"What's the alternative?": Ipswich MP still in favour of controversial northern link road
Tom Hunt says he's still in favour of a new bypass to the north of Ipswich - despite plans being scrapped three years ago
Ipswich MP, Tom Hunt, says he is still in support of a ‘northern bypass’ to ease congestion in the town.
This comes after initial plans for the new road were rejected by Suffolk County Council’s cabinet in February 2020 due to lack of support.
Despite this, Mr Hunt, who held a Q&A session on his Facebook page, said his support ‘hasn’t changed’, but that the situation ‘is worse, not better’ since he first announced his support.
During the consultation period in January 2020, it was revealed that more than two-thirds of those who took part were against the project.
At the time, the disapproval prompted hundreds of protesters to march on the council’s main building, Endeavour House, arguing the road would have devastating impacts on the environment.
Today, since the power shifted to the Greens in Mid Suffolk during the May elections, Mr Hunt sees the plan’s revival as ‘incredibly unlikely’.
But he still believes the project is a viable option and continues to lobby the Government.
He said: “The reason we need a bypass is that we have more people living in the town than we have ever had before.
“I understand the green opposition, but what’s the alternative?”
Cllr Andrew Stringer, who leads the opposition group at the county level and sits as a cabinet member in Mid Suffolk, said there are several alternatives to ease congestion.
These would include, reducing traffic by promoting ‘sustainable means of transport’, and making sure houses are ‘built in the right place’.
He said: “None of this is rocket science, it has been done before.”
Although a similar project would face some opposition at the district level, Mr Hunt’s would also face resistance from his own party colleague, Dan Poulter, the MP for the area.
In 2019, Mr Poulter successfully led a petition, and even joined the protests, to stop the developments, saying there was no evidence the plans would be effective.