Jason Noble
Suffolk Local Democracy Reporter

A recycling centre needs to be updated to make it "future-proof", a council says.

Suffolk County Council, external said the Foxhall Recycling Centre on the edge of Ipswich "currently operates under a time-limited planning permission".

Without site improvement, a new permission will not be secured and would result in the loss of the council’s "most important and well-used site”, it said.

The planned upgrade includes a new feeder lane, raised car parking so that people do not need to walk up steps to dispose of waste, and increased capacity for the number of vehicles.

Image source, Chris Holifield/Geograph

Construction is due to start next year, should be completed by 2023, but costs have not been revealed.

The council said that Foxhall alone receives nearly 12,000 tonnes of recycling waste per year, about 20% of Suffolk’s entire recycling waste.

The consultation runs until 20 July.

An annual raft race will be replaced with an event involving rubber ducks, after it was cancelled.

The "socially-distanced" alternative titled Operation Needham Duck Pond will see with people in the Suffolk town asked to decorate plastic ducks to put on display in either house windows, garden or dotted around the town.

Image source, Needham Market Raft Race

Entries are to be submitted on the Needham Market Raft Race Facebook page, external and the winner will be announced on 10 July.

The raft race had been held every year since 2002, but was called off over the coronavirus pandemic.

• The Ipswich Star, external has mapped every crime in Suffolk during May
• Bury Free Press, external report that street signs have been targeted in 'mindless and anti-social yobbery'
• The Eastern Daily Press, external has a story debunking reports of a 'spike' of coronavirus cases in Suffolk

Ipswich Town centre-back Luke Woolfenden signs a new four-year contract with the League One club.

A mental health nurse talks about his recovery from coronavirus after 60 days in intensive care.

Local Democracy Reporting Service

The University of Suffolk and BT have teamed up to launch a digital technology hub for students and apprentices.

Image source, BT

DigiTech Centre at Adastral Park at Martlesham, will be used by students and graduates from the Ipswich-based university, BT apprentices and companies to help train future industry professionals.

The £9.6m project will feature artificial intelligence systems, a forensics lab and smart living test facility.

The first cohort of students and apprentices are expected to begin using the space from January.

Once fully up and running, the centre will be used by around 500 students and 145 apprentices each year.

Course leaders are working on a tie-up with police forces to develop cyber-security and forensics training, but will also be used by wildlife and ecology students to study environment conditions.

• The East Anglian Daily Times, external is reporting that Mid Suffolk Council has pledged £40,000 towards plans for the development of a 156-acre business park off the A14
• The Bury Free Press, external is reporting that firefighters rescued three dogs locked in a car on Sunday evening
• The Ipswich Star, external is reporting that two men accused of being involved in a double stabbing incident in Ipswich will go on trial next year

An 81-year-old was targeted in his home and forced to visit a nearby supermarket late at night.

The A143 was closed for about four and a half hours on Sunday after a motorcyclist died.

Suffolk Police, external said the crash happened at about 11:30, and the road was closed between HMP Highpoint in Stradishall and the Wickhambrook crossroads at the B1063.

The rider, a man in his 20s who had been on a black KTM 1290 Super Duke, died at the scene.

Police said the bike was the only vehicle involved and they would like to hear from witnesses or drivers with dashcam footage.

A mother and daughter air their frustration at new post-lockdown guidance affecting their salon.

People were warned not to attempt rescues themselves because they could be putting themselves in danger.

An 83-year-old former RAF sergeant says "you can't invite people then chase them back home".

A warning becomes a welcome in Southwold, Suffolk, as it gears up for the return of tourists.

Chinedu Ekwunife's wife says he was in intensive care when he learned she was expecting a child.

A foodbank needs new premises after becoming a victim of its own success during the coronavirus crisis.

Stowmarket Foodbank, external said it was helping about 60 families a month before the pandemic, but that figure has increased to 160.

The group has been storing food at the town's community centre, which is preparing to reopen.

Mike Smith, who manages the foodbank, said the centre needs the room back by 13 July meaning they will be "begging, borrowing garages, whatever, to stock food in".

"We still need 1,000 to 1,500 sq ft for the food bank to flourish," he said.

Image source, East Suffolk Council

Work on a new cafe and restaurant on Felixstowe's seafront is due to start this summer.

East Suffolk Council commissioned Barnes Construction to work on the building, which will take about a year to complete. Once finished, it will be known as The Kitchen @ Martello Park and will be run by the Dedham Boathouse Group, external.

The council's cabinet member for economic development, Craig Rivett, said it was important for Felixstowe to have new facilities as "we hopefully begin to emerge from the coronavirus impact".

The £1.5m project will be jointly funded by the council and the government's Coastal Communities Fund, external, which was started in 2012 to promote sustainable economic growth and jobs.

Cameron and Claire Marshall, owners of the Dedham Boathouse Group, said they were "super excited" by the project.

Image source, Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service

Two people were taken to hospital following a substantial fire at a guest house.

Fifteen fire crews from Suffolk and Cambridgeshire were called to a first floor fire at the Highwaymans in Risby, external near Bury St Edmunds on Thursday night.

An aerial unit and water storage unit helped battle the fire which had taken hold in a first floor living space above a swimming pool.

The two people were taken hospital as a precaution after they breathed in smoke.

Gary Henderson, 64, died from a traumatic brain injury, a post-mortem examination found.

The bee count was led by Grace Hayward, 18, guided by the Bumblebee Conservation Trust.