Town chairman and CEO Mark Ashton says discussions with the Norfolk Constabulary are ongoing regarding the travel arrangements for Blues supporters for the derby against Norwich City at Carrow Road on Saturday 11th April.

As previously reported, there are no trains running between Ipswich and Norwich that weekend due to engineering works with buses set to replace them, leading to speculation the game might move to the Friday night.

Once the Saturday 12.30pm kick-off time was confirmed, Town said they were “assessing options of away supporters travelling to this fixture via club-managed travel”.

Since then, it has emerged that Norfolk Constabulary want the fixture to be a ‘bubble game’ with all Town supporters forced to travel by coach from Portman Road, leading to an outcry among fans on the TWTD Forum.

Ashton says the club and police are continuing to discuss how conveying Blues fans to Carrow Road for the match will be handled.

“Firstly, we do not have ultimate control on this,” he told BBC Suffolk. “I’ve heard there’s some noise, some silly comments from stakeholders saying, ’Why haven’t we talked about this earlier to the fans?’.

“The reality of this is that there are no trains from Ipswich on that day and the football club found out about that via social media.

“So one of the things that we’ve done, we’ve had the rail network in to talk to them about this and said, ‘Look, this isn’t good enough, we can’t work like this. You’re planning major rail works without consulting the football club and when the fixtures are set’.

“They’ve very open to that criticism, if you like, and that dialogue. We’ve also done the same with National Highways through the local MP [Jack Abbott] because I’m tired of my fans having to travel back from Middlesbrough or Preston and then getting an hour from Ipswich and the A14’s closed or the A12’s closed, and we’re not being told. We can’t communicate to the fans. It’s not right. It’s not acceptable.

“So we’ve had both organisations in on how we deal with that moving forward. But that’s a medium to longer term, longer term project.

“Had we have announced, say, three weeks ago what the plans were for travel to the Norwich game, the fans would have been really disappointed because Norfolk Constabulary have a job to do from a health and safety perspective, but the plans they sent to us I responded to with a clear note that said, ‘For the avoidance of doubt, I do not agree with [this]’.

“And if three weeks ago, we’d have announced those plans, the football club would have had its belly tickled and everything that the fans are worried about would have happened.

“We’re still in dialogue with Norfolk Constabulary. We’re pushing back, we’re working with them. The club is going to take a considerable cost in part of the solution to this.

“It’s not easy. We are working through it and again, those people who know me well enough, I will not roll over for anyone that I think is not doing something in the interest of our football club’s fans. So we’re working on this.

“Ultimately, the way the rules are set, Norfolk Constabulary can come over the top and say, ‘No, Mr Ashton, we don’t take what you’re saying, we’re doing it this way’.

“In fairness to them, they haven’t done that, they’re trying to work with us, but we are pushing back on a number of things to find the most sensible solution that is best for our supporters.

“It’s not easy, it’s ongoing, but I think, again, those fans who know me well enough will know I will fight for them and fight for what’s right for this football club, and we’re in the middle of that right now.”

Whether Greater Anglia will be laying on additional coaches given the numbers set to travel is not yet known.

A Greater Anglia spokesperson said: “We are liaising with Ipswich Town Football Club to ensure appropriate alternative travel arrangements are in place for supporters travelling to the fixture.”

Photo: TownTV