Lowestoft residents are split over whether the recently approved and long-awaited Third Crossing will benefit the town.

%image(14547135, type="article-full", alt="Waveney MP Peter Aldous said: "The third crossing is a totem pole around which we can build a new Lowestoft and a new economy". Photo: Reece Hanson")

A survey conducted by this newspaper shows more than a quarter of people living or working in Lowestoft believe the Third Crossing will either not affect the town’s economy or may worsen it.

A further 16.1pc of residents who completed our survey say they feel indifferent, somewhat negative, or very negative about the Third Crossing, which was approved by the government after years of waiting on Thursday, April 30.

However of the 298 Lowestoft residents who responded to our survey, 111 (37.2pc) said the project would “boost Lowestoft’s economy significantly”, while 110 people (36.9pc) agreed it would boost the local economy, but “only somewhat”.

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The survey suggests Lowestoft is split on what impact the bridge - the largest ever public infrastructure spending project in Suffolk’s history - will actually have on the town.

Speaking shortly before the project’s approval from the government, Waveney MP Peter Aldous described the bridge as a “totem pole for building a new economy” in the town.

But our survey respondents were unsure whether this was true.

“I feel it will make very little difference to our town, the money would make good somewhere else,” one respondent said.

Another added: “Lowestoft’s economy needs the boost with funding and jobs. How is a bridge going to boost employment in companies that have moved from the area?”

Yet with 83.9pc of people feeling “very positive” or “somewhat positive” about the crossing, the majority said it would be a welcome, if not overdue, boost.

READ MORE: Business’ future in doubt after Third Crossing announcement - as others welcome step forward

“I feel it will help Lowestoft and surrounding areas to thrive,” one person said. “The town has been forgotten about for so long. It is a major road network and will boost the economy for all of Norfolk and Suffolk.”

Where many people agreed was on the suggestion that there have been too many delays on the project.

91 people (30.4pc) said they were completely “unhappy” about delays to the Third Crossing, and another 135 (45.3pc) said while they understand why there were delays, they “wish it could have been approved sooner”.