Representation by Hasketon Parish Council (Hasketon Parish Council)
- Date submitted
- 26 September 2020
- Submitted by
- Parish councils
Hasketon Parish Council wishes to be registered as an interested party and presents the following representation: - Hasketon is a rural parish 2 miles to the eastern side of the A12 at Woodbridge. It sits roughly halfway between the proposed Seven Hills Freight Management Facility and the proposed Wickham Market park and ride. The DCO does not appear to fully consider the impact of the increased traffic movements in the local area and in particular the affect on the Parish of Hasketon. Specific concerns are as follows: - 1 Increased traffic flows within Hasketon Parish (especially B1079) resulting from main road closures i.e. Orwell Bridge (A14), A12 (Woodbridge By Pass), and use of 'short cuts', particularly the park and ride site at Wkm Mkt, to avoid resulting delays. 2. The narrow and single-track roads within Hasketon Parish and the unsuitability to cope with heavy traffic flows and commercial traffic i.e. HGVs etc. 3. The increased traffic flows on the A12 resulting in: - i) Difficulty with access to and from the village at the A12 / B1079 junction ii) Difficulty with access to and from the village at the A12 / Manor road junction iii) An increased risk posed to school children crossing the A12 to access schools in Woodbridge due to the increased traffic volumes. iv) Increased noise pollution v) Increased air pollution 4. Light pollution from the Wickham Market park and ride and the Seven Hills Freight Management facility. 6. Knock on effects of congestion in the Woods lane, Melton and Wilford Bridge, Melton area, due to increased volume of traffic in this area. Access to and from the A12 is already difficult at times with regular tailbacks in both directions. The two-way section between Seckford Hall road junction and B1079 junction already creates a bottleneck with a knock-on effect for access to and from Hasketon. Further bottlenecks at Melton, i.e. Woods Lane, traffic lights and a rail crossing, also impact on Hasketon residents accessing employment (Bentwaters et al), social and leisure facilities. A12 delays already exacerbate this problem. This area is already subject to regular traffic congestion and delays throughout the day. Delays and road closures on the main roads increases traffic pressure on the B1079 causing people to seek shortcuts to the proposed Wickham Market park and ride via the junction between the B1079 and B1078 would further impact on access for villagers to and from the B1079. The East Suffolk Council has declared a climate emergency. Any increase in air, noise or light pollution is unacceptable in view of this. The Parish Council considers significant improvements to traffic signage on B1079 and the A12 is required to address the identified traffic issues for Hasketon. A pedestrian footbridge over the A12 in place of the existing pedestrian crossing at Hasketon road would eliminate the risk to pedestrians and facilitate traffic flows. Dualling of the A12 between Seckford Hall road junction and B1079 junction is necessary to reduce traffic delays on the Martlesham bypass and the further knock-on impact of traffic on Martlesham Heath.