Would Suffolk Benefit From Snoasis?

A Meeting Organised By EUFO

The Ipswich Institute
7th November 2007

Speakers:

GODFREY SPANNER, Onslow Suffolk Limited

JOHN WILLIAMS, Snoasis Community Alliance

Plans are currently going through the public planning process to construct a large winter sports complex at Great Blakenham in Suffolk. The proposals have met with resistance from local residents, who feel that the development, if it goes ahead, could have a severe detrimental effect upon their lifestyles. Equally, the prospect of the development, with the thousands of jobs that it would create, is one that is welcomed by a number of groups within Suffolk.

The question of Snoasis is of interest at a broader level, as it provides a clear example of the difficulties in balancing the broad benefits to the community that are to be gained from development and progress, whilst acknowledging that the external costs of the development will weigh very heavily on the narrower section of society affected by that development. This process is further hampered by dealing with the prospect of events yet to happen in an uncertain future, which brings into question the way in which we, as a community, deal with risk in our public affairs. We do not have any simple answers to these questions, but I feel that we have made a start in understanding them.

We deliberately avoided taking a sample of opinions at the meeting because we felt that would detract from our aims. We wanted to provide an evening where the issues could be aired, both for and against Snoasis, with the intention of leaving it to the audience to make up their own minds after further reflection. On the whole, I think that we achieved this objective. For my part, it certainly helped me to clarify my thoughts on the issue.

The meeting captured the imagination of the general public, and was considerably over-subscribed. It attracted the attention of the local press both before the meeting (see article) and after the meeting (see article). we apologise to all of those who widshed to attend, but who we were unable to accommodate. I hope that our meeting report can help to provide a bit of illumination on the subject.

READ the full report.

Would Better Transport Links To London Add To The Suffolk Brain Drain?

A Meeting Organised By EUFO

The Ipswich Institute
10th October 2007


Speakers:

STEPHEN AGUILAR-MILLAN, European Futures Observatory

Recently, the County Council hosted a forum on transport within Suffolk in the Twenty-First Century (see link). In this discussion, it was presumed that improved transport links with London would assist the development of the local economy in Suffolk. However, this may not necessarily be the case. Improved transport links make it easier for talent to flow out of the county as well as for opportunities to flow into the county. The purpose of the discussion was to examine some of these contentions.

The current position is that talent flows out of Suffolk. The more talented youngsters tend to leave the county - mainly for higher education and better career prospects – never to return. As a relatively under-developed economy, Suffolk lacks the inherent career opportunities to attract bright graduates into the county. It is argued by some, such as the Suffolk Development Agency, that improved transport links to London would assist the commercial development of Suffolk, thus improving the career paths within the Suffolk economy. As a starting point for the discussion, we assumed that, by magic, those improved transport links would be made overnight. In which case, would that be enough to stem the brain drain?

The statistics about business location proved to be interesting. When asked why they located in Suffolk, 46.5% of the respondents to the EUFO survey stated that it was because Suffolk is a nice place in which to live. This suggests to us that about half of the small business community is located in Suffolk precisely because it is relatively unspoilt and relatively under-developed. If Suffolk were to be made more accessible through better transport links to London, one wonders whether or not this cultural and environmental advantage would be sacrificed. Would Ipswich turn into a northern Croydon? I am afraid that this is a question that we were unable to answer. However, we could express our hopes and our fears for the future.

READ the full report.

Should Ipswich Develop Its Infrastructure Before It Builds More Houses?

A Meeting Organised By EUFO

The Ipswich Institute
19th September 2007


Speakers:

CLLR RICHARD ATKINS, Ipswich Borough Council

BARBARA ROBINSON, Community Campaigner

This meeting was organised as part of the RSA Coffee House Challenge initiative. The aim of the programme is to empower groups of people at a local level to meet to discuss matters of significance to them. It is part of a movement to reinvigorate public life in the UK at the grass roots level. The issues of development and regeneration in Ipswich have been at the heart of much activity of the Borough Council in recent years.

The central core of Ipswich is being modernised and given a fresh life, whilst the construction of large housing developments within the town have been a feature with us for some years. This development has not been without its problems. Traffic congestion, pollution, and the degradation of the built environment in the town centre have also accompanied the development in the town. This has led some members of the public to question whether the redevelopment of the town centre ought to be paused to allow for the accompanying infrastructure to catch up. This was the heart of the question being asked at the meeting.

READ the full report.