Ipswich MP, Jack Abbott, bids to prevent Ipswich’s 'death knell' with letter to Prime Minister Keir Starmer
An MP has written to the Prime Minister in a bid to prevent a town's 'death knell'.
Jack Abbott, MP for Ipswich, has shared a letter addressed to Keir Starmer urging the country's leader to address traffic chaos caused by repeated Orwell Bridge closures.
He prompted the Prime Minister to designate the long-called-for Northern Bypass as national significant infrastructure, as well as deliver the required improvements to the Ely and Haughley rail junctions.
Mr Abbott said: "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."
Calls for a Norther Bypass are far from new, with initial plans for the new road being rejected by Suffolk County Council's cabinet in February 2020, after a consultation from the month before found more than two-thirds of respondents were against the project due to its potential impacts on the environment.
But, as it stands, even small issues with the bridge, Mr Abbott said, caused enormous disruption, for parents taking their children to school, residents getting to work, and HGVs getting to their destinations.
He pointed to the shipping and logistics company, Maersk, announcing it would leave the port of Felixstowe and move to London as a result of this neglect, suggesting further millions in investment could be driven out of the county.
Mr Abbott also warned the lifespan of the Orwell Bridge could be as short as 20 years as a result of structural issues.
He said: "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 without one at all."
"That would be the death knell for the regeneration of our town and cause untold, irreparable damage to our local regional, and national economy."
