Over the next few days, work will be undertaken to put in another bus stop on each side of the Ipswich Road above the Notcutts  roundabout.

This is because there are now a significant number of people  who  want to use the bus to get to the Framfield House Surgery, and the McCarthy & Stone retirement housing behind it. The bus stop  beneath the Cherry Tree  Inn is not helpful for such people because it is quite a walk uphill and  pedestrian access to the surgery and housing was not prioritised in the design!

I brought this to the attention of Suffolk’s Passenger Transport department as a local need  after  various representations from Woodbridge residents –at my surgery, by email (and even when I was sitting on various buses!).

I can confirm that there are no plans to remove any existing bus stops in Woodbridge.  These new ones are being installed as an additional facility for passengers around the Ipswich Road/Warren Hill Road junction who are unable to easily access the stops at the Cherry Tree (on Ipswich Road) due to the distance to walk and the steepness of the gradients involved.

As most of the users are bus pass holders (who are unable to use a bus pass before 9.30) and people wanting to visit the surgery,  this was not considered likely to impact on  rush hour traffic.

Although I broke this news in April,  there has been a considerable delay (seven months) between  these new stops being agreed, and  the execution of the plan. This is due to the continuing operational and scheduling problems that seem to  have occurred ever since SCC  outsourced its Highways contract to the external company KMG.