Town has been neglected by there’s no money to fix it

A SUFFOLK highways officer has admitted the county council has neglected Sudbury’s “scruffy roads” and weed-ridden pavements during the past year. But he says there isn’t enough money to fix the problems in the near future.

Last month, the EADT revealed a list of complaints from residents and town councillors about Sudbury’s road system, which ranged from concerns about HGVs using narrow streets, to faded road markings and the lack of disabled parking provision.

On Tuesday night, the county council’s roads officer Steve Merry attended a highways committee meeting in Sudbury to answer the criticisms. He agreed that Sudbury had not been treated as a priority, but said he had now drawn up a long list of items that needed addressing or replacing. However, he warned that the county only had a “finite” pot of money for its roads, which it was “getting through very quickly”.

He said: “We have been looking after this patch for a year and I admit we haven’t been as proactive as we should. I am aware that a lot of the lines and signs in Sudbury are faded and urgently need replacing.

“We are trying to work our way through and tackle things in order of priority dealing with safety issues such as zebra crossings, give way signs first before tackling things like double yellow lines – but we have fallen behind.”

In reply to requests for 20mph zones, pavement widening and rerouting for HGVs, Mr Merry said these needed to be used “selectively and carefully” because of the significant costs involved.

The county recently paid out �60,000 for traffic calming humps in King Street which town mayor Jack Owen believes has simply confused pedestrians and motorists.

Mr Merry said the success of the humps, which were installed because of the history of accidents on Market Hill, would not be reassessed until next May.