Update on the Bailey Bridge:

It is now official — the Bailey Bridge will close sometime towards late June through September. Sadly, this is unavoidable given the very poor state of the bridge and the inability of Suffolk Highways to put off the essential repairs. In short, even if the work they need to do to renovate the bridge could be done in the autumn, the state of the bridge is such that it would still have to be shut over the summer on safety grounds.

This reality redoubles the importance of getting mitigation measures in place to avoid the hugely negative impact that the closure will have on our local businesses, families, and visitors. Some have been agreed and others are still being sorted. WPC will continue to take part in weekly meetings of the mitigation group with Suffolk Highways to get the best we can from SCC to support Walberswick. At present, these mitigation measures are:

• Our ferry operator will run a much greater capacity service — including a second, larger capacity crossing near to the current ferry. As reported previously, we had hoped to run this second service from a pontoon nearer to the Bailey Bridge, but this was infeasible given limited access on the Walberswick side. It is hoped that the service will be able to run from earlier in the morning to evening. A key issue is to make this service more affordable with a subsidy provided by SCC. Discussions are ongoing and we hope to have a resolution very soon so that final arrangements can be made.

• Suffolk Highways and Footpaths are working with the Ferry Operator and the WCLC to temporarily improve the access to the second ferry landing that crossed WCLC land adjacent to the current ferry pontoon. Likewise, improvements are being made to the Southwold side.

• Suffolk Highways has agreed, on an emergency basis, to put in extra yellow lines to control on street parking and dangerous conditions near the Church and around the village hall. This will be necessary given the expected presence of even more cars than last summer given the inability of visitors to walk and cycle across the bridge.

  Villagers will see public notice signs going up shortly about the pending closure. Suffolk Highways has committed to keeping the bridge open until they are ready to begin works likely in the third or fourth week of June. They will use their engineering teams to make weekly site inspections of the bridge to ensure that there is no further serious deterioration in its condition between now and then.

  Further updates will be posted on the Walberswick Village website given that closure is likely prior to the next edition of the Village News. On the positive, the renovation will be comprehensive and should ensure that our bridge is good for many, many decades to come.