Is Ipswich any closer to a Northern Bypass five years on?

But five years on from that vote, is the project any closer to being revived?

Although there is a large section of the town that has called for the Northern Bypass every time there are issues on the A14 or closures on the Orwell Bridge since 2020, real momentum began at the turn of the year. 

The discussions throughout 2019 saw protests from anti-Northern Bypass campaigners (Image: Archant) After days of traffic chaos on the A14 and A12 resulted in gridlock through Ipswich, Lowestoft MP Jess Asato fired the starting pistol by saying that now was "absolutely the right time for a Northern Bypass".

Fellow MPs responded to her call, with Ipswich MP Jack Abbott saying that all options should be considered - but Central Suffolk and North Ipswich MP Patrick Spencer argued that the Northern Bypass is absolutely not the right solution.

Following that, business leaders and some community leaders came out in favour of the project.

I.C.E. Transport's Mark Ling and Suffolk county councillor Sam Murray both support the Northern Bypass (Image: Newsquest) Suffolk County Council has not officially commented on the fresh calls for the project.

People living in villages to the north of Ipswich, where a Northern Bypass would cause the most disruption, tend to remain against the idea, with many of them citing the reasons that led to the project being shelved five years ago due to a lack of political support.

However, Mr Abbott has recently written to the Prime Minister Sir Kier Starmer calling for the Northern Bypass to "be taken out of the local political quagmire" and declared as nationally significant infrastructure.

Ipswich MP Jack Abbott, Central Suffolk and North Ipswich MP Patrick Spencer and Lowestoft MP Jess Asato (Image: Newsquest) Since then, Suffolk Chamber of Commerce has said that the bypass must be considered an option and Suffolk county councillor for Kesgrave Debbie McCallum has said that any solution can't "pit communities against each other."

Traffic chaos on the A14 at the start of the year reignited the Northern Bypass project (Image: A14 Traffic Cameras) The mood in Ipswich is seemingly overwhelmingly in favour of a bypass, while those outside Suffolk's county town tend to remain against. 

But the future of the Northern Bypass could lie in another contentious topic: devolution. 

With the future of the political make-up of Suffolk in the balance, any potential 'Greater Ipswich' authority could have the backing to get the project in the works.