Felixstowe is Britain’s largest container port, and it is right on our doorstep! Many of our homes look out over views of cranes and warehouses, but equally important, many of our residents make their living from the port - it employs well over 2,000 people directly, plus many others in related businesses. It is also expanding with more jobs and more quayside.

Our most pressing local concern is a proposed skatepark in our area, but on the website you’ll also find our newsletter online, with more about Cavendish Park and its residents, its potential and its problems, and our hopes and ambitions to build a lively and caring community in this part of town.

Latest website update: 13/05/08:

CPCA’s response to Suffolk NHS Primary Care Trust
Re: Proposals to move of Head & Neck Cancer services to Norwich

The attempt to move surgery for Head & Neck Cancer to Norwich is, I feel, only because Norwich hospital is suffering from the disastrous Private Finance Initiative debt. The move will be extremely detrimental to those patients with cancer who will be under great stress because of their illness and will be put under further stress by having to travel a round trip of over 100 miles.
David Dyer of Ipswich Hospital Cancer Services User Group has covered the reasons very well in his press release; I agree with every part of it.

Patients and family are not mutually exclusive; it is very important to someone who has just had a serious operation for family to be near and to give encouragement and support in the recovery phase. Having 100 miles to travel (which will take a full day) and the expense they will incur will prohibit many families from visiting their loved one at a very crucial time. A family member holding ones hand at a time like this is the best aid to recovery, better than all the drugs.

This proposal shows no empathy, by the proposers, for the patients who have this distressing illness.

Suffolk Primary Care Trust (i.e. Carol Taylor-Brown, SPCT’s CEO - who is also chair of Anglia Cancer Network) are pushing this proposal arguing they have to follow guide-lines; guide-lines are exactly what it says - guide-lines - they are not carved in stone and as in many other walks of life should be and are tempered by common sense, local conditions and need, none of which is evident in this proposal.

The need is for these cancer services to remain at Ipswich Hospital. It is time for those making the decisions for this Patient Led NHS to start listening to the patients.

Barry Farr, Hon. Chairman.

12/04/08: Letter submitted by CPCA to Suffolk Coastal District Council,
Re: Housing Growth in Felixstowe

For the attention of Mr S Brown

Dear Sir,

At the General Meeting of the Cavendish Park Community Association, on Monday 7th April, a proposition was passed, unanimously, to oppose the selection of area 4 as the site for the housing development.

We are situated in the West of Felixstowe and our main access and egress is via the Dock-Spur Round-about. We have problems with traffic delays at present and this is before “Stacking” is implemented on windy days when the dock is closed; on these occasions it becomes a nightmare. We fear that one day the emergency services will be delayed on gaining access to our part of the town.

We know from developments in the pipeline that over the next 10 years or so we will see extra traffic on the Dock-Spur Round-about– expansion of the docks (a minimum of 3000 Lorries plus other vehicles working on the docks per day). Distribution centre on Blofieds (potentially 740 lorry journeys plus other vehicles for workers at the centre), add to this the vehicles associated with the already planned housing of 600 homes within Felixstowe; I hope you can see the immense problems this alone will cause before adding 1620 homes with potentially 2000 cars (many homes have more than one car and more than one working member of the household), on to that round-about.

Major changes are needed on the Dock-Spur Round-about now, before dock expansion, distribution warehouse or further homes are built. It is essential that a dock-feeder road be built from west of the Trimleys in-order to take the dock traffic away from Felixstowe.

Felixstowe needs diversification in its commerce, SCDC will do the traders of this town no favours by progressing with a scheme which will prevent tourists and other visitors from entering the town because of congestion on the Dock-Spur Round-about, who will be unable to find places to park when in the town and will have difficulty leaving the town. If you wish the town to be nothing but a dormitory for the port then using site 4 should be your choice!!

Many of our members would not be living in this town today if the houses had not been built on the west side, so we are not against more houses, but they should be built in an appropriate place, one which does not prove detrimental to the town and those who will be purchasing the new homes.

We ask you to dismiss area 4 and consider a site to the west beyond Trimley St Martin.

Yours faithfully,

Barry Farr.
Hon. Chairman.