Suffolk councillor aims to meet Ipswich MP for Orwell Bridge

Paul West, Conservative cabinet member for operational highways at the county council, has been asked to look at requests made by the Labour MP by council leader Matthew Hicks. 

The Orwell Bridge faced overnight closures on Tuesday and Wednesday last week as one of the joints was found to be in a "potentially unsafe condition".

Suffolk county councillor Paul West (Image: Archant) In the aftermath of these closures, Mr Abbott wrote to the county council leader requesting a stop to non-vital roadworks and the revival of the transportation taskforce for Ipswich.

In response to this, Mr West said: "In regards to the taskforce reconvening, I am happy to talk with Jack and I am not against that all.

"The only thing I would say in response is that it is a call for a group of people to meet, when what is required is more focused and specific actions and questions to be asked.

Ipswich MP Jack Abbott wrote to the county council leader Matthew Hicks (Image: Roger Harris/House of Commons) "I am more than happy to chat it through with Jack but a meeting is a meeting."

Last week, business leaders from across Suffolk said that collective action was required to end the "reputational embarrassment" caused by issues with the Orwell Bridge.

"Cooperative action is absolutely necessary but everything in the end comes down to money."  said Mr West. 

Jenny Riddell-Carpenter, the Labour MP for Suffolk Coastal, also spoke about the need for co-operation between different organisations to find a long-term solution to Ipswich's traffic troubles.

The UK's biggest port, Felixstowe is represented by Jenny Riddell-Carpenter of Suffolk Coastal (Image: Laurie Noble/House of Commons) She said: “Immediately following the closure of the Orwell Bridge, I had meetings with Highways England – and have continued to liaise directly with them as the works progressed, and following its reopening.

“All local MPs share a common aim of ensuring that the bridge can continue to operate safely, with any works having a minimal impact on road users.

“Cross-party working is therefore vital to ensure that we can deliver on the needs of the region. Reinstating the cross party taskforce is an obvious and sensible first step to working together to deliver on our shared aims.”

The Orwell Bridge is entering its fifth decade in operation (Image: Sonya Duncan) Conservative MP for Central Suffolk and North Ipswich Patrick Spencer was approached for comment. 

Mr Abbott previously said: “I will continue to push for the re-establishment of the Ipswich Transportation Taskforce to deal with this issue on a long-term basis. This has to be a cross-party, multi-agency priority - we cannot afford to keep kicking this can down the road.”

Originally a cross party initiative organised by previous Conservative MPs, Tom Hunt and Dan Poulter - alongside Ipswich Borough Council's former leader, Labour's David Ellesmere - the taskforce has not met in more than a year.

Former Conservative MP for Ipswich, Tom Hunt, was the former chair of the transportation taskforce (Image: House of Commons)

According Mr West, the county council only received updates with the most recent closures pf the Orwell Bridge through National Highways' social media accounts.

Mr West also said the council has reached out to National Highways to arrange a meeting to discuss issues with communication. 

He added: "That makes it difficult to plan. It would have been useful to know from National Highways how long things would take.

"It has been a bit like walking in the dark."