Fears sparked of traffic chaos in Ufford High Street

Gas firm Cadent Gas has started work in Ufford High Street using a revised plan which involved using temporary traffic lights to control vehicle movements rather than closing the road completely for 13 weeks.

And Judi Hallett, clerk of Ufford Parish Council, said the changes had been "much better" and had kept traffic flowing in the road while engineers proceeded with replacing ageing pipes.

READ MORE: Cadent Gas will 'continue to plan' work in Ufford street

She said: "The revision has been 100% better because they are not having to close the road.

"They are using traffic lights instead of having to close the road completely and it has been much better to have traffic flowing in the road.

"Cadent have listened to what the parish council and the residents said and they have revised their works."

READ MORE: The Crown in Ufford 'may not survive' Cadent gas works

Polly and Max Durrant, who run The Crown pub, were concerned about the impact of the Cadent Gas works on trade (Image: Submitted) She revealed Cadent was also going to stop its works during December so the village businesses were not affected during a vital trading period.

In May, this newspaper reported concerns from Polly Durrant, who runs the 18th century Crown pub in the High Street, that the pub "may not survive" the impact of a road closure on trade, especially in the current challenging economic climate.

She said the pub relied on walk-ins and passers-by, but feared tourists and visitors would choose to visit a more easily accessible pub if they found the High Street had been blocked off.

READ MORE: Letter will call for Ufford gas mains to remain in place

However, following a packed public meeting when 140 villagers met Cadent representatives, the gas firm agreed to revise its plans for the roadworks, which should have started in June.

Eleanor Lewis, head of customer experience at Cadent, said: "In July we presented a revised programme and method of delivery to Ufford Parish Council for the essential gas works that needed to take place in the village.

"The revised plan included a less intrusive method of traffic management and came about following close work with Suffolk County Council and Nest Construction.

READ MORE: High Street in Ufford to close until August for Cadent works

"We also carried out an additional meeting with local businesses so that they were kept fully informed of what would be happening.

"Since July, we have started the work and made really good progress and have been in regular contact with local councils to keep them updated on how the works are going.

"If residents do have any concerns about these Cadent works taking place, then they can contact us directly on our free phone number 0800 151 2404 to discuss the issues."