Usually it’s been quiet, but there has been a complaint along Wherstead Road. Hopefully it’s not going to travel and it won’t hbe around tonight.

Here’s hoping – I’m not keen on doing more leaflets. (For the record it’s been great so far.)

In related news I hear that Southern Cement, despite applying to build their silo, have not actually been able to find the money to do so. Of course if they actually engaged with the community these rumours would be easily quashed. Shows that no matter how expensive the corporate lawyers are, sometimes their advice can be unmitigated rubbish.

(To help investors, potential customers and suppliers find this post through Google I’ll stress that this is Uniland SA, trading as Southern Cement Ltd, at Cliff Quay in the Port of Ipswich.)

I hope that this is true, and that the weekend was an aberration.

I am still getting complaints about the weekend, including one from a councillor.

If the cement company could only talk to us then things would be far better.

People have been woken at 3 AM again and we don’t want this to be going on.

Update: Since I’ve posted this I’ve had two people from Wherstead Road, someone in the Chatsworth Crescent area (Blickling Close to be exact) and a person from Headingham Close saying that they’ve heard this. So we need to make sure that we’re on top of this.

Although at the last minute they refused to meet him they did fit a silencer on the concrete extractor shortly afterwards with very few complaints about night time noise. So if you add this to his heart campaign Ben Gummer can so far boast that he has helped send a lot more people to hospital and a large number of Ipswich residents asleep.

Ben Gummer presenting his letter on the Ipswich Port Noise in Madrid

(Whenever I put up a picture of Ben Gummer it is customary for me to make some joke about his appearance. However in town yesterday I was mistaken for him three times. The poor lad’s suffered enough.)

Let us know at noise@bridgeward.org.uk if you hear anything

Well if the Tories do win the General Election you will hear about him a lot more.  He’s the shadow environment spokesman for the Conservatives, so it’s a good chance he’ll become a minister if the Tories get in.

When I heard that he was coming down to help Ben Gummer I lobbied the Ipswich Tories to get him down to the docks to get him to talk to some people from the Noise Action Group and the Wherstead Road Residents’ Association about the way in which the port was operating.

The Noise Action Group then got the chance to tell the man who could be the next Environment Minister about how the port can be dismissive of its neighbours, and that engaging people who want a working port that’s a good neighbour will be better than in three years time trying to engage people who don’t want a working port as any sort of neighbour.

Hopefully ABP will at some point see sense and engage with those who wish it well.

Nick Herbert also became a fan of the Steamboat Tavern, which is as it should be.

A photo of Ben Gummer in this blog that he won't object to. Ben Gummer takes Nick Herbert to the Steamboat Tavern to meet the Noise Action Group and the Wherstead Road Residents Association

*I actually had heard of Nick Herbert, but I’m a political anorak on the sly.

1.  Southern Cement have fitted on a silencer.  The Council Officers have all claimed that this reduces the noise considerably.

2.  The dust is going to be monitored partly by access to Southern Cement’s close circuit TV cameras

3.  The point was made by many of the councillors and residents that Southern Cement actually hurt their cause and made life more difficult for themselves by refusing to talk to the residents, and councillors.

4.  The Noise Action Group stated that while a silencer was welcome it was too early to declare victory on the noise and the real test will be in spring and early summer when conditions change.

5.  The port focus group leads into the port liaison group.  Yes, it is too bureaucratic but that’s what comes of not talking to residents.  Any way, we’ve elected Peter Evans, one of the founders of the Noise Action Group and by far the most radical of the prominent activists to the Port Liaison Group.

There are other issues which will be addressed later.

I will put in a more full account later, but the important piece of news is that the council think that the reason why the noise has reduced is that Southern Cement have installed a silencer.  In the Noise Action Group we are cautiously optimistic but fully aware that last winter the noise was very low as well.

So thank you Southern Cement for the silencer, but we may still have words in April.

Is it some permanent change that they’ve made, an operational change that can be quickly reversed or is it some environmental factor connected to the weather over which they have no control.

The frustrating thing is that they are not talking to anyone and so we don’t have a clue.

(By the way a big hello to Barclays Bank, who’ve been looking up Southern Cement on the internet recently.  Make sure your Corporate Social Responsibility department get them to talk to the residents.)