Wind Turbine Proposed for the Port of Ipswich

Associated British Ports (ABP) has proposed erecting a commercial wind turbine on land at the Port of Ipswich opposite The Strand (planning reference DC/26/03279). This local commercial proposal follows other historical local turbine projects and massive offshore wind developments surrounding the Suffolk.

ABP's application (DC/26/03279) targets port-associated land opposite The Strand to integrate onsite renewable generation.

Please find links below for further information on the proposed project.

/assets/Wind-turbine/Presentation-August-2026-V6.pptx

/assets/Wind-turbine/ABP-Ipswich-wind-turbine-project-15-07-24.pdf

 

 


 

 

 

Parish Councillor’s Report for October

At Full Council on the 22nd September, the annual findings of the Overview & Scrutiny report were given and passed by council, it continues to provide essential information and service to Babergh and this was shown in a range of statistical findings such as 56 recommendations in all and 44 recommendations that were implemented across the spectrum, in 11 committee meetings there were 19 reports made and representatives included 6 out of 8 cabinet members, 29 Directors & Officers and 9 External Representatives.

Joint Audit & Standards Committee across both Mid Suffolk & Babergh also was presented and passed as was CIFCO which is used by Babergh’s Finance & Investments, the annual treasury  management report and CIL with it’s annual report on expenditure.

I asked in full council if CIL infrastructure could in any way help with floods with respect to our area, which seems to now be an annual occurrence. The answer I got back was that the finances could not support an ongoing issue which was disappointing, nevertheless there is rapid response already instilled by Babergh since flooding which was particularly bad in October 2024, meant resilient measures were used because they were needed.  However to be fully resilient in an ongoing future occurrence reliable funding will be required, there is no escaping from this fact.

The Suffolk Chamber of Commerce wrote it’s Embargoed Report which I think shows the importance of the Orwell Bridge to the Peninsula area, using the Broken Down economic impact of the A14 in Suffolk this survey comprised of 350 different firms.

The results of this survey I can share below:

 

EMBARGOED until 00:01 30th September 2026

Suffolk Chamber second A14 business survey “will provide vital evidence for transport resilience study”

Suffolk Chamber of Commerce is calling on the county’s whole business community to once again share their experiences of the A14 corridor from Felixstowe to the Cambridgeshire border – and the impact the congestion and delays along it are having on their profitability and growth plans.

The Chamber has launched its second Broken Down survey in time for the evidence to directly influence the options being looked at by Suffolk County Council as it pulls together a Pre-Strategic Outline Business Case to prompt the Government to directly fund much-needed improvements to the A14 and associated roads.

The 2024 report “Broken Down: the economic impact of the A14 in Suffolk” was based on the responses from over 350 local firms of all sizes and sectors and from across a broad range of market sectors.

The main findings were:

  • 87% have been negatively impacted by A14 disruptions over the previous 12 months.
  • 51% cited increased costs as a result of A14 disruption
  • 49% reported negative impacts on client retention and customer satisfaction.
  • 32% mentioned the impact of staff, including additional childcare costs and pressures on staff retention and recruitment
  • 81% felt the Orwell Bridge was the area of most significant disruption, followed by knock-on delays (46%) and Copdock Interchange (39%)
  • 81% are concerned about future capacity constraints on the Orwell Bridge and A14 corridor will impact their business
  • Of this 81%: 85% feel that, if there are no significant improvements in the next decade, their investment plans in Suffolk will be either considerably or moderately impacted and 83% feel that their job numbers in Suffolk will be negatively impacted

Many of the companies that responded shared specific details of the impact of Orwell Bridge closures and other delays along the route had on their bottom line. These ranged from several hundred pounds per delay to one company that estimated its annual loss was over £80k.

The Broken Down report outlined a programme of actions* that needed to be taken to address the negative impacts on business activity and confidence. Since then, Suffolk Chamber has used this evidence and policy platform – plus its well-established convening powers – to host two summits on the issues and lead on a number of research projects in collaboration with Freeport East, National Highways, Suffolk County Council and Transport East.

Paul Ager, chair of Suffolk Chamber’s Transport & Infrastructure Group, said: “I would urge all businesses that use the A14 in Suffolk, whether they are based here or not, to contribute to this vitally important piece of evidence-gathering. The A14 in Suffolk is Britain’s premier international gateway linking the North, the Midlands, London and the East of England to key international markets. Yet, it is bedevilled with congestion at various pinch points and a number of single points of failure, such as the Orwell Bridge, which costs businesses money and residents unnecessary hassle and stress.”

Paul Simon, head of public affairs at Suffolk Chamber, said: “The aim of this second Broken Down research is both refresh the evidence base and to re-concentrate the minds of key stakeholders to give priority to implementing short-term, medium-term and long-term solutions to these problems. We hope that it will provide evidence for Suffolk County Council’s transport resilience study. It will certainly act as a clear wake-up call to national and local policymakers to better understand the threat to Suffolk’s economy.”

The Broken Down 2 survey can be accessed here: Suffolk A14 Survey

 

ENDS

 

Notes to editors

 

A copy of Broken Down: the economic impact of the A14 in Suffolk can be found at www.suffolkchamber.co.uk

Suffolk Chamber’s asks arising from the 2024 Broken Down are:

  • Short-term:
    • Confirmed funding for upgrades to Ely and Haughley rail junctions to be announced in the Comprehensive Spending Review, as once completed, these projects will remove 98,000 lorry journeys per year from the local and regional roads system
    • Research to be commissioned to more precisely quantify aggregate costs per hour of delays on A14 to Suffolk (and national) economy
    • National Highways to invest in an automated messaging service to provide wider reach for accidents and closure alerts
    • Ipswich Borough and Suffolk County Councils to extend the remit of the Ipswich Transport Taskforce to cover the A14 and other roads outside of the Borough boundaries to investigate possible diversion routes for smaller commercial vehicles
  • Medium-term:
    • National Highways to start deploying its traffic officers to major A14 incidents in addition to Suffolk Police to improve implementation of diversions and traffic flow
    • National Highways to bring forward investment plans for the Copdock Interchange into the RIS3 period (2025-2030)
  • Long-term:
    • A Government Taskforce be established to investigate building additional capacity into the sub regional roads system in and out of Felixstowe as maintenance interventions to the Orwell Bridge increase as the structure nears the end of its expected lifespan

 

In Local Planning, the Government updated its guidance to the NPPF, which alters boundary settlements to be a lot looser by definition in and around these settlements. The ability of a District Councillor to call in an application in their ward from October will cease altogether.  This has understandably raised concerns because it breaks the democratic link between communities and developers to influence future planning decisions.

The Kingfisher Leisure Centre in Sudbury through safety concerns has meant no swimming can take place in the town, the age of the building itself being 40 years old is already above the national average of 38 years of total lifespan.

It is generally agreed that after numerous surveys done, repairs incrementally are not going to work anymore and that there will need to be a total rebuild.  The cost to this is going to be considerable, with estimations of £28 million, James Cartlidge has promised to lobby the government for this funding and so this is where things currently are.

It is devastating news to have to report the nearby death of a toddler in Brantham Noah Woods, my thoughts are directly with the parents at this time and Full Council rightly paid tribute as well with a minute’s silence.  It is a tragedy and requires answers which will be provided at the inquiry  currently happening.

Feel Good Suffolk is raising awareness of its Stoptober Campaign for smokers and has a unique partnership with ourselves as well as other District Councils and local integrated care boards. 

The campaign itself has now been running since 2012 and helped millions of people to quit smoking, for more details search the Babergh website for the Stoptober campaign and how much it has helped make a difference.

Finally, Babergh Housing has been recognised with an award by The Local Authority Building Control for competence and a commitment to drive up standards across the construction industry.

For a full list of awards go to www.babergh.gov.uk/w/award-recognition-for-councils-building-control-team%C2%A0.

 

Councillor Daniel Potter

Orwell Ward

Babergh District Council