Elmswell Parish Council concerned as School Road to shut for three weeks for £250,000 upgrade to Elmswell Fire Station

A key village road will shut for three weeks from tomorrow as part of £250,000 worth of upgrades to a fire station, sparking concerns from a parish council.

School Road, in Elmswell, will be closed until August 23 for works on the station’s drainage system.

Peter Dow, parish clerk, questioned the length of the closure and believes it will have a significant impact on village traffic.

Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service apologised for the disruption the works will cause, but said they were important for the operational effectiveness of the station.

“I suppose the galling thing is at no stage has anyone been in my office for the local view on this,” said Mr Dow.

“What on earth can justify a three-week closure of that road, which is key to the way traffic works in Elmswell?

“There seems to be very little bridge between the reality of what communities want and need and the procedures and processes of Suffolk County Council.”

Mr Dow said the closure will force traffic, including HGVs, to enter and exit the village via New Road, which would cause significant traffic issues.

Firefighters from Elmswell were temporarily relocated to Goldstar Transport, in Woolpit, at the start of June after the station was closed for the start of the works.

These include the formation of a fire appliance washdown area, mains foul and surface water connections into the Anglian Water network, infrastructure to assist future installation of EV charging points for SFRS use and resurfacing of the station yard.

A spokesperson for Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service said: “We apologise in advance for any disruption during the course of this work but it is important for the operational effectiveness of the fire station that it is done.

“It is necessary for School Road to be closed due to the open excavations that are required to enable the upgrade.

“The fire station is there for the protection and benefit of the community and this is an essential piece of work to allow it to remain operational.”

According to one.network, traffic entering the village from the A14 will be diverted along Church Road and then onto New Road and vice versa.