1

2024/2025 Annual Report from the Chair of the Roads, Footpaths and Flatford Committee,
Councillor John Price.

It has been a bit of an up and down year.
Early in the year Suffolk County highways reconstructed the footway along Gaston Street and late in
the year they did the same to the footway along Heath Road between the Hare and Hounds and the
Medical Centre. Thus making the pavement much better for people, particularly for those less firm
on their feet and also less uncomfortable for those in wheelchairs. We can tribute this success to the
work that went into producing the footway survey of East Bergholt two years ago. I would like to pay
tribute to the Women’s Institute teams that did most of the leg work gathering the necessary data.
There is still much to be done, even with the Suffolk County work and the work by the two
developers, we cannot get away from the fact that the footway is still missing in places on those
roads.
Now the situation in Flatford Road above Clapper Farm still remains as it was eighteen months ago.
Suffolk County highways have failed to make the repairs that are necessary to the underground road
drainage system and hence the road remains at risk of being obstructed by surface water flooding
during times of wet weather. All I can promise is that the Committee will keep the pressure on
Suffolk County to do what is plainly their duty to do.
Councillor Roberts and others, continue to work towards bringing a road safety project to fruition on
Heath Road. School children, being school children remain at risk until this is achieved. He is assisted
by consultants PJA and supported by the High School Headmaster. I am pleased to be able to write
that representatives from the highway authority have been attending joint meetings and do seem to
be listening. So I look forward to progress this next year.
Sadly we had a fatal accident at the dangerous blind bends on Touchy Hill at the end of the year on
30
th
March. I have approached Suffolk County Council highways to ask what can be done and
received a note back on 28
th
April stating that they will respond as soon as possible. This is the third
major accident in four years at these bends and with the expected increase in traffic as more people
move into East Bergholt and the surrounding settlements, it will not become safer without
intervention.
Work towards creating a cycleway from East Bergholt to Manningtree is continuing. This involves
eight different councils due simply to council land boundaries. It is one of these projects where for
every step forwards we find ourselves taking a step backwards as well. The plan is to persevere, and
hopefully this will soon take the shape of timescales and costs. Special thanks to Councillor Davies
and an officer in Babergh District Council, Mrs Katherine Davies.
Special thanks also to Councillor Woodcock for getting a volunteer to take over the maintenance of
the “trug” in the car park, complete with floriferous plants.
Special thanks to Councillors Woodcock, Hockley and our Clerk and Assistant Clerk for all of the work
keeping the car park and toilets well maintained, not forgetting the cleaners who actually did the
cleaning work in the toilets.
Special thanks to Councillors Woodcock and Davies for helping Babergh District Council and the
residents of Elm Estate to tidy up the land and footpath between Gaston Street and Fiddlers Lane.

2

Special thanks to Councillors Woodcock and Allen for their work on the locations for dog bins and a
speed indicator device, although we do need a new location after one was rejected by Suffolk
County highways.
Special thanks to our litter picker Mr Jeremy Kemp for keeping the roads clean.
Suffolk County highways now has a volunteer footpath warden, who started earlier in the year. My
hope is that we will be able to resolve problems and issues on the public right of way footpaths more
quickly than we could achieve in the past. It will be interesting to see how this will develop.
Finally my special thanks go to the volunteers from the River Stour Trust who repaired three
breaches to the river bank and thereby enabled walkers to keep using the footpath on the south side
of the river. These volunteers were supported by our Parish Council and Suffolk County Highway, but
what they did is remarkable, particularly given that they have an average age somewhere between
70 and 80.