The Anonymous Widower

Sizewell C – South Park And Ride

This document on the Planning Inspectorate web site, is a description of the Southern Park and Ride for the Sizewell C Project.

This Google Map shows the area of the Park-and-Ride site.

Note.

1. Wickham Market is in the South-West corner of the map.
2. The dual-carriageway is the Wickham Markey by-pass, which is part of the A12 between Ipswich and Lowestoft.
3. Close to Lower Hacheston is the Northern junction of the by-pass which connects the B1116 and B 1078 roads to the A 12.
4. If my memory serves me correctly, there is a small roundabout to the North of the A12, where the B 1116 and B 1078 cross, which is referred to as Fiveways Roundabout in some of the documentation.
5. Wickham Market station is in the South-East corner of the map.

I know the area well, as I used to live less than ten miles to the West of Fiveways roundabout.

This shows the area to the North of Fiveways roundabout to a large scale.

The document on the Planning Inspectorate says this about the site.

The site comprises approximately 26.4 hectares (ha) of predominantly
agricultural land and highway land located north-east of Wickham Market.
The part of the site which would contain the parking and buildings, postal
consolidation building and Traffic Incident Management Area (TIMA) is
approximately 18ha in size, and located to the east of the B1078/B1116, to
the north of the A12. The remainder of the site encompasses a section of
the A12, and an associated slip road where highway improvements are
proposed to form the site access, and associated signage and road
markings, see Chapter 1, Figure 1.1 of this volume.

These are my thoughts.

There Is No Rail Connection

I wrote about the Northern Park-and-Ride in Sizewell C – North Park And Ride and there is one big difference.

The Northern Park-and-Ride is an easy walk from Darsham station.

• Darsham station has an hourly four-car train to Lowestoft and Ipswich.
• Some or all trains could be doubled in capacity as Greater Anglia has enough stock to do this.
• If required, trains could be run to and from London and intermediate stations.
• In the past, Network Rail have developed plans to extend the service as far as Yarmouth.

I believe that a rail connection at the Southern Park-and-Ride could have added flexibility for workers in Ipswich travelling to the Sizewell site.

Bus Routes

The frequency and timing of park and ride buses would depend on the
working patterns adopted during construction of the Sizewell C main
development site, and the number of workers to be moved during the shift
changeover periods. More frequent services would operate during staff
changeover and shift start/end periods. It is anticipated that there would be
three to nine buses from the proposed development per hour during shift
changeover period, and an hourly service outside shift changeover periods.

There would be a maximum of 100 daily bus arrivals and 100 daily bus
departures from the proposed development to the Sizewell C main
development site. These buses would use the A12, two village bypass and
Sizewell link road once operational to travel to and from the Sizewell C main development site.

This Google Map shows the A 12 between the South Park-and-Ride site and Yoxford.

Note.

1. Yoxford is in the North-East corner of the map.
2. Wickham Market is in the South-West corner of the map.
3. The A 12 is the cream road linking the two villages.
4. The Southern Park-and-Ride will be to the North-East of Wickham Market.
5. The Northern Park-and-Ride is a couple of miles North of Yoxford.
6. Yoxford and Wickham Market are 11.8 miles apart.

This third Google Map shows the route between Yoxford and Sizewell.

Note.

1. Yoxford is in the North-West corner of the map.
2. Sizewell is in the South-East corner of the map.
3. Leiston Abbey is indicated by the arrow to the North of Leiston.

The B 1122 can be picked out through Middleton Moor and Theberton and then as it skirts Leiston Abbey.

It appears that both Park-and-Ride sites, use the same connection between the A 12 and Sizewell C.

Objections To The Park-and-Ride

This petition on change.org is entitled Stop Sizewell C Park and Ride at Wickham Market.

The petitioner is objecting on the following grounds.

• The size of the site.
• Spoiling of views.
• Disturbance to walkers and horse riders.
• Terrestrial ecology and ornithology will be affected by the site.
• Increase in traffic.

This was the petitioner’s conclusion.

In conclusion I oppose the Sizewell C southern park and ride site at Wickham Market and believe it should be sited further south on the A12 away from residential areas and near the A14.

The Ipswich Northern By-Pass

There is another large project scheduled for Ipswich in the next few years; the Ipswich Northern By-Pass.

This map clipped from the Ipswich Borough Council web site shows possible routes.

Note.

1. Wickham Market is in the North-East corner of the map.
2. One of the aims of the Northern by-pass is to open up land for housing.
3. The railway between Ipswich and Darsham stations goes via Westerfield, Wiidbridge, Melton andWickham Market.
4. Perhaps by phasing the developments, an area could be used for a Park-and-Ride, which has a road connection to the A 12.
5. When the need for Park-and-Ride for Sizewell has decreased, the site could be handed over to housing.

It would certainly help, if the route of the Northern by-pass was settled soon.

 

 

 

April 7, 2024 - Posted by AnonW | Energy, Transport/Travel | Construction, Greater Anglia, Ipswich Northern By-Pass, Ipswich Station, Lowestoft Station, Network Rail, Sizewell C Construction, Sizewell C Nuclear Power Station, Sizewell C Park-and-Ride, Yoxford