After years of pressure from Labour councillors Suffolk County Council have finally removed the much hated Maryon Road chicane.

The scheme originally consisted of two chicanes and was installed by Ipswich Borough Council back in 2006 when it was Conservative controlled and still had highway powers. Understandably, local Tories have been desperate to distract attention from their role in building the chicane system in the first place.

One chicane was removed several years ago when the County Council made unpopular changes to the Nacton Road/Maryon Road junction. The second one proved much harder to shift.

Suffolk County Council suffers from great inertia and it takes sustained pressure to get them to do almost anything. In this case it took correspondence with the County Council over a period of years, delivery of newsletters, publicity through the media and online campaigning.

The final breakthrough came on 11 July when I suggested combining removal of the chicane with other works. Documents obtained under Freedom of Information legislation show that it was only after this article was published and my letter sent that the County Council made any serious plans to deal with the chicane. We got there in the end!

At the same time as removing the chicane the County Council made drainage improvements – I am certainly hoping that this puts an end to the awful flooding that has beset the area for years now.

The final stage of works is the resurfacing of Maryon Road and Brazier’s Wood Road between Maryon Road and Clapgate Lane. At this time existing speed bumps will be replaced with speed tables. I’ll be watching to ensure a the County Council do a proper job on this – we need them to be effective in controlling speed but not be so severe as to damage responsible motorists’ vehicles. This work is scheduled for half-term week – 25-29 October 2021.