely unspoilt without any pylons.’

Like many locals, Bin opposes Pigeon’s plans. ‘The development completely surrounds the current housing and completely obliterates the current high hamlet character,’ he says.

If the plans were to come to fruition, residents feel that Higham’s unique character would be lost in an instant.

Bin believes there are other, more suitable locations, and while he understands housing is needed, he doesn’t think it needs to come ‘at the expense of these pockets of rural beauty.’

According to the developer, though, these homes are needed.

A spokesperson for Pigeon told the BBC: ‘In partnership with the Higham Estate, Pigeon has submitted proposals for a sustainable new community as part of West Suffolk’s call for sites process.

‘One of the first steps in the review of the district’s local plan to meet the significant growth mandated by the government.’

Rebecca Turner, meanwhile, was born in the village and still lives in the area. She was christened at Higham Church in the 1980s, and in 2015, she recreated history and had her daughter’s ceremony there, too.

She reflects: ‘The vicar showed us notes in the book from our christening, and it was only one or two pages away from my daughter’s.

‘My dad used to walk up to the pub in Higham, when there was one, and all the kids here would walk up to the post office to buy sweets.

‘The thought of this village being built on like this is heartbreaking for me.’

Meanwhile, Petula Stone says Higham simply doesn’t have the infrastructure to deal with such an influx of people.

‘It’s not appropriate for many reasons,’ she says, citing electricity and water. ‘Not to mention the A14, which is working beyond capacity now.

‘In an increasingly busy and built-up West Suffolk, it would be a travesty for this proposed development to go ahead.

‘Once the countryside is gone, it’s gone forever.’

Metro has contacted Pigeon for comment.

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