Councillor withdraws bid to Bury St Edmunds Town Council to fund Moreton Hall HGV ban but will seek alternative means

A bid to a town council to help fund an overnight HGV ban on a Bury St Edmunds estate has been withdrawn as a councillor seeks alternative means to pay for it.

At its full council meeting last Wednesday, Bury St Edmunds Town Council voted to defer a decision to provide £11,000 to Suffolk County Councillor Peter Thompson to help pay for the £39,000 scheme.

Cllr Thompson has been campaigning to stop lorries over 7.5 tonnes from using Orttewell Road, on the Moreton Hall estate, between 10pm and 7am, which he hoped would improve residents’ wellbeing and quality of life.

He proposed a traffic regulation order (TRO), which would also stop HGVs using Mount Road between the Orttewell Road and Lady Miriam Way junctions during these hours.

The council deferred the decision until this month so Cllr Cliff Waterman could obtain exact costings from Suffolk County Council in the hopes it could be reduced.

This comes as Cllr Rowena Lindberg, who represents Moreton Hall ward, organised a meeting between herself, Greene King and Dr Peter Prinsley, MP for Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket, about limiting lorries on the estate.

They outlined guidelines aimed at rerouting HGVs onto designated routes.

Cllr Thompson has since withdrawn the funding request as he felt the deferral was based on opposition to his plans and that none of the issues raised in the meeting would be dealt with by the time the next one rolled around.

He said: “I’m really disappointed. This was an opportunity for all political flavours to come together and showed they cared for the residents of Moreton Hall. This project has faced hurdle after hurdle and is the most difficult thing I’ve done as a councillor, but barriers kept getting put in the way.”

During the meeting, Cllr Thompson said the project needed to be fully funded before a consultation took place.

Cllr Waterman believed the project cost an excessive amount of money and suggested the council wait before making a decision to see if it could be negotiated down.

“I don’t know how much money we’ll need, but hopefully it brings it closer to fruition,” Cllr Waterman said. “I propose we wait, but not too long.”

Birgitte Mager, Moreton Hall town councillor, was pleased Cllr Thompson continued to persevere with the project.

She suggested an amendment which would guarantee the funding should Cllr Thompson not be able to secure another contribution within 30 days. However, this did not pass.

Cllr Thompson will now seek alternative means of funding the project, although he felt the money required was well within the council’s means.

“They could have just approved it,” he added. “£11,000 is a drop in the ocean.”