Calls to turn plot into resort car park

A FUNFAIR boss is calling on community leaders to use seafront land earmarked for a �25 million regeneration project for extra car parking until the development starts.

Charles Manning said the 17-acre south seafront site at Felixstowe could help relieve pressure on the area's streets by getting cars off the roads.

“The council says it wants to help business and tourism and this would be a great opportunity - the streets down here are packed on Sundays when the weather is good, even at this time of year,” he said.

“Using that site for car parking would really help this part of town.”

The southern seafront is always popular on Sundays with a busy market on the old Cavendish site in Sea Road and more stalls inside Mr Manning's amusement park next door.

Arcades, pubs and restaurants are open and the area attracts thousands of visitors.

Mr Manning said part of the south seafront, the Wireless Green area off Langer Road, had been used for parking previously. More recently it had been a compound and site office for the sea defence works teams but had now been cleared and was again empty.

“It's even and level and a good surface for car parking and you could easily get several hundred vehicles on there,” he said.

“No development is going to start for a couple of years or more and we would like to see the council open the gate and let people use it and free up the streets.”

The land is earmarked for a maritime park and 158 new homes and work was due to have started last September.

However, Suffolk Coastal has agreed with its development partner Bloors to abandon a start on the project until March 2010 because of the economic downturn.

Cabinet member Robert Whiting said the council would be looking at possible uses of the land on a temporary basis for the next 18 months or so.

Should the site be used temporarily for car parking? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN, or e-mail EveningStarLetters@eveningstar.co.uk