Hopes have been raised that a permanent solution can be found to relieve regular flooding on an east Suffolk road.

Representatives of Suffolk County Council's flood and water management team are due to meet staff from the Environment Agency on Thursday (January 18) to discuss options to solve the situation at Potters Bridge on the B1127 near Southwold.

The road often becomes impassable to traffic during periods of heavy rainfall or high tides when water levels in nearby Easton Broad become too high and flood onto the road.

READ MORE: Work completed for flooding at Potters Bridge at Southwold

Teams from the agency have been visiting the broad, most recently in November, to open up a drainage channel to take water to the sea, but the movement of the sea often meant this channel would become blocked again, preventing the water from escaping.

John Huggins, who often posts on social media about the current water levels at the bridge, said: "The easiest way and the cheapest way, I feel, to solve the problem is for there to not be such a delay in it being reported that the outflow is blocked and the time it takes to get on site to unblock the outflow."

He said when the road was flooded motorists had to take a route through Wangford via the B1126 to reach the A12, which was two miles longer than using the bridge.

READ MORE: Hopes flooding can be relieved at Potters Bridge in Suffolk

East Anglian Daily Times: Workers from the Environment Agency visited the site at Potters Bridge to create a channel to drain the broad into the seaWorkers from the Environment Agency visited the site at Potters Bridge to create a channel to drain the broad into the sea (Image: Submitted)Suffolk Coastal MP Therese Coffey has also been pressing for a solution to the flooding problems at the bridge on the B1127 between Southwold and Wrentham.

In October, Dr Coffey spoke of her pleasure that the agency had been able to obtain a Magistrates Court Warrant to access private land to carry out the work to the channel.

READ MORE: Southwold news

She said: "I'm pleased that the Environment Agency has now obtained a Magistrates Court Warrant to access private land close to Easton Broad, to help relieve flooding on the B1127 at Potters Bridge. 

"I’ve met and pressed the case with the Environment Agency on multiple occasions to expedite a solution on this, including encouraging them to use the powers available under the Water Resources Act. So, I’m glad action will now be taken."

In 2021, more than 300 people signed a petition calling for the road to be fixed following a spate of closures due to flooding. 

READ MORE: Suffolk news