Seafront pedestrianisation trial put on hold

A trial to partly pedestrianise Sea Road in Felixstowe has been put on hold for now

A pedestrianisation trial being considered for part of a seafront road has been put on hold.

East Suffolk Council was due to decide on the plan for Sea Road in Felixstowe at a meeting on Tuesday night.

It was part of a wider plan to boost tourism in the town and create a "welcoming environment".

While other short-term projects were approved at the meeting, the council said it would not be able to deliver the project in time before changes to local authorities were introduced next year.

Green councillor and lead for economic development, Tim Wilson, told councillors the pedestrianisation trial would be for the new unitary authority to implement, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

"We considered the possibility of a short-term road closure trial to test it out but the costs are significant and we wouldn't be able to follow it up with anything meaningful," he added.

Next May, people in Suffolk and Norfolk will vote for a mayor to be in charge of a new combined county authority, made up of both county's councils.

Sea Road can currently be used by vehicles and there is some parking

Jan Candy, Liberal Democrat councillor for Felixstowe Central, said while she was supportive of the overall vision she warned residents were concerned about the impact.

"Any type of increased activity [in Sea Road] needs to be hand-in-hand with a residents' priority parking scheme," she added

"They are writing en masse to me saying, 'We already can't park in the summer, how are we going to do it if we get even more popular down here?'

"Any kind of event down there just strikes fear in the hearts of my residents."

Councillors agreed to move forward with other projects including lighting enhancements along the promenade and in the four historic seafront shelters; new signage to help visitors navigate the area, and improvements to the route between the promenade and Manor Terrace.

The approval means these projects can now advance to the next design stage, costing about £60,000, before delivery by the end of the 2027/28 financial year.