A scheme to protect one of north Suffolk’s busiest stretches of road from flooding is moving nearer to realisation now that a transport minister has given the project his backing.

A £1.85m project to raise the A12 Lowestoft to Ipswich road by about a metre at Blythburgh was yesterday backed by Paul Clark, under- secretary of state for transport, when he visited Lowestoft and said bids for the work were already being considered.

The road often ends up under water after heavy rain or during very high tides and it is feared that plans to abandon flood defences in the nearby Blyth estuary could leave the road vulnerable to flooding up to 12 times a year.

Mr Clark, who visited north Suffolk yesterday to see the area’s transport problems for himself, said: “Bids to raise the road are now in from across the region and we are judging those. It has been very useful to come and see the area myself; it will help me to advise in these decisions.”

The Environment Agency announced last autumn that it plans to stop maintaining the defences in the estuary which protect thousands of acres of land and homes in Southwold, Walberswick, Reydon and Blythburgh, as well as the A12 road, from flooding.

Officials said they could not afford the estimated £35m to repair and look after the defences and will stop maintaining them over the next 20 years.

Waveney MP Bob Blizzard, who invited Mr Clark to Lowestoft, said: “The most important scheme here at the moment is the A12 at Blythburgh, which has flooded at least three times in recent years. That road is our main link to the rest of the country and needs to be protected.”

Suffolk County Council, which is in charge of the county’s roads, has already submitted a bid to the Department of Transport for funding to raise the road.

Guy McGregor, the council’s port-folio holder for roads and transport, said: “The flooding problem needs to be tackled and this project will help to do that. We also recognise that there is a flooding issue on the A1095 Blythburgh to Southwold road which needs to be dealt with.”

Mr Clark was also shown the bascule bridge in Lowestoft and the preferred location for a third crossing over Lake Lothing, which recently made its way on to a list of schemes that could get cash from the East of England Regional Assembly after 2013.

The Highways Agency is undertaking a study to look at the feasibility of a new bridge in the town and Mr Clark said: “People should recognise very clearly from this that the government has expressed a level of commitment to the scheme through this study.

“No one would expect us to spend money without knowing what it is going to do and how it is going to help the town, so the feasibility study needs to be done. Getting on to the list is a major step forward.”

Story by Halyley Mace in the Eastern Daily Press