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.

From Fire station to houses.

On Wednesday last week (17 October 2012) Ipswich Borough Council Planning Committee gave planning co0nsent for Hopkins Homes to build on the old Fire Station site on Colchester Road.

The old fire station has already been demolished so Hopkins should start quite soon in building the first of 59 houses planned for the site.

I raised a number of issues with Hopkins Homes on behalf of local residents and they have agreed to those changes.

Ipswich Borough policy is to ask for 35% of the development be affordable homes. Hopkins Homes asked for this to be reduced to 25% as they had been informed that the County Council now required £388,000 in Section 106 money (this is the money that a council can ask for towards local amenities such as libraries) rather than the initial £106,000 they were asked for in December 2010.

As a Labour Group we are keen to see an increase in affordable homes but as a planning committee we understood that Hopkins Homes had been asked to pay considerable more that they first thought to the County Council.

It was agreed that Hopkins Homes could just build 25% in affordable homes but that now the Borough council would take control of the Section 106 money and look to use that to build other homes within the Borough.

I believe that this development will be welcomed by most Rushmere (and Ipswich ) residents.

My week ahead 14 - 20 October 2012

Monday 15 October, 6pm - Campaigning in Ipswich

Wednesday 17 October, 9.30am - Planning meeting, Grafton House

1pm - Talking to politics students at Copleston School

Friday 19 October 2pm - North East Area Committee, Agenda setting meeting

Saturday 20 October 10.30am - Campaigning in South East Ipswich

This week we had David Cameron moving (back) to the Right and Ben Gummer calling councillors, mediocre - would make you think that the Tories are getting worried.

We continue to campaign all over Ipswich (and Suffolk) for the upcoming Police and Crime Commissioner election - a sit is a Tory idea you would think they would also be out knocking on doors but so far we have only seen a fleeting glimpse of the Tory candidate in Ipswich.

We also have Planning committee this week where we hope that a final decision will be made on the development of the old Fire station site on Colchester Road. I will post about that after we find out what the outcome is on Wednesday morning.

My week ahead 25 - 31 July 2011

This week, I will be In Mid Wales, supporting some young Ipswich residents as they tray to gain their Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award.

Saturday 30 July 10.30am Campaigning in North Ipswich

This week started with 3 meetings on Monday, the first was spent looking how we can get more local residents involved in the North East Ipswich forum, the second was a meeting with Council Officers as we looked at the plan for the Olympic torch arriving in Ipswich. The day finished off with the Labour Group meeting.

On Wednesday, I joined fellow Labour councillors, Bryony Rudkin and Peter Gardiner at Crown Pools in Ipswich as we met users of the pool to discuss the next stage of the pool refurbishment. the users seemed impressed (and surprised) that we were keen to hear their views.




The council meeting that night saw unanimous support for the motion that will see Ipswich form closer links with Nettuno in Italy, what should have just been a formality was slightly soured by Tory leader John Carnall trying to make a fuss about why the meeting was being held. But from the speakers on the night, it seems he was a lone voice and the comments by Lib Dem Richard Atkins and even some of Carnall's own group also indicated that the opposition had wished to form a link with Nettuno during their time in power but for some reason (Carnall?) it never happened.

On Thursday I was at the Colchester Road Fire Station to see the handover of the Needham Market Fire engine and then I finished the week by spending Saturday campaigning for Tracey Welsh in Great Cornard.

Needham Market Steamer Fire Engine

On 20th November 1962 The Fire Authority for Ipswich opened a new fire station in Colchester Road. In readiness for the opening event the Service installed the 1911 Shand Mason steam pump as a static display in a cabinet at the front of the station.

The pump was originally purchased by Needham Market Town Council. The Council passed a resolution on 2nd October 1911 to purchase the new steam fire engine from Messrs. Shand Mason and Co and the pump was delivered to them on 1st June 1912.

The pump was drawn by one or two horses but in the event that no horses were available, it was pulled by an old Model T Ford. It required six or eight fire-fighters to operate the pump. The wheels were originally of solid metal but later they were covered by a rudimentary rubber tyre.

The pump attended its last fire on 30th July 1940 at Gt Finborough. This was the last steam fire engine to attend a fire in the UK.

The pump was on display at the National Fire Service College in Saltdean, Brighton from 1942-1948. After a nomadic few years, it was offered on indefinite loan to Ipswich Fire Service.

In advance of the upcoming closure of the Colchester Road fire station, which is being superseded by the new Ipswich east fire station, the pump is being officially handed over to Needham Market Town Council, which has decided that it should be displayed at the Museum of East Anglian Life in Stowmarket.

This official handover marks the latest chapter in the long and illustrious history of the steam pumper and Colchester Road fire station.

I was honoured to be invited to attend the handover, surprisingly the occasion was quite moving, with a lady whose father had manned a similar type of alliance present at the event, she even had her photograph taken with one of the Colchester Road fire crews.




With the handover of the appliance we get closer to the closure of the station, it seems most local residents are happy that the Council's preferred development is 50 plus houses rather than flats or a large superstore. But since that plan was announced the local paper has informed us that M & S would be keen to include a smaller store in the development.

Speaking to a number of residents, it seems many would be in favour of a Small convenience store within the housing development. I can see that a small food store is needed in this part of town, we will now have to wait and see what the developer comes up with.

My week ahead 18 - 24 July 2011

Monday 18 July 2pm North East Partnership Meeting
4pm Meeting Portfolio Holder for Culture and Leisure and Officers
6pm Ipswich Labour Group Meeting

Tuesday 19 July 1pm Meeting with Crown Street Swimming Pool users

Wednesday 20 July 9am Meeting with Crown Street Swimming Pool users
6pm Ipswich Borough Full Council Meeting

Thursday 21 July 10am Handover of the Needham Market Steam Pump, Colchester Road Fire Station




Saturday 23 July 10.30am Campaigning in Ipswich

Ipswich Tories pretend they want consultation.

St Clement's Hospital- soon to be houses?

The Ipswich Tories, with plenty of input from their Lib Dem allies have recently launched their plans for housing in Ipswich over the next 13 years. The Local Development Framework (LDF) outlines a number of options for housing across Ipswich. Their "preferred option" includes building 442 houses on gardens across the town and 43 housing units on the Halifax Road play area- a place where the council has spent thousands on play equipment recently!

One option not in the LDF is to build on the Northern Fringe (Valley Road area). It seems they will build on any brown/green space in the town rather than build in the North. They feel there will be no need to build on the northern fringe till after 2021.

Of course their excuse is to blame the Government for setting a figure of 15,400 dwellings to be built in Ipswich by 2021.

In Rushmere we have a possibility of 16 dwellings on the site of the Colchester Road Fire station and of an even greater concern is the plan to build 97 homes on the site of the old driving test centre on Woodbridge Road, this of course is right next to the current building development on the site of the old Hayhill's allotments.

A number of residents are only finding out about these plans thanks to a leaflet campaign by my fellow Labour colleagues. There does seem that no major effort has been made by the Tories or Lib Dems to get the views of local residents. No plans to arrange any public meetings, this is particularly distressing for those residents who live near some of the sites which are earmarked for large housing developments such as the plan for the St Clement's Hospital site.

The Ipswich Labour Party will keep working to inform as many residents as possible, you have till February 25th to send in your views to Ipswich Borough Council. you can find more details of the LDF here.

The local paper 'The Evening Star' are also running a story highlighting the concern of local residents that there seems to be no real attempt by the Tory/Lib Dems to include the residents of Ipswich in any meaningful consultation on the plans for housing within the Borough. You can read that story here.

Remember you have at present till the 25th February to get your views listened to by the Tory/LibDems. You can contact me through this blog if you want further details on the LDF.