Community leaders say long-term solutions are needed to deal with the traffic and congestion that is likely to be generated by building 2,000 new homes and other facilities at Adastral Park at Martlesham Heath.
Developers Carlyle Land Ltd (CLL) and CEG are proposing millions of pounds worth of road improvements which they believe will cater for the extra vehicles and enable traffic to “coalesce effortlessly”.
While welcoming the nature of the planning application for the huge development, Martlesham Parish Council says it still has three major concerns.
These are the capability of the roads, already congested at peak times, to cope with thousands of extra vehicles every day from the new development and growing retail park near Tesco; the future of health care facilities with an ageing population already putting pressure on services in the area; and timely provision of measures to protect the environment, provide an attractive development and form a strong Martlesham-wide community.
Quoting the local plan, the council said the plans for Adastral Park have the potential to “deliver a high quality exemplar development built to the highest environmental standards.
“It offers the opportunity to create a high quality legacy development in very much the same way as the Martlesham Heath village has become”.
The council added: “We are seeking long term solutions to A12 and local route congestion, as well as assurances on healthcare and local services.
“We strongly support a 50 mph speed limit though the middle of the parish on the grounds of safety at the junctions, reduced noise and reduced airborne pollution from exhaust, tyre and brake dust.”
NANT (No Adastral new Town) also highlighted the “significant and negative impact” development could have on the road network.
The group, which is waiting for the European Court of Human Rights’ ruling on its longstanding objections to the allocation of the site for homes, is not only concerned about the A12 but also the effect on narrow, rural roads leading to the small villages of Waldringfield, Hemley and Newbourne.
It feels “many other, less impactful, options were available including “‘pepper potting’, or spreading the housing allocations more evenly across the district”.
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