Babergh District Council have plans which could see the piece of land behind Sudbury Railway Station, and adjacent to Roy's Car Park redeveloped.

Currently this land is not used for anything, and has been spotted by the Sudbury Rotary and Talbot Clubs as a potential spot where they would pay for a shelter to allow youths to go to be out of the way of the town. This would tie in with the planned enlargement of the short stay car park on Great Eastern Road.

The piece of land, shown left, is approx 25 metres squared, and sits between the rear boundaries of the Railway, Great Eastern Road Car Park, Sterling Garage and Ernest Doe's Yard on Cornard Road.

The plan would involve the removal of the fence between the car park to allow more spaces, John Sayers from the Sudbury Rotary Club - who have been looking for a place for this shelter for some time said: "A shelter would provide a safe and dry place for young people to meet away from the hustle of the centre of the town.
It would be much better for young people to meet in something like a youth shelter rather than finding themselves stood in shop doorways or in other places in the town centre. It is something that the Rotary Club has been pushing for, for several years now.
"There is money in the kitty for the shelter but we have never been able to find a site for it. Now we have teamed up with the Talbot club and we seem to be moving forward."

Previous Sites suggested for the shelter have included Friars Meadow and Mill Acre have come to nothing.

However, Sudbury Station Adopter and Sudbury in Bloom Committee Member Darren Johnson disagrees with the suggested location:

"This piece of land is secluded from and hidden from view of everything else, and given how close it is to an unstaffed railway station, it will encourage vandalism and unsociable behavior for rail users after dark.
We now, luckily, see very little vandalism at the station, which is a miracle considering the state the old station got into back in the 1980s, Let's not wreck the one we've got by encouraging people to loiter there. It would also encourage the problems which plagued Siam Gardens (drug users etc) to be moved to the railway station, making it a no go area.

There are also the environment aspects to consider this area is home to a number of lizards, slow-worm, many birds and other creatures, the best option would be for it to be left as a natural area"

The Shelter could look like the one in Maldon (pictured right) and cost in the region of £7000.

This item will be updated as further details are available.

What's your view on the proposed shelter?
Do you think Sudbury Station is the right place?
Where would you put it, or would you rather not have one at all?

Have Your Say on this issue: