Bus company looks forward to move

AFTER months of deadlock, Ipswich Buses is today again looking forward to moving to a new depot off Hadleigh Road.

The bus company should have moved out of its existing premises in Constantine Road last year – but the intervention of Network Rail prevented work starting on the new depot.

The Evening Star revealed last night that the bus company's current depot is to be converted into a new police station for the town which is due to open in 2009.

The bus company's new home is to be on the site of the former Harris bacon factory between the rail lines from Ipswich to Norwich and Felixstowe.

It is impossible to reach the site without going over one of two rail bridges – and infrastructure company Network Rail which is responsible for the bridges insisted their barriers would have to be strengthened in the wake of the Selby rail disaster.

Now, after lengthy negotiations, details of the work to be done have been agreed.

And that should mean that work on the new depot should be able to start before the end of the year – and the move should be completed by 2007.

The household waste site and concrete plant in Portman Walk will also move to Hadleigh Road, freeing up that site for redevelopment with homes and offices.

The Constantine Road depot is not owned by Ipswich Buses – its ownership was taken over by the company's owner, Ipswich Council, when the borough plugged a hole in its pension fund four years ago.

And it is the council which will own the Hadleigh Road depot – the bus

company will be its tenant.

Ipswich Buses managing director Malcolm Robson was pleased that things were starting to move again.

He said: "It's taken a long time for the council and Network Rail to come to an agreement on this, but now things seem to have been sorted out.

"We should be able to get started on building the new depot before the end of this year and be looking to move before too long."