Since moving into New Ipswich in 2001, there have been several battles fought both for, but mostly against, businesses and corporations wanting to come to or through this town.

The first one, around 2004, concerned Pitcherville Sand and Gravel, which wanted to extract from a sandpit area on Old Country Road. Residents fought it until Pitcherville gave up and established themselves in Greenville.

Then in 2012 came Pioneer Green Energy, which wanted to build a wind farm on the Wapack Ridge. After fierce resistance by residents again, Pioneer Green gave up. Also in 2012, Dollar General wanted to buy the Central School, then tear it down and build next to the New Ipswich Market. That proposal did not sit well with residents and particularly with the owner of the market. We all know where Dollar General ended up.

Then, in 2015-2016 came Kinder Morgan, which wanted to put their pipeline through the town along with a proposed pumping station. Once again, after heavy resistance by New Ipswich and surrounding towns’ residents, the project was finally abandoned.

That takes us to today and another battle in my own neighborhood where we are trying to prevent a restaurant/event center along with a proposed 18-car parking lot  in the middle of Bank Village, District 1, which has always been a quaint, quiet and peaceful place to live. The opposition to the business by the residents of Bank Village is to try to maintain the strictly residential character and no other reason.

The previous owner put 30 of the 33 acres of the property in conservancy to prevent commercializing that piece of land and assumed that it would always remain residential in nature. That is why we don't want or need this in Bank Village.  

Stan Zabierek  

New Ipswich

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