Bury St Edmunds parent says traffic problems now ‘worse’ in Friars Lane, near SEND unit

A parent is delighted that residents’ parking is no longer planned for a narrow road by a special needs unit – but said traffic problems still needed to be solved.

Chris Battle, 41, still has concerns over the ongoing traffic and parking problems in Friars Lane, Bury St Edmunds – and believes the problem has worsened.

The no-through road, off Westgate Street, is used by parents and taxi firms to drop children off at the Nest SEND unit, based at St Edmund’s Catholic Primary School.

Bury resident Mr Battle, who has a son at the Nest, had objected to plans for the residents’ parking bays in Friars Lane, saying they would make an already ‘dangerous’ situation in the road even worse.

However, Suffolk Highways confirmed that, following consultation, there were currently no plans for changes to Friars Lane as part of the residents’ parking proposal.

Mr Battle described the development as ‘brilliant’, but feels the situation in the road is still dangerous and needs to be addressed.

He said arguments and confrontations between road users in the lane would still arise.

“It’s not only dangerous down that road, but coming into and out of it is awful,” he said. “It’s going to cause an accident. Getting rid of using that road full-stop would be the best thing.”

Mr Battle, who takes his son to the unit on a weekly basis, said if a child went into crisis, that vehicle was then ‘stuck’, which meant other vehicles backed up and had to wait.

He said a car park nearby would solve the issue.

Hannah Bennett, of Bennetts Companion Cars, said the traffic problems down Friars Lane were the reason her company no longer delivered children to the Nest.

She said this was a business and safety decision.

“It’s awful, especially if the vehicles are bigger and need to take a wheelchair or several children,” she said. “It’s so tight and you cannot turn around properly.”

She said ‘hopefully’ there would be a resolution ‘before anyone gets hurt’.

Maria Kemble, executive head of St Edmund’s RC Primary School, said: “We regularly communicate with parents regarding not using Friars Lane at pick up and drop off to help with the congestion.

“Much of the parking is by people who work in the town and use it as it is free.

“It would be wonderful if consideration could be given in the planning for the use of the Greene King site, to providing a dedicated safe drop off at the entrance to the Nest.”

A spokesman for Suffolk Highways said: “The situation in Friars Lane is being reviewed. As such, there are not currently plans or orders in place to install yellow lines or signs, but we will continue to monitor traffic conditions.”

A spokesman for West Suffolk Council, which patrols the street and can enforce the existing restrictions in place, said it had issued seven penalty charge notices (PCNs) in Friars Lane to vehicles parked in contravention of the double yellow lines between February and April.

Its civil enforcement officers have patrolled there on 22 occasions over this time period.