LONG-AWAITED speed limits for villages along the A12 between Ipswich and Lowestoft will not be in place until around September at the earliest.Notices of the proposed changes are expected to be advertised in the next month or so, followed by a six week period for people to make comment.

LONG-AWAITED speed limits for villages along the A12 between Ipswich and Lowestoft will not be in place until around September at the earliest.

Notices of the proposed changes are expected to be advertised in the next month or so, followed by a six week period for people to make comment.

If there are objections, the plans can be held up for a couple of months or more while they are resolved through the democratic process.

A large-scale consultation was carried out last year by Suffolk County Council and proposals submitted. But the process was halted until February after the Conservatives opposition group called them in.

Since then, officers have been going through the time-consuming process of getting the orders drafted.

But the end should be finally in sight for villagers living along the busy road who have been campaigning over many years to get speed limits down.

Under the proposals, all villages can have a 30mph limit, and in some cases where it is deemed necessary, 40mph "buffer limits" can also be added beyond them. Roundels at each end of the carriageway are also planned.

The villages can have gateways, with a small amount of room to put their own artwork on the signs.

The idea is to try to get a uniform approach along the A12 where motorists know what to expect when travelling through villages.

Certain other work on the A12 has already gone ahead or will shortly.

Improvement work on the turn-off to Darsham has been completed, and works are due to begin in June on a puffin crossing at Wrentham. The light-controlled crossing will be installed in the middle of the village, along with speed reducing measures and flashing slow signs on both approaches to it.

"That should improve matters quite a lot for people in Wrentham because there has been a lot of concern for a lot of years from people trying to get across the road there," said Rod Sore, team leader, safety and signals at the council's environment and transport department.

In September or October, work is due to begin on two toucan crossings on the Woodbridge bypass. The light-controlled crossings allow cyclists to cross as well as pedestrians.

"These things are not quick because we have to go through the proper democratic procedures and there is no way of short-circuiting that," said Mr Sore.

"I understand that it must seem dreadfully slow to the average layman."