Local Economy Archives - Tom Hunt MP for Ipswich

Ipswich BMX track

September 12, 2021 0 Comments by Chris in Local Economy Opportunities for young people

Was great to be at Ipswich BMX track yesterday on Landseer Park. It’s grand reopening after months of work to redevelop the track. It’s been transformed making the track an even greater asset to the local community and Town as a whole.

Tracey Reeve and others have done a great job leading the fundraising efforts. British Cycling made the major contribution here and it was clear when I met with them how much importance they place on supporting grass roots clubs such as Ipswich BMX Club. Ipswich Borough Council also made a contribution and the hope is that the £25 million we got as part of the Town Deal can also make a small contribution to further enhance the facilities.

Clearly excellent resources such as Ipswich BMX track are great from the perspective of encouraging physical exercise but it also gives young people in the area something very positive to get involved in and aspire towards. Potentially even keeping them out of trouble.

As you will know, the track sits at the heart of the Gainsborough community where there are pockets of significant deprivation.

LOCAL SHOPPING PARADE FUND

September 3, 2021 0 Comments by Chris in Local Economy

Good meeting with Azzouz El-Mahraoui earlier this week to discuss the new shopping parade regeneration scheme that has been funded via the £25 million Town Deal. Azzouz will be heading up the taskforce that will manage the scheme.

There will be around £2 million available to invest in supporting shopping parades across the Town. The taskforce will have its first meeting soon where it will be drawing up the process for how the money is distributed.

I’m very keen to ensure that the money is distributed to every corner of the Town and as soon as possible.

There will be extensive public consultation as part of the scheme. I will post more details when I know more.

Chantry Community Charity

September 1, 2021 0 Comments by Chris in Local Economy

Fantastic lunch this afternoon at the multiple award winning Codfellas in Chantry. Every other week that goes by Ozzie and his team seem to receive another reward recognising their fantastic produce.

Main reason for visiting was to discuss the Chantry Community Charity that he has established to raise money for important local causes. There is a box in Codfellas but Ozzie is now looking to distribute them across Chantry. I understand the Kingfisher will be getting hold of some soon.

Two great reasons to donate. There is a promise that every penny is spent on good causes and that every penny will be spent in Chantry.

Port of Felixstowe

July 9, 2021 0 Comments by Chris in Brexit Infrastructure Local Economy

Just got back from visiting the Port of Felixstowe. Met with the Chief Operating Officer Clemence Cheng and others.

On the ship behind me there are 22,000 containers apparently. If you lined them all up the line would go on for over 80 miles. From Felixstowe to about Cambridge.

Discussed Freeport East and what this could mean for Ipswich. Over the next 10 years it is predicted that 13,500 new jobs will be on the way. There will be a major focus from the Government to make sure these Freeport’s are a success and I think there could be a significant amount of new investment across a number of different areas.

There is a significant agenda here re education and skills. The hope is that Freeport status will lead to a significant increase in manufacturing, particularly high end manufacturing, taking place locally bringing forward a number of high skilled jobs in the area. We need to make sure that it is local people who benefit from these opportunities.

Ipswich sits in the middle of the Freeport zone and my clear view is that we need to be at the heart of what is happening with the Freeport and benefit to the fullest extent. I will be working closely with the Port and the Government over the next couple of years to make sure this is the case.

Freeport’s are a key benefit that has come about as a result of Brexit.

CITY STATUS

June 16, 2021 0 Comments by Chris in Local Economy Town Centre

I was interested to see that the Borough Council are intending to launch a bid to gain City status for Ipswich.

This will be a highly competitive national process with only one place being granted new City status to coincide with the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee next year.

I can definitely see that there could be some practical benefits associated with Ipswich becoming a City. However, I do also believe that bound up within this matter are complicated issues to do with local identity that many of my constituents feel differently about.

Ultimately for the bid to be successful I think it’s an absolute must that there is clear public support from the people of Ipswich for the bid. The reality is that we’re going to be up against many different areas where there is clear and enthusiastic public support.

Last week I carried out my own poll which I promoted on social media and which 1000s took part in. I note also that the Ipswich Star carried out its own poll which likely had a higher participation rate that my own one. In my poll 66% rejected the City status bid and 70% rejected it in the Ipswich Star poll.

I take the point that these are hardly scientific polls but ultimately, they’re all we’ve got to go on as it stands. And when I add to it the fact that it’s rarely ever been brought up on the doorstep with me nor in correspondence, I simply don’t think that I’m in a position to say with any degree of confidence that City status is what my constituents want.

I say all this knowing that Ipswich Central strongly back City status. I do sympathise with many of the reasons why local businesses see City status and bringing economic benefits to the Town.

However, bearing in mind this is a significant change from the status quo I think the burden is on those who want to change the status quo to provide evidence of significant support from across the community at every level.

I appreciate that the Borough council have said the bid wouldn’t cost much money or be a distraction from key priorities, but if it were to be done properly it almost certainly would be. And if we weren’t to do it properly what would be the point of doing it?

I don’t think it’s fair to brand those people who are happy for Ipswich to remain a Town as not being ambitious for the place where they live. I can see both sides of the argument and could well see a time in the future where we could really unite together as a community to push for City status. I just don’t see now as being that time.

Ipswich is a great place to live and I’m incredibly proud to represent one of this country’s oldest Towns in Parliament. We don’t need to be a City to achieve what we want to achieve and just because we’re not a City it doesn’t mean we’re a lesser place to, say, Norwich or Chelmsford. Of course, I’d argue we’re a far better place.

My number one focus is and will continue to be addressing all the major issues there are across Town and working with the Borough Council, Ipswich Central and other key partners to deliver the £25 million Town Deal projects whilst keeping an eye open for new opportunities for investment.” — Tom Hunt MP

Levelling Up Agenda

May 25, 2021 0 Comments by Chris in Local Economy Opportunities for young people

This morning I asked a question to Kwasi Kwarteng MP, the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. I told him that my constituents want to know and want to have a firm commitment from the Government that the levelling up agenda doesn’t just cover the North and the Midlands but also Ipswich.

Of course we have got £25million from the Town Deal which goes some way to assuaging concerns however I asked if the Secretary of State agreed with me that the skills improvement plan pilot bid from Norfolk and Suffolk could be a fantastic example to prove to the people of Ipswich that we are at the heart of the levelling up agenda. I also asked if he will he engage with the Department for Education about the possibility of this pilot scheme, which of course would also feed the new Freeport East which is going to be in Felixstowe which already employs 6,000 of my constituents but could employ many more.

Kwasi Kwarteng responded by acknowledging the Town Deal and that fact that clear skills is the core of any levelling up agenda and there are great ideas in Ipswich and great things being promoted in East Anglia so he hopes to engage with me on some of these.

NEW 40 MPH LIMIT IN USE FOR FIRST TIME

May 3, 2021 0 Comments by Chris in Infrastructure Local Economy Town Centre

It really is looking like bridge closures due to strong winds are a thing of the past.

The first time the new 40pmh speed limit on the bridge will be in use. Likely to be the case tomorrow as well. Very pleased that the major disruption associated with bridge closures will be avoided.

This new much more sensible approach which has been made possible by the new electronic signs was a v long time coming but I for one am glad its here.

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The Town Deal

March 9, 2021 0 Comments by Chris in Local Economy Opportunities for young people Town Centre

Today I asked a question to the Chancellor about how the Town Deal and the new Freeport East together will be vital to the creation of new local skills in Ipswich and will therefore be crucial to supporting local businesses.

Through the Town Deal we have initiatives such as the creation of a new Tech Campus and Sustainable Construction Centre based in Suffolk New College, as well the Academy of Yacht Building based on the Island Site which will focus on skills that will lead directly into new jobs.

On top of this, we have the new Freeport East which will progress the levelling up of skills-based jobs in the local area. This Freeport is only one of eight nationally, and that includes airports such as East Midlands Airport. The Freeport East enables us to build a global trade hub on our doorstep providing a great opportunity for local manufacturing businesses. The area will be exempt from import taxes on goods which are not destined for the UK and it will therefore be an attractive draw to manufacturing businesses which can import materials tax free before exporting their products elsewhere. At this time, we are not 100 per cent sure how wide exactly the Freeport area will be, but I want it to be as extensive as possible. It also provides a further incentive for infrastructure improvements which will benefit our county more generally.

The Chancellor agreed that the Town Deal money and the Freeport East will together provide a boost for Ipswich, delivering growth, jobs, and prosperity and he noted my efforts in long campaigning for both the Town Deal and the Freeport for our town.

The Budget

March 4, 2021 0 Comments by Chris in Infrastructure Local Economy Opportunities for young people Town Centre

On the whole, I think this is a really good budget for Ipswich. Clearly there are two items that are specific to Ipswich and the local area that stand out. Firstly, the £25 million that was announced for the Ipswich Town Deal that will fund 11 projects across the Town. These projects have now been confirmed having previously gone out for public consultation and I look forward to working closely with Dr Dan Poulter and other members of the Town Deal Board to turn these projects into a reality and a positive legacy for the Town.

Having Freeport East confirmed as one of the first freeports in the country was also great news. All in all, around 6,000 of my constituents are either directly or indirectly employed by the Port of Felixstowe and I’m very excited about what the implications of the Port being a freeport could mean for skills, jobs and investment in the area.

More generally however, I was also very pleased to see the significant amount of new support for businesses. Particularly the hospitality sector that has been so badly impacted by the pandemic. The recovery grants and the positive news regarding VAT, business rates and duties may well end up being a lifeline for many.

I signed a few letters ahead of the budget with other MPs. I signed one calling for the £20 increase in Universal Credit to be extended for as long as the pandemic and its effects go on for. I’m pleased it was confirmed today that the increase has been extended for 6 months. I also signed a letter calling for fuel duty to be frozen. I’m pleased that it was confirmed today that it has been frozen for a record 10th consecutive year.

I also believe that the decision to extend the furlough scheme until the autumn is wise. Hopefully by the time it ends, the economy will have had a good few months to really kick off following the end of the restrictions and we can safeguard as many of those jobs as possible.

Clearly, over the coming years the Chancellor is going to have to make a number of tough decisions to repay the huge debts we’ve incurred fighting this pandemic. He made a start today in outlining some of the ways he plans to do this. However, I was pleased that in outlining his approach to increasing Corporation Tax over time he is acutely sensitive to the need to not hit smaller businesses.

FREEPORT FOR FELIXSTOWE

March 3, 2021 0 Comments by Chris in Brexit Infrastructure Local Economy

The Chancellor announced in his Budget today that our bid for the Port of Felixstowe to be granted Freeport status was successful. This is hugely welcome as something which will boost our local economy and provide further jobs for my constituents.

I have been supporting the Port of Felixstowe in their bid over many months and wrote to the Chancellor in November expressing my support for a Freeport in Suffolk and laying out our case for being included in the scheme.

The Government’s Freeport initiative will play a crucial role in our post-Covid economic recovery by bringing new opportunities for inward investment, economic growth and regeneration. There are areas of deprivation in Ipswich which will benefit hugely by the introduction of the Freeport and this will help us deliver on the levelling up agenda for Ipswich.

I spoke in the House about how the Government’s levelling up agenda should apply to all areas of the country and about the positive impact a Freeport would have for my constituents in Ipswich.

But the new Freeport of Felixstowe will benefit the UK as a whole. Felixstowe is a global port and Britain’s biggest and busiest container port. It has strong global links and strong transport links to the Midlands and the North meaning that this initiative will bring significant economic benefits not just to East Anglia but also to the rest of the country.

I plan over the coming months to explain further the tangible benefits that this new Freeport in Felixstowe will have for our town.

Category: Local Economy