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Orwell Bridge & Copdock Interchange
The Orwell Bridge and Copdock Interchange are two of the worst pinch points in the region’s road network. Closure of the Orwell Bridge creates gridlock in parishes over a wide area.
BAPTC has been campaigning for the introduction of more sensible restrictions and a working group met with County Council representatives in February 2019.
Highways England is finally about to install a new variable speed limit system designed to reduce closures. The bridge will still close if winds rise about 60 mph but it will stay open at lower speeds provided motorists drop their speed to no more than 40 mph.
BAPTC is also concerned about jams at the Copdock Interchange and will lobby for improvement to this junction.
Does 'Housing Need' need a rethink?
Babergh's housing allocation & housing need numbers, captured in the emerging BMSDC JLP, have gained a fair amount of criticism from various quarters. Some parishes are overwhelmed and other parishes remain untouched. How certain can we be that these are correct and fairly allocated?
Not very, according to a recent ruling from the Planning Inspectorate - Hopkins Homes put in a planning application for 49 homes in Sproughton. This was rejected twice by the Planning Committee. Hopkins appealed - the appeal was dismissed on heritage impact grounds but also a comment that the Inspector could see insufficient evidence of housing need. The Housing Needs Assessment certainly does not reflect the impact of Brexit or the Covid-19 pandemic as it was compiled prior to these two events - maybe a rethink is necessary?
More Pylons
Parishes from Sproughton to Bures St Mary have been notified of the return of the National Grid consultation for a new transmission line.
After spending four years insisting the new line was essential and urgently needed, National Grid withdrew their previous consultation at the end of 2013. Campaign groups claimed from the outset that National Grid’s proposal was untimely and that there are better alternatives, including undergrounding and setting up a type of offshore grid.
With a massive increase in offshore wind power the situation is now more complex but there are still several alternatives to the anticipated proposal from National Grid. There are also new threats, including extensive solar panel arrays covering hundreds of acres around the Bramford sub station and the potential for addition lines of pylons from north to south.
The coalition of groups fighting these proposals are represented on BAPTC and will work with member parishes to keep them up to speed on the latest developments.
Contact BAPTC
For more information about BAPTC please see the website, where you can also register to join the association. Alternatively please contact Helen Davies