A12 road blackmail

Suffolk Coastal MP John Gummer has stated he'd only back another nuclear power station at Sizewell if the A12 road was upgraded.

Those with long memories will recall that the first round of A12 improvements came with the same trade-off. The A12 was improved between Ipswich and Yoxford as it was expected the workers needed to build Sizewell A and B who did not live in temporary housing at Leiston would come from Ipswich or Woodbridge.

In practise, workers found they could rent for much cheaper in Lowestoft than Ipswich or Woodbridge so all the commuter traffic to the site came along the unimproved roads.

If we turn the argument around, what Gummer is saying is Suffolk will get the A12 improvements everybody wants, if we agree to have yet another power station at Sizewell.

In that case, they can stuff the empty promises which report after report has already recommended with urgent haste and were promised long before SCC de-trunked the road from the Highways Agency with yet more promises it would ensure improvements.