Residents of Suffolk might lament the influx of Londoners as house prices in the Southeast push the London commuter bubble well into East Anglia. But in 1966 Shankland, Cox and Associates (SC&A) were commissioned by Harold Wilson’s government to plan an expansion of Ipswich to accommodate at least an additional 70,000 Londoners. The plan never came to fruition, as other New Towns were built instead. Two elements of the Ipswich expansion debate have left legacy of traffic congestion on Ipswich today – a hot topic of conversation in the town. The first was the advise, by at least two independent consultants to develop to the West was not followed through. The second was an assumption that the road network within Ipswich would be upgraded whichever side of Ipswich was developed. What actually happened was incremental expansion in most directions, but especially to the East and no new road provision into the town centre.
Continue reading “Ipswich expanded town: missed opportunity or lucky escape?”