Do Ipswich Tories really want new homes built?

Tory bloggers have been very quick today to pick up on the interview our local paper did with departing Tory councillor for Rushmere, Judy Terry.

In her interview she was very critical of our Labour administration and blamed us for the lack of house building over the last few years. What will not surprise many Rushmere and Ipswich residents is that she left our some very important details.

Only one councillor spoke against the housing development planned for the St Clement’s site at the Ipswich Planning committee. That councillor was Alan Murray the Tory County Councillor for Bixley and a SCC Cabinet member.
Only one councillor suggested that IBC purchase the St Clement’s site – but not for much needed housing, but to turn it into a park. That councillor was John Carnell, the Tory Borough councillor for Bixley.

Cllr Terry also failed to mention that the development of the Colchester Rd Fire Station site almost fell through after Tory run SCC dramatically raised their 106 funding requirements from the original amount quoted in the pre-development brief. Some may have found it strange that Cllr Terry was involved in the planning committee for that development when the sale of the site (with the money going to SCC of which she was a Cabinet member) depended on planning permission being gained.

Now we do know that Judy Terry does suffer from memory lapses, she did forget she had written an ‘Ipswich Flyer’ column when she was quoted from it at Full Council and then her most famous memory lapse came when she forgot/denied she had taken her fellow Tory Cabinet member, Colin Noble to see the prefabs in Inverness Rd. Of course that is when she was more interested tearing down people’s homes and replacing with a care home and housing.

So now we have Judy Terry – the Tory who wants more houses built and last year when she was up for election she was Judy Terry – the Tory who wanted to hold a referendum on the Northern Fringe development (paid for by council money).
So where do the Ipswich Tories (and Lib Dems for that matter) stand on the Northern Fringe development – maybe Cllr Cenci – their deputy leader can answer that?

Their Tory MP seems to be concerned that the housing will not be of a high standard of design (not that he seems that concerned about the design of the new Chantry High School)

So if Ipswich Tories are so concerned about the lack of housing being built in the town, come out with a statement supporting the plan to build on the Northern Fringe and help us put pressure on the Tory County Council and National Government to contribute to the development by helping with the building of transport and educational infrastructure that is needed to make the plan a success.