On 23rd January, I wrote to the Prime Minister, asking him to recognise an Ipswich Northern Bypass as nationally significant infrastructure, and intervene to elevate this issue out of the local political quagmire.
This would allow the Government to break through the years-long inertia of local decisionmakers, who have blocked or delayed the construction of a viable alternative to the Orwell Bridge for far too many years.
In my letter, I highlighted the local, regional, and national significance of the Orwell Bridge and the A14, given their importance both to our town and to the Port of Felixstowe. It has been estimated that every time the Orwell Bridge closes, it costs our town alone an eye-watering £1 million a day.
I fully support the Prime Minister’s ambitious Plan for Change, which means that major infrastructure projects across the country will be built quicker, to boost our plans for economic growth, send a positive message to businesses looking to build, and deliver crucial projects for residents. I unequivocally believe a Northern Bypass would tick all of these boxes.
My letter to the Prime Minister said:
Dear Prime Minister,
I am writing to warmly welcome your government’s plan to turbocharge growth and opportunity by taking on interests which have, for too long, prevented the infrastructure places like Ipswich so desperately need to thrive from being built.
For years, we have faced local inertia when trying to find a deliverable solution to the repeated issues regarding the Orwell Bridge and the extended A14 road network. I believe we now need Government intervention to resolve this crisis which has local, regional, and national implications.
The Suffolk Chamber of Commerce has estimated that when the Orwell Bridge is closed, it costs our town £1 million every day. Tens of thousands of HGVs are funnelled through our medieval streets. The school run is thrown into chaos and people don’t even bother to try and go to work. Even a small incident can cause enormous disruption, with endless traffic queues becoming a regular sight in and around our town.
However, this isn’t just about the near daily pain of trying to navigate our local road network. This is also about the long-term prospects of our local and regional economy. For instance, Felixstowe, one of the world’s largest container ports, relies exclusively on the smooth operation of the A14. This is a port which holds national strategic importance yet is served by an antiquated transport network. The result? Firms like Maersk are now moving their operations to the London Gateway, shifting jobs, investment, and prestige away from our local area.
It is not hyperbole to suggest that the future of Felixstowe, Ipswich, and our wider economy – along with thousands of jobs and hundreds of millions of pounds in investment – depends on whether desperately needed infrastructure is delivered.
That means, alongside the Ely / Haughley junction upgrades, and the electrification of the line at Felixstowe, we need an alternative to the Orwell Bridge; namely, a Northern Bypass.
Regarding the Orwell Bridge, we are seeing more frequent structural issues which need to be resolved. Indeed, the Bridge’s lifespan is now envisaged to be considerably shorter than originally expected, perhaps even as short as 20 years. While it is already absurd that the Orwell Bridge is the sole bypass for our town, if we do not act soon, we may be left with without one at all. That would sound the death knell for the regeneration of our town and cause untold, irreparable damage to our local, regional, and national economy.
None of this information is new to anyone in our town or county. In fact, for the quarter of a century I have lived in Suffolk, this conversation has been repeating itself over and over again. It is absurd that our county town, and one of our country’s most significant ports, are totally reliant on a slowly expiring bridge, and repeatedly pay the price for its unreliability. The barriers this situation creates for our future growth is clear.
Yet, in those 25 years, there has not been an inch of movement towards a Northern Bypass, which is realistically the only workable, long-term alternative to this chaos.
For too long, we have been held to ransom by those who choose to pursue short-term political expediency rather than acting in the best long-term interests of our town and our county. We can’t just keep being told ‘no’ by people who have failed to offer serious, deliverable alternatives which are affordable, practical, and timely. They may think the easy decision is no decision, but failing to act is nothing other than a deliberate, damaging choice.
That is why, following on from your promise to drive economic growth by turbocharging much-needed infrastructure across the country, I am urging you to elevate this project out of the local political quagmire, and give it the attention it deserves by designating it as nationally significant infrastructure.
This is a project of local, regional, and national importance. It is a project on which the long-term future of our town and county hinges. We simply must act, or we will all pay a worsening price for years to come.
Yours sincerely,
Jack Abbott
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