A row has erupted between Ipswich's MP and the county council over the issue of the Northern Bypass.
Jack Abbott MP has said that Ipswich and Suffolk need Suffolk County Council to "finally get a grip" after he was called out by councillor Chris Chambers, cabinet member for transport strategy, planning and waste, who stated Mr Abbott "should start by turning up" to council meetings.
In a column for this newspaper, Mr Chambers said the Conservative-led county council is "the only authority that has taken a serious look" at plans for an Ipswich Northern Bypass, which has long been seen as a solution to the town's traffic woes.
Mr Chambers also said Mr Abbott must speak with the Department for Transport over the issue, gain district council support and clarify the funding expectations for such a project.
In response, Mr Abbott said: "As is typical of Suffolk County Council, rather than engage with the substance of the issues that are affecting local people and businesses, they decide to try and make personal attacks to try and deflect from years of inaction.
"It is no secret that since being elected as Ipswich MP, I have been relentlessly looking to revive the Northern Bypass project as a long-term solution to the problems we face on the Orwell Bridge.
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"I understand that position won’t be universally popular, but I have to lead and act in the long-term interests of our town and our wider county, especially when jobs and investment connected to the Port of Felixstowe are on the line.
"As well as having a number of meetings with local stakeholders, I have also repeatedly met with government ministers and even raised the issue with the Prime Minister at PMQs. This is not a little road scheme; this is a major infrastructure project and it should be considered as such.
“Along with many other people and businesses, I have urged SCC to ditch their ‘do nothing’ approach which has caused so much damage to our area over so many years. It was frustrating that it took months of me having to raise this before SCC would even consider a Northern Bypass 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.
“Ultimately, if Mr Chambers 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 a Northern Bypass. At the moment, no one believes he or his administration is committed to the project.
“For my part, I will continue to fight to deliver this project. I will not accept this ‘do nothing’ approach any longer. Ipswich and Suffolk needs a Northern Bypass and it needs their County Council to finally get a grip, act decisively, and deliver the plans.”
Mr Abbott's response was assisted with a list of 85 links to various news stories and social media posts relating to the Northern Bypass, to counter what Mr Chambers had said previously.
In response to Jack’s claims, Mr Chambers said: "Another day, another empty headline from Jack, another day of not completing the simple tasks he was given in a meeting he called for but failed to turn up to."
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