31-01-2025
Suffolk business 'faces crippling costs and delays' due to state of A14
Businesses in Suffolk are paying the price for delays on the busy A14, a hard-hitting report has found.
Suffolk Chamber and county MPs are calling for action to improve flows on the vital trunk road.
They fear business may have to scale back growth because of the impact of the stoppages and the uncertainty they cause.
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Suffolk Chamber leaders were joined by two MPs - Jack Abbott and James Cartlidge - to launch the study - called Broken Down: the economic impact of the A14 in Suffolk.
(Image: Lucy Taylor) It is based on a study carried out by the chamber during November 2024 and involved 350 local firms from various sectors and of different sizes who were surveyed about the effects A14 delays were having on them.
A total of 87% of them said they were negatively impacted by disruptions, 51% said it put up their costs and 49% said it affected client retention and customer satisfaction.
The cost of delays was estimated at anything from a few hundred pounds per incident to one company which reported an £80k annual loss caused by the hold-ups.
Among those polled, 81% felt the Orwell Bridge was the area of most significant disruption, followed by knock-on delays (46%) and Copdock Interchange (39%).
The chamber is calling for a range of measures - including funding for long-awaited upgrades at Ely and Haughley rail junctions in this year's Comprehensive Spending Review.
Jack Abbott and Paul Simon at the Broken Down launch (Image: Lucy Taylor) This would remove 98,000 lorry journeys a year from the road - bringing much-needed relief, it says.
It also wants to see National Highways deploying its traffic officers to major A14 incidents in addition to Suffolk Police to help with traffic flow.
Among a range of other recommendations is for research to be commissioned to work out the cost of delays and for National Highways to invest in automated messaging to alert motorists to accidents and closures.
Of the seven Chamber recommendations, a Northern Bypass for Ipswich is not mentioned - although Suffolk Chamber said its position on proposals to ease A14 congestion is that everything should be on the table.
However, Ipswich MP Jack Abbott - who said many local residents and businesses were being impacted "on a far too regular basis" by disruption on the A14 - wants to see the idea progressed.
James Cartlidge at the Broken Down launch (Image: Lucy Taylor) "It's a concept at the moment but we have to start somewhere," he said. "I lost faith we had the ability to take those decisions locally which is why I have asked for the government to make a project of national significance."
A national view needed to be taken, he said, to avoid projects falling into a "local political quagmire".
He added: 'This report shows the strength of feeling locally in black and white. I will continue to work with local residents, businesses and other local and national stakeholders to ensure that we can find a workable solution- nothing can be off the table. The cost of failing to act is far too high.'
Scoping for the Ely-Haughley junction improvement works option is now about six years years old meaning it will need to be updated - taking time, he said, but it is currently being reviewed by government.
"I'm hopeful we can find a way forward - if not int his spending review then next year's spending review," he said.
Chamber chief executive John Dugmore said the report made sobering reading.
"With no end in sight to the regular delays and closures across parts of this nationally vital road, many business owners and employers clearly feel abandoned by Government and National Highway," he said.
"Some expressed outright hopelessness and the sense in which they were being expected to just put up with it by policymakers."
Head of public affairs Paul Simon said the aim of the report was to re-concentrate minds on short-term, medium-term and long-term solutions to the problems.
"We hope that it acts as a clear wake-up call to national and local policymakers to better understand the threat to Suffolk's economy and work together without ruling out any solutions at this stage,' he said.
James Cartlidge, MP for South Suffolk, said that a cross-party consensus on a set of proposals would not happen - as MPs had to represent their constituents where there were planning impacts. But there was agreement about the need for the rail upgrade, he said.
'This report highlights the impact of disruption on the A14, predominately caused by problems on the Orwell Bridge.
"This is exactly why I held a multi-agency meeting at the beginning of November with local MPs and relevant stakeholders to discuss what could be done to reduce bridge closures and alleviate the subsequent impact on local businesses and road users."
Jenny Riddell-Carpenter, MP for Suffolk Coastal, said a growing Port of Felixstowe required a healthy road network.
"It is vital that local and national businesses, as well as our communities, can have confidence that the A14 and the Orwell Bridge will receive the investment it needs. The cost of inaction is simply too high for everyone in the region,' she said.
Patrick Spencer, MP Central Suffolk and North Ipswich, said he agreed with the principle findings of the report.
"We need to think holistically about our transport infrastructure and collectively lobby to upgrade the links that are critical for the future economic health of Ipswich and wider Suffolk," he said.
The report also calls for the setting up of a government taskforce to investigate building additional capacity into the sub regional roads system in and out of Felixstowe as maintenance interventions to the Orwell Bridge increase as the structure nears the end of its expected lifespan
