The row over a Northern Bypass for Ipswich is continuing, with little progress being made a year on.
Jack Abbott the MP for Ipswich, who has long been a supporter of the Northern Bypass, said that he will meet with the road minister later this month to discuss plans for the long-discussed infrastructure project and that he would work with Suffolk County Council.
This month marks a year since Lowestoft MP Jess Asato reignited calls for the Northern Bypass, amid traffic choas on the A14.
Those calls only grew louder over the summer, when works to the Orwell Bridge caused gridlock in the region, with Suffolk County Council backing the bypass or an alternative solution.
However, six months on from that decision, a row has continued between Suffolk County Council, specifically the cabinet member for transport strategy Chris Chambers and Mr Abbott over the lack of progress.
Mr Chambers has said that Mr Abbott failed to attend a meeting with stakeholders and that there were still questions to be answered by the Government.
Meanwhile Mr Abbott has said that the meeting was not an official meeting and that he was not aware of any letter to himself or the government showing that the county council were not serious about the Northern Bypass project.
Mr Abbot said on BBC Radio Suffolk "This has to be the year of the Northern Bypass" in an interview on Monday morning.
He previously told this newspaper "It was frustrating that it took months of me having to raise this before Suffolk County Council would even consider the project again, but finally it looked like we had some sort of breakthrough this summer.
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"It is, therefore, disappointing to see such little progress, and instead see the continuation of such an unserious attitude. It is something I warned strongly about the recent Suffolk Convention: if we don't start seeing some consistency, proactivity and professionalism, we will keep being disappointed.
"Ultimately, if the cabinet member for transport strategy doesn’t feel he has the strength or the ability to advance this project, and needs my help to do so, he needs to be honest about that, and engage constructively with a genuine desire to finally deliver an Ipswich Northern Bypass. At the moment, no one believes he or his administration is committed to the project."
Responding to Mr Abbott, Chris Chambers, Suffolk County Council cabinet member for transport strategy, said that a meeting was organised by Suffolk Chamber of Commerce in October involving political leaders, senior policy advisers, and key stakeholders to discuss how to work collaboratively and identify solutions for investigation and funding around capacity and resilience issues on the A14 and Orwell Bridge.
"Mr Abbott did not attend this event, for which as MP for Ipswich his input would have been welcome," Councillor Chambers added.
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"Mr Abbott needs to truly understand and articulate to the Government that Suffolk County Council requires specific answers over future housing requirements, levels of future Government funding and how much the council would need to contribute before it can start to assemble proposals for any future northern bypass - all of which was discussed at that October meeting.
"It should also be remembered that the A14 is a trunk road managed by the Highways Agency and as such it requires a national solution, it is not the sole responsibility of Suffolk County Council to come up with answers over its future resilience."
What is the Northern Bypass and why is it so controversial?
Since the start of last year, calls for a relief road to the north of Ipswich or Northern Bypass intensified after weeks of traffic.
These calls only grew in the summer when National Highways announced weeks of closures to the Orwell Bridge, the only link between the A14 and A12 that doesn't flow through Ipswich.
Plans for the road were last seriously discussed in 2019 before being abandoned in February 2020 after losing political support.
Any road to the north of Ipswich would cause disruption to villages in the area who oppose the idea on environmental, traffic, health and concerns over property values.
Those in favour of the Northern Bypass argue that the road should have been built decades ago and is essential to keep jobs in Ipswich and the Port of Felixstowe.
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