The public viewing area, New Cut West and the Griffin Wharf branch

I was at the virtual Suffolk Local Access Forum* meeting on 27 January where these problems were discussed. The parties involved are working to find a solution acceptable to all, hopefully one that allows the public space to open before the spring. [*Public Rights of Way committee meeting]

 

Aggregate trains

Goods are occasionally moved by rail from the Port of Ipswich, usually sand and gravel from Brett Aggregates on the West Bank to the North London Concrete plant. However, the frequency of trains is usually less than one per week. It is possible that some of the aggregate for Sizewell C will travel by rail along this track; in that case, the frequency of trains will increase. A suitable sustainable method of moving heavy materials,,, until you read of the difficulties the train track causes.

 

 

 

 

 

Aerial photograph courtesy The Environment Agency

Ipswich tidal barrier – Public viewing area

At the far end of Bath Street, the eastern end where it adjoins New Cut West, there is a public open space: an opportunity to view the Flood barrier and to look across the open River Orwell, the old Cobbold Brewery, Cliff Quay and the Orwell Bridge. Except that it is closed, and has remained so since February 2019 when the landscaped viewing area was built by the Environment Agency as part of the flood defence works.

To complicate matters, between the end of Bath Street and the public open space is an operational railway line, a line which runs from Halifax Junction across Wherstead Road and down an embankment onto Griffin Wharf. At the end of Bath Street, the line emerges from the right and runs along the quayside on the road, much as a tramline would occupy road space. The same rail line carries the Brett Aggregates away from the west bank.

The road is New Cut West (a Byway Open to All Traffic), a Public Right of Way maintained by Suffolk County Council. It is illegal to obstruct the public highway unless temporary permission has been granted. In this case a Scaffold licence which allows for the hoardings and associated building works. This licence, having been extended on a number of occasions, expires in the spring of 2022.

To complicate matters, railway safety requires suitable measures to be in place to prevent the public trespassing onto the railway, hence the hoardings.  Suffolk County Council’s Rights of Way officer wants the hoardings removed to restore the full width of the highway, Network Rail require a fence around the rail track to prevent public access and the rest of us simply want access to the viewing area.

ABP, the landowner, and the county council have been in discussion since the flood barrier was completed trying to find a workable solution to the problem.  Other parties involved include Network Rail, ABP’s land agent, DB Cargo (the train operator) and Ipswich Borough Council – any permanent fence might require planning permission; a temporary solution will be regarded as an obstruction of the highway and Network Rail don’t want the public wandering across the rail track. Solutions on a postcard to the editor.

John Norman

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