We have recently heard that Suffolk County Council was UNSUCCESSFUL in its bid for funding for the by-pass from the Department of Transport. Councillor Andrew Reid has told us that they expect the application to be considered again in the next round in a few months’ time.  We are also told that SCC’s business case will be unchanged but will emphasize, as an additional argument,  the impact of “ nationally significant infrastructure projects” (NSIP’s) in the Coastal region, notably the sub-stations supporting the wind farms and continental connectors planned by Scottish Power and National Grid.

SCC continues not to respond to our correspondence so our lawyers have written to the council once again seeking further clarification, using Freedom of Information powers to obtain answers, and a response is awaited

Whilst the DfT decision is good news for our campaign, we do not know the timing of the next funding round. We are unsure whether SCC still wish to progress the 4 village by pass so we must remain vigilant and press to get our questions answered.

Thank you for your support for our campaign.  Further contributions will be welcome as our lawyers work to obtain answers, seek clarity and achieve resolution.

Thank you to everyone who has pledged and enabled us to achieve our initial target. The campaign remains live with a 'stretch' target of £25,000.

BPAG's lawyers have written to the Department for Transport (DfT) setting out our objections to SCC's case, We allege that their decision making was contrary to the council's constitution hence unlawful and that the business case is flawed in a number of significant ways including the failure to consider environmental harm. Our case is supported by considerable evidence from our lawyer and transport consultant. A copy was sent to SCC. A response is awaited from DfT but this will probably take several weeks.

County Councillor Christopher Hudson, who attended our public meeting on 10th March supports our action. He is "concerned and worried" about the issues we have raised and has asked the council's scrutiny committee to investigate urgently. 

Whilst we wait for responses, our lawyers will be evaluating possible next steps. We need cash to be able to press our case so please keep pledging on CrowdJustice.

More than 80 people attended a public meeting on 10^th March and heard that lawyers believe the manner in which Suffolk County Council prepared and submitted its case to the Department of Transport demonstrates very poor process, is outside the constitution of the council and possibly unlawful. An SCC councillor present at the meeting accepted these findings and will be asking SCC’s scrutiny and monitoring officers to investigate. We are also considering legal action.

BPAG ‘s lawyers and experts have prepared a substantial dossier to object to SCC’s business case together with  supporting environmental evidence and this will be submitted to the Department of Transport very soon.

We want to persuade SCC to have a transparent and public debate and permit a wide range of evidence and opinions to be submitted.  This should lead to a full council vote, in public, to decide on the proposal.  In the meantime we intend to demonstrate to the DfT that SCC’s application does not meet the national criteria for transport project funding and that it should be refused. At present this is the only way to stop this ill-conceived proposal from progressing.

Thank you for your support for our campaign. Specialist legal, environmental and transport advice is expensive. Please spread the word and continue to pledge or donate so that we can carry on our work to protect the Alde and Ore Valley landscapes.