My week ahead 11 - 17 March 2013

Monday 11 March, 4pm – Culture Portfolio meeting
6pm - Labour Group campaigning

Tuesday 12 March, 10am – Briefing on Ransomes
5pm – Sidegate Primary School Governor training

Thursday 14 March, 6pm – Scrutiny meeting at Grafton House

Saturday 16 March, 10.30am – Labour campaigning, North West Ipswich

This week we have just seen how desperate and divided the Ipswich Tory group is, Cllr Judy Terry declared at a Suffolk County Council meeting that we would not have to build on the Northern Fringe if we built on brown field sites or if we knocked down the pre-fabs in her own ward. She even went as far to say she had been in talks with architects and developers and she then got out the plans at a County Scrutiny meeting!

Now this was news to Ipswich Borough Council and also more importantly to the residents of the pre-fabs. Cllr Terry often goes on about a lack of consultation on certain issues, well it seems she had not mentioned the plan to any resident of Inverness Road, Sidegate Lane, Lanark Road or Humber Doucy Lane. She did take Cllr Colin Noble on a tour of the area and show him her great plan – but it also seems she has forgotten to inform any of her Tory colleagues on the Borough Council!

Part of the plan is also to build a care home – now Mr Gummer is promoting a Care Home 200 metres away and the County Council may be shutting a Care Home in Sidegate Lane. So is another care home needed in Rushmere?

So Judy Terry has just managed to scare the residents and upset many – she also leaves many questions unanswered – will the replacements be Council owned? What will happen to the current residents? Is this Ipswich Tory Group policy or just a plan she has hatched up with Colin Noble?

If this is part of a plan to stop building on the Northern Fringe? If so it seems strange that the plan revolves round upsetting many of the residents that she has been elected to represent.