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Suffolk A14 Survey
Second Broken Down survey begins – and we need your views!
Suffolk Chamber of Commerce is once again calling on the county’s whole business community to share their experiences of the A14 corridor from Felixstowe to the Cambridgeshire border – and the impact the congestion and delays along it are having on their profitability and growth plans.
We’ve launched this second wave of the Broken Down survey in time for the evidence to directly influence the options being looked at by Suffolk County Council as it pulls together a Pre-Strategic Outline Business Case to prompt the Government to directly fund much-needed improvements to the A14 and associated roads.
The 2024 report “Broken Down: the economic impact of the A14 in Suffolk” was based on the responses from over 350 local firms of all sizes and sectors and from across a broad range of market sectors.
The main findings were:
87% have been negatively impacted by A14 disruptions over the previous 12 months.
51% cited increased costs as a result of A14 disruption
49% reported negative impacts on client retention and customer satisfaction.
32% mentioned the impact of staff, including additional childcare costs and pressures on staff retention and recruitment
81% felt the Orwell Bridge was the area of most significant disruption, followed by knock-on delays (46%) and Copdock Interchange (39%)
81% are concerned about future capacity constraints on the Orwell Bridge and A14 corridor will impact their business
Of this 81%: 85% feel that, if there are no significant improvements in the next decade, their investment plans in Suffolk will be either considerably or moderately impacted and 83% feel that their job numbers in Suffolk will be negatively impacted
So, what’s changed in the last two years? We would like you to tell us.
The aim of this second Broken Down research is both refresh the evidence base and to re-concentrate the minds of key stakeholders to give priority to implementing short-term, medium-term and long-term solutions to these problems. We hope that it acts as a clear wake-up call to national and local policymakers to better understand the threat to Suffolk’s economy and work together without ruling out any solutions at this stage.
The survey takes about eight minutes to complete.
Thank you for your help.
Q1. Which sector does your business operate in?
Administrative and support service activities
Agriculture, forestry and fishing
Arts, entertainment and recreation
Construction
Education
Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply
Financial and insurance activities
Hospitality, accommodation and food service activities
Human health and social work activities
Information and communication
Manufacturing
Mining and quarrying
Professional activities
Public administration and defence; compulsory social security
Real estate activities
Sale and repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles
Scientific and technical activities
Transportation and storage
Water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation activities
Wholesale and retail trade
Community related services
Other service activities
Don’t know
Q2. How many employees does your business have?
1-10
11-50
51-250
250+
Q3. Please provide the first part of the postcode of your organisation’s main premises in Suffolk (e.g. IP21).
Q4. Is your business dependent on cargo movements along the A14 corridor?
Yes
No
Q5. Has your business been negatively affected by disruptions along the A14 in the last year?
Yes
No
Q6. If Yes, in which areas? (Please select)
Customer Service (Please give examples in the 'Other' box below, e.g. missed delivery slots, customer complaints, loss of business etc.)
Additional Costs
Additional Staff Costs
Exceeding Drivers' Hours
Additional port costs for missed VBS bookings
Increased staff absence
Impact on staff recruitment & retention (please specify in the 'Other' box below)
Missed meetings/appointments
Other (please specify)
Q7. Can you quantify the cost of this disruption?
Yes
No
Q8. If yes, please provide any details you are happy to supply.
Q9. Where has the most disruption occurred?
Orwell Bridge
Copdock Interchange
Other A14 junctions
Knock-on delays
Other locations (please specify)
Q10. How critical is the Copdock Interchange (A14 junction 55) to your business?
Very critical
Important
Not important
Very critical
Important
Not important
Q11. How critical is the Orwell Bridge to your business?
Very critical
Important
Not important
Very critical
Important
Not important
Q12. Focusing on the Orwell Bridge, what are your views on:
a) Decisions taken on when to close the bridge?
b) Communications about the closure and reopening?
c) Suitability of the diversionary routes deployed?
Q13. Are you concerned about future capacity constraints on the Orwell Bridge and A14 corridor that will impact your business?
Yes
No
Q14. If ‘Yes’ and assuming that there are no significant improvements made along the A14 Corridor over the next 10 years, how might this negatively impact on your investment plans in Suffolk?
Considerably
Moderately
Minimally
Q15. If ‘Yes’ and assuming that there are no significant improvements made along the A14 Corridor over the next 10 years, how might this negatively impact on your job numbers in Suffolk?
Considerably
Moderately
Minimally
Q16. Please use the freeform box below to add any additional observations, including those on the attached A14 thought paper.
