Babergh District Council completes land purchase to link Great Cornard and Sudbury with new footpath

Babergh District Council has completed the purchase of a section of land in Great Cornard, which will connect the village to Sudbury via a footpath on the Stour side.

The land was sold to Babergh District Council by the Long Melford and Sudbury Angling Association.

To mark the purchase, the site was recently visited by Babergh District Council leader John Ward, deputy leader Jan Osborne and Great Cornard councillors Tony Bavington, Tom Burrows and Mark Newman.

It will be used to deliver a footpath that will provide an extension to the existing Cornard Riverside Path, as well as form a pedestrian route from Dovehouse Meadow in Great Cornard to the Cornard Riverside Path.

Work on the footpath is expected to commence later this summer.

Cllr Ward said: “The purchase of this land, with the co-operation of the Angling Association, is great news.

“There has been a real drive for this path from both the community and from councillors across the political spectrum.

“We’re now set to complete the path and I’m looking forward to putting on my walking boots and enjoying the sights and sounds of the Stour from Dovehouse Meadow to Friars Meadow.”