RAF MILDENHALL, England — Permanent closure of a public road that splits RAF Lakenheath into two unequal parts will damage relations between Americans and their British hosts, said a local resident who also serves on his village council.
Harry Spencer of Eriswell, a village just outside the base, was referring to the possible shutting of Lords Walk, a road barely a half mile long and bordered on one side by an American housing area and Lakenheath Elementary School and the other side by the remainder of the base.
“Anglo-American relations … might be put under further strain,” Spencer said.
The road was closed immediately after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in the United States. Since then, locals have endured a three-mile detour around the base. Businesses have suffered and at least one has closed because of the inconvenience for customers.
The Ministry of Defense, which owns the base, home of the 48th Fighter Wing, petitioned the government for permanent closure of the road. Locals have held out hope the road would be opened once again.
U.S. officials on the base have remained mum on the issue, referring all questions to the MOD.
A final resolution will follow a July 5 public meeting in the village of Lakenheath. An independent inspector appointed by the secretary of state for transport will hear arguments on both sides of the issue.
He will make a recommendation to the secretary, who can either accept or reject it, said a government spokeswoman.
Among those in favor of closing the road for good is the MOD. Paul South, a spokesman, said events in America more than three years ago changed things.
“Suddenly, you realize how vulnerable you are,” he said.
The MOD has not been specific about terrorist threats to the base, but South pointed out Lords Walk’s location.
“It’s a very vulnerable area to attack,” he said.
Roger Crane, who serves on the Lakenheath parish council and the Forest Heath District Council, said he is “loathe to see roads closed,” but added, “taking a realistic view, I can accept that [permanent closure] is a necessity to make the base secure.”
To this, Spencer said, “It’s a joke.”
Stressing he was speaking as a private citizen, not a council member, Spencer said other roads around the base could just as easily be used for an attack. Since the road closed, he said, his village has seen 2,000 vehicles a week pass through on other streets, including many large trucks. This is an increase of four or five times the traffic before the closure.
He said a “strong level of resistance” has grown among the locals.
“I get the feeling that on this issue, the Americans and the MOD have met their Waterloo,” he said.
