Residents bemoan two-month road closure

Residents say a two-month road closure will have a considerable impact on their day-to-day lives and local businesses.

Westerfield Road, which connects Ipswich and Westerfield, will be closed from Tuesday until the 11 November.

Bellway Homes is carrying out major infrastructure works as part of a housing development and says it has attempted to minimise disruption.

But residents have questioned why the road needs to be completely shut.

The work in Westerfield Road is part of a project which will take 17 weeks in total. For the last four weeks, temporary traffic lights have been in place.

Michael Gibbons, 36, said: "We are going to have to do a major detour and it will add a considerable amount of time to our journey.

"It does seem to be working with the traffic lights, so surely it is better to keep the residents happy?"

His wife Hannah Gibbons, 31, said the full closure was "unnecessary" given the current arrangement was "working fine".

"They are closing it for no reason and I think there has been very little consideration for the people who live here," she said.

Charlene Payne, 53, believes the closure will result in traffic being "heavier everywhere".

"It is easier to have the traffic lights than to close it off all together," she said.

"Now people will turn around on my drive all the time."

After the full road closure ends, a partial closure will be reinstated, again using temporary traffic lights.

"It is going to affect us big time and we will definitely lose about a third of trade," said Elle Snelling, the 36-year-old general manager at The Railway Inn.

"Our biggest concern is we will have to reduce staff hours. I definitely don't think the closure is necessary."

Tim Lockington, the Liberal Democrat Ipswich councillor for the St Margaret's ward, agrees.

"These road closures are not without victims and ordinary residents don't enjoy it," he said.

"They could have worked around this."

The closures have been enforced while Bellway Homes carries out work on its Westerfield Grove development, part of its plans to build 3,500 homes in the town.

As part of the scheme a new school, sewage system, access points and new pedestrian and cycle crossing areas will be created.

The firm first touted a full road closure of 24 weeks, which was then reduced to 17 weeks, and then to eight weeks after discussions with Suffolk County Council.

"These are major infrastructure works and will deliver significant long-term benefits for the community," a spokesperson said.

"We have resequenced the work schedule, including extending working hours, so all the critical infrastructure work can be done within the eight-week closure period.

"Less intrusive works will be carried out at other times."

According to Suffolk County Council, it is more expensive for the likes of housing developers and telecommunication firms to fully close a road.

For a full road closure to be authorised, a temporary traffic regulation order (TTRO) must be obtained, the application for which costs £1,700.

The council said it was exploring financial incentives for companies, to try encouraging them to keep road lanes open.

But some residents say they prefer the peace a full closure can bring.

That includes homeowners at Playford Road in Rushmere St Andrew's, near Ipswich, which is closed while full fibre broadband is installed by CityFibre.

"This was a quiet country road, but now it is a cut-through and it is certainly well used," said Sheila Jane, 73.

"This road closure has not been overly inconvenient for us and it has been really nice not to have the through traffic – I have no complaints."

Fellow resident Clive Rowe, 87, prefers the full closure approach.

"Here, the workers respond immediately and move the barrier when we need to get in or out [in our vehicles]."

Neil Madle, partnership manager at CityFibre, said closing a road "is always a last resort".

"Access to Playford Road will be maintained on site throughout, with staff on hand to assist with temporary access," he said.

"The closure will allow our teams to work more efficiently and complete these works as quickly as possible."

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