A multi-million pound roadwork project has been proposed to alleviate the congestion that is feared to arise if a new sports facility is built in an east Suffolk village.
People living in Ufford have called for a new roundabout to be build on the A12 so that visitors to the new sports club can access it without driving through their village.
The sports centre forms part of proposals by Hopkins Homes, which plans to move Woodbridge Town Football Club and St Audry’s Sports and Social Club to a joint venue in Ufford to free up land for housing.
The former Woodbridge ground is expected to accommodate 95 new homes while a further 12 could be built on the St Audry’s site in Melton,
The proposals, which are yet to be submitted as an application, met with a generally positive reception at a public exhibition held last month.
However people living in Ufford have expressed concerns about the impact of increased traffic travelling through the village to use the new facility, which they say will exacerbate existing congestion problems.
John Skinner, who lives in the village, said: “It’s a situation that’s getting worse with all the development around. For many people in the village, who are fed up with the traffic leading in from Melton, they think something needs to be done – there is a lot of support for the idea of a junction with the A12.”
Michael Bond, who is Ufford’s county councillor, said he sympathised with the plight of residents and recognised the possible problems posed by increased traffic.
However, faced with competition from other more pressing roadwork schemes, such as the four villages bypass on the A12, Mr Bond was doubtful the scheme could gain the necessary financial backing. Instead, he has called for a more joined-up approach so that new development is sited in locations where the infrastructure is already able to cope.
“The overall the problem that is affecting development, not just here in Ufford, but all over Suffolk, is the disharmony between the government pressing for new housing in the absence of sympathetic and complementary infrastructure,” he said
Hopkins Homes said the purpose of its consultation was to help people understand why the company was making these proposals and to answer their questions.
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