Chapter 3 - Baseline Characteristics (Task A2)

Context

3.1 The Ipswich Housing Market Area and Functional Economic Area is made up of four districts; Suffolk Coastal District Council, Babergh District Council, Mid Suffolk District Council, and Ipswich Borough Council. Figure 3, below, shows a map of the Ipswich Housing Market Area.  The housing market area is predominately rural in character with some significant urban areas such as Ipswich, Felixstowe, Stowmarket and Sudbury.  The A12 and A14 are significant transport corridors supported by the main line railway connecting Norwich and London and other branch lines.

Figure 3: Map of the Ipswich Housing Market Area and Functional Economic Area

3.2 This chapter sets out the baseline situation - that is the current status, in relation to society, the environment and the economy - in Ipswich Borough and the wider Ipswich Housing Market Area and Functional Economic Area.  The topics identified above are organised under the three themes as illustrated in table 2, overleaf.

Table 2: Baseline Characteristics - Identified topics

3.3 Each topic is broken down into the following elements:

• Current status
• Future Considerations
• Likely Evolution of the Baseline Without the Local Plan
• Key Data Sources
• Key Issues for the Sustainability Appraisal