Sudbury is a lovely town but faces the kinds of challenges to the health of its high street that are familiar up and down the country. At the same time, our economy is struggling and vacancies are drying up, which is extremely worrying – particularly for young people starting out in life. In my view, the best way to restore local economic strength would be to deliver an ambitious regeneration of Sudbury’s town centre.
Of course, much has been said about restoring our town over the years, with many steering groups and plans being assembled and drawn up. But there has been very little progress and the sticking point has always been – a lack of funding to move the bus station, and in a way that continues to deliver an effective bus service for the town. We now have that opportunity, with £26m of public funding to bid into. This is funding that has to be spent on bus services in Suffolk.
To be clear, private finance to deliver new shops and housing would still be the main funding route to regeneration of our town, but we have to be realistic and accept such significant investment is going to be hard to mobilise for the Hamilton Road Quarter whilst it is next to a working bus station. At the same time, we also have to continue delivering a good bus offer in Sudbury, and any bid would need to involve detailed consultation with all stakeholders – including the district and town councils – on where a new site could be effectively located.
Nevertheless, whatever our views on this matter it must be obvious that nothing meaningful has happened for years, and the stagnant status quo is not delivering – particularly for our local economy and job creation.
Update - July 2026
In an important step forward for the regeneration of Sudbury, I’m delighted to announce that a feasibility study will now take place to assess the future of the town’s bus station. This has my full support, and is also backed by the Town, District and County Councils. The aim is to find an alternative site for the bus station that still delivers a good service for Sudbury, but also enables the long overdue regeneration of the Hamilton Road quarter to actually take place. Yes, people have heard this before (for years), but this time there is potentially money on the table – if we can act fast enough and come together in support of a sensible way forward.
Q&A - April 2026
'People have been talking about this for years - why now?'
Another point that has been raised about Sudbury Regeneration is that it’s been talked about for many years and nothing has been done. In my view, that’s not a reason to stop talking about it, instead we should be focussing on the positives and campaigning for something that is achievable – with funding we have already secured for Suffolk. It’s a fact that Suffolk County Council will receive over £26 million to improve bus services in Suffolk. We could use that funding to move the bus station, to a suitable location following consultation with key local stakeholders, and in turn attract crucial private investment to develop the Hamilton Road Quarter and ultimately improve Sudbury for the better.
‘Where would I move Sudbury bus station?’
It’s a fair question - and one quite a few have asked, following my posts about Sudbury Regeneration. I’d prefer to give a direct answer but unfortunately that’s not possible for several reasons.
- It’s not realistic to pluck a possible location out of the sky, since any new setting would need to be subject to a host of expert assessment. That work has not been done, certainly not recently as far as I am aware, and would be a necessary precursor to drawing up a credible shortlist.
- Such a project should rightly involve consultation with key stakeholders like Sudbury Town Council, not to mention the residents they represent.
- Importantly from a legal point of view, if we are to deliver a new bus station for Sudbury, that would involve a formal planning application in which issues such as the previous two bullets would be legal requirements.
There are two certainties that I believe matter:
- The money is on the table; that may not be the case forever
- It has been proven that the current derelict Hamilton Road site is much harder to regenerate alongside a working bus station.
Remember - we may have public money for the bus station investment, but wider regeneration that it could enable would need substantial private finance. We therefore have to focus on what steps would attract such investment.
People may be happy with the derelict status quo. I’m not. Sudbury could be so much better; our local economy could be stronger. I will therefore be urging the new Suffolk County Council administration to seize this opportunity, and thereby launch the formal work on getting all of the detail sorted and ducks in a row.
