Another near miss at the new Elmswell Services ‘and this time it was me!’ says Elmswell resident

I have read extensively about the problems with regard to the new Elmswell Services complex at the A14 slip road and we at Suffolk Village Info have reported on the recent problems with Mid Suffolk  & Babergh Council trying to close it until the issues are resolved. I have also read the article on the BBC website with the owners of EG on the move asking the council to be more “pragmatic” as they are trying to resolve the dangerous situation. I am not sure they realise quite how dangerous the situation is! So this time I thought I could offer some advice to avoid accidents, injuries and potential deaths.

Let me say at the outset that I actually like the facility and welcome the initiative of more facilities in Elmswell and Woolpit as the area has been swamped with more and more houses, people and cars. With the parking at the newly refurbished COOP a nightmare, it proves a good alternative for me to pick up my newspaper on Saturday and Sunday. Home delivery of newspapers in Elmswell no longer exists but that’s another story. 

The staff at the garage appear to be very nice, helpful and the facility looks as it will be well used now and in the future if safety issues are addressed. Why these issues are allowed to be resolved in six weeks time and not immediately is ridiculous.

This Saturday around midday I drove from Church Road to the roundabout, a person behind me driving a BMW estate overtook me at the roundabout and cut across me to go at speed into the Services to queue for a coffee at Starbucks, that wound me up a little bit to start with.

I parked and went in to buy my newspaper and drove to the exit. As I drove to the exit a car was coming in the wrong way which was alarming to say the least. I believe his car was full with a small family, the young guy was very polite. He wound his window down and said “I know I shouldn’t be coming in this way but how do I get into the Garage and Starbucks. I duly told him where to go and carried on to the exit.

 It hit me quite hard afterwards that this car must have either come around the roundabout and cut across the traffic exiting the A14 slip road or come off of the A14 slip road and turned very sharp right back on himself. Either way the potential horrific consequences of entering the facilities this way do not bare thinking about if it is not addressed NOW!

The temporary NO RIGHT TURN signs at the exit were missing. As I came out of the exit I experienced the problems of trying to get into the correct right hand lane to go round the roundabout and back up the hill into Elmswell when there were at least 8 cars coming at speed off of the A14 who wanted to turn left, it was a real nightmare.

LET’S BE POSITIVE !

How in my view at least some problems at the Elmswell Services should be resolved or at least improved immediately.

1. When coming over the bridge from Woolpit there should be a NO RIGHT TURN sign at the entrance to the garage area and a sign directing traffic to go around the roundabout to access the facility.  The entrance to the facility should be made more clear.
2. At the roundabout when leaving Elmswell towards the A14 east there should be a sign that says NO ACCESS TO GARAGE, SPAR or STARBUCKS.
3. When Exiting the garage and Starbucks there should be a permanent sign that indicates NO RIGHT TURN and to access the eastbound A14 you must go round the roundabout to access the A14 Eastbound slip road.
4. Before exiting the A14 from the West there should be a sign warning of cars exiting the garage in advance.

We welcome any positive comments and ideas from our readers to help resolve this situation and offer some helpful advice to Mid Suffolk & Barbergh Council and EG on the Move

Some Reactions to this post on Social Media

Belinda ·Woolpit·

Being local we can see the issues but for someone using the A14 enroute to their destination and not familiar with this junction, the set up here is very confusing and the lack of signage is appalling.

Darren  ·Bacton & Cotton

Why isn’t this service station closed. I was under the impression that Mid Suffolk Council had ordered it’s closure until they complied with all aspects of the granted planning permission. They clearly haven’t, I suspect it’s profit before life. I pray no one is serious injured or killed through greed. CLOSE immediately until you’ve complied with the planning permission.

Meryl Elmswell

Quite agree, I had someone in front of me  turning in the exit road only the other day

Lynn Woolpit

Ian, Thankyou for your very comprehensive post. I would agree with all you have said. They should be closed down immediately. Your experiences sound horrific, and you are not the only one. Your suggestions look spot on.

Nicholas Great Barton

Well researched Ian, This firm have completely ignored the planning inspector’s report when giving the approval (against the local council) to carry out access and departure from the site before work started. Although not the best of solutions it would have worked. Nothing was done, it appears that the local planners did not enforce any of the conditions before work started or at any time during construction and further did not grant a completion certificate. The developers/owners have completely ignored their obligations placed upon them my the National Planning Inspectorate. There must be some recourse, otherwise why do we have such a body.  Thank you for your suggestions for a temporary solution as long as some jobs worth will think “that will do”