Ipswich council’s selfish attitude means Suffolk communities will suffer

Ipswich Borough Council’s selfish attitude means communities across Suffolk are going to be left at the mercy of energy and water project developers, Suffolk County Council has said.

On Friday 19 September, Suffolk’s six council leaders met with the police and crime commissioner (PCC) to consider a proposal to collectively invest public money in a project to help parish councils across Suffolk respond to and deal with multiple and uncoordinated nationally significant infrastructure projects (NSIPs) – like Sizewell C in the east, Sunnica solar farm in the west and the Norwich to Tilbury pylons that cut through Suffolk from north to south.

NSIPs are detailed and complex, meaning it’s often difficult for communities to engage with proposals and ensure local concerns are addresses through decision-making processes. This often requires access to technical expertise beyond the capability and capacity of residents and parish councils. Across Suffolk, there are around 20 NSIPs either proposed, submitted or approved.

The proposal put before leaders was to invest £80,000 in a programme to provide dedicated support to parish councils – which would boost the £30,000 already committed by the Suffolk Association of Local Councils (SALC). The support would include help to understand the process, deadlines and opportunities for dialogue with developers – as well as connect those communities with experts willing to do pro bono work in this area.

At the meeting, the leader of Ipswich Borough Council, Councillor Neil MacDonald, said he could not support the proposal because the county town does not have any parish councils and questioned whether SALC was the right organisation to host the additional resource. This is despite his council supporting a proposal to subsume 66 parishes into the new Greater Ipswich Council.

Investment decisions require unanimous support – so although all the other councils and the PCC supported it, the proposal was rejected.

Councillor Richard Rout, Suffolk County Council’s cabinet member for devolution, local government reform and NSIPs, said:

“If this isn’t a perfect demonstration of the need to scrap all of Suffolk’s councils and have one organisation that supports the whole of the county, I don’t know what is.

“This is exactly the kind of narrow-minded selfish approach that will hold Suffolk back if we end up with three councils not doing what is right for our county. If Ipswich Borough Council leaders seriously want to subsume 66 parishes into their expanded council border then they should try to understand organisations like SALC, and parish councils, that do vital work for residents.

“The Suffolk Public Sector Leaders Group has previously invested in both county-wide and local projects – including some that have benefited Ipswich specifically. Yet faced with the opportunity to act in the clear interests of the county, our borough council has turned its back.

“Ipswich’s MP recently signed a deal with Sizewell C to create 500 jobs for people in the town. Now when it comes to supporting the areas affected by this and other projects, political goodwill seems to have evaporated.

“Frankly this is an embarrassing and shortsighted position to take and I expect our colleagues in the district councils will be angry about the borough’s approach. This is exactly the kind of thing that will happen under a three-council model.”