JAMBUSTING proposals to cut down congestion on our roads are being announced by transport secretary Alistair Darling today – and the A12 Ipswich to London is on his agenda.

JAMBUSTING proposals to cut down congestion on our roads are being announced by transport secretary Alistair Darling today – and the A12 Ipswich to London is on his agenda.

However, the news of possible improvements to the Ipswich-London link road is not going quite far enough in to the region according to a Suffolk business organisation, which says Lowestoft is being left out of the equation.

Chief executive of the Ipswich and Suffolk Chamber of Commerce, Bob Feltwell told The Evening Star today that however much they welcome any improvement to the city link from Ipswich it leaves Lowestoft out on a limb.

"The Suffolk business community wants to see improvements to the road but not just from Ipswich.

"We have a strong Lowestoft and Waveney chamber which has made it quite clear their area is not being best served by the road.

"Great improvements are needed on the A12 to Lowestoft and we will be asking for a study to include this important town and area," he added.

The multi-billion pound road-widening programme has been welcomed by the haulage industry but met with horror by green groups who fear for the future of beauty spots.

Geoff Dossetter, of the Freight Transport Association, said: "We welcome this package of road improvements.

"We believe that the UK deserves a roads infrastructure appropriate to the operation of the fourth largest economy in the world."

But The Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) said: "The roads announcement threatens large areas of countryside, including the proposed South Downs National Park."

Mr Darling was also expected to outline proposals for eventually introducing road charging throughout England.

As well as the decision on the M25, Mr Darling was expected to announce widening schemes for a number of other motorways, including the M1, the M18 and the M62.

He was making decisions on recommendations from a number of transport studies that have examined the case for road-building and other transport improvements in various areas of England.