Woodbridge Town Council says a town-wide 20mph limit, new school crossings and changes at Bullards Lane and Sandy Lane arrive by early 2027 under a £5m scheme.
Woodbridge is to get a town-wide 20mph speed limit, with the main roads through the town left out, by early 2027. That is the timetable Woodbridge Town Council published on 16 September for the first phase of Suffolk County Council’s £5 million Active Travel scheme, the project that put the zebra crossing outside St Mary’s School on Burkitt Road last year.
The town council’s statement says phase one delivery “is expected to continue by early 2027” and will include:
- a town-wide 20mph limit, “excluding the main/arterial roads through Woodbridge”
- new crossings, “particularly around local schools”
- traffic management changes at Bullards Lane and Sandy Lane
Details of phase two, the town centre, “should follow in the next few weeks”. Its two stated aims are wider pavements in Quay Street and less traffic around Market Hill.
What phase one is, and where the 20mph idea came from
Suffolk County Council split the project in two: South Woodbridge first, the town centre second. The county consulted on phase one between 12 February and 9 April 2024 and published its consultation summary that August. The 20mph question drew 2,187 responses and 910 pieces of written feedback. Across all responses:
- 43 per cent agreed or strongly agreed
- 31 per cent disagreed or strongly disagreed
- 26 per cent neither agreed nor disagreed
Among respondents whose postcode put them inside the project area, support was higher: 58 per cent agreed, 28 per cent disagreed and 14 per cent were neutral. The most common written comments were that a lower limit “would not prevent poor driving” (18 per cent) and that the limit should be extended to other roads (also 18 per cent). The county called the feedback “widely supportive” and said it would consider adding Pytches Road and Bredfield Road.
The same consultation explains the Bullards Lane and Sandy Lane changes. The county had proposed modal filters, points closed to through traffic, on Bilney Road, Bullard’s Lane, California and near the railway bridge on Sandy Lane, to create a 2km low-traffic route. That idea was rejected by 55 per cent of respondents against 32 per cent in favour. The county’s published response was to drop the filters on California and Bullard’s Lane and instead:
- put traffic calming on Sandy Lane
- trial a one-way system northbound on Bullard’s Lane, between Peterhouse Crescent and Naunton Road
- trial a modal filter on Bilney Road at the Grundisburgh Road exit
Woodbridge Town Council has backed the 20mph limit since before the consultation. Its March 2024 statement says it offered to fund the design of the scheme “as far back as 2021”.
What has been built so far
One scheme is on the ground. The county announced on 10 September 2025 that the zebra crossing on Burkitt Road outside St Mary’s Church of England Primary School was finished over the summer holidays, with extended parking restrictions either side. Two further crossings, at Hasketon Road and Grundisburgh Road, were “scheduled to be completed in early 2026”. We could not find a county notice confirming they are done.
The county secured the Active Travel England money in 2022. Its phase two report of April 2025 puts the figure at £5 million and sets out a timeline: detailed design for the town centre from spring 2025 to summer 2026.
Phase two: the town centre
The town centre consultation ran from 14 November 2024 to 10 January 2025 and drew 433 responses, according to the county’s release of 4 June 2025. The proposals it said it would develop are:
- Station Road and Quay Street: improve the Station Road crossing, widen the Quay Street pavements, and consider pavement improvements on Cumberland Street and Church Street
- The Thoroughfare: maintain the footways, improve the layout and pavements at the entrance, and sign the existing vehicle restrictions more clearly
- Market Hill: one-way traffic for vehicles crossing Market Hill towards Theatre Street, plus bike parking and greenery
The town council’s September statement says the phase two detail is weeks away. Its mayor, Councillor Nigel Phipps, said the project “will finally see the light of day” and warned that it “does, however, introduce changes that will disrupt some car journeys undertaken today”. He asked residents to use the feedback opportunities the county will provide “so that adjustments can be made if deemed necessary”.
What it means for you
If you drive in Woodbridge, most residential streets drop to 20mph by early 2027. The main roads through the town are excluded, though the council has not yet published the list of which roads count as arterial. The legal speed limit order has to be advertised as a public notice before it takes effect, and we will report it when it appears.
If you live near Bullards Lane or Sandy Lane, expect traffic calming on Sandy Lane and a trial one-way northbound on part of Bullard’s Lane, rather than the road closures first proposed.
If you walk children to school, the Burkitt Road crossing is in, and Hasketon Road and Grundisburgh Road were next on the list.
If you use the town centre, the Quay Street and Market Hill changes are the ones to watch for. The county’s own timeline had detailed design running to summer 2026, and the town council expects the detail within weeks.
More local information: roadworks and travel, parking in Woodbridge and Main Road, Martlesham one-way for 20 weeks.
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