Work on a number of key developments in Ipswich is to resume shortly, council chiefs have confirmed.
Construction work on 60 homes at the former Tooks bakery plant, off Bury Road, ceased when more stringent lockdown measures were announced by the Government, with the restoration of the old Post Office on the Cornhill being suspended a few weeks later.
Those will both now resume sometime in the next two weeks, with staff working on the two sites observing social distancing measures while they work.
MORE: Follow the Suffolk Coronavirus Facebook page for the latest newsA planned upgrade of the play area at Christchurch Park will also begin soon while the equipment is closed to the public during the coronavirus lockdown.
Additionally, necessary work on repairs and maintenance to empty council houses has resumed so that they are ready for new tenants.
According to the council, it is working on 50 properties from its backlog of 94 which need repairs. It is understood that 19 of those have already been matched with 19 priority families in temporary accommodation.
It confirmed that latest safe working guidance during the coronavirus pandemic issued by the Government will be observed at all its developments.
Elsewhere, Christchurch Park’s play area is currently closed because of the lockdown, and work will begin on a 10 week programme to upgrade equipment there while it is not in use.
Russell Williams, the council’s chief executive, said: “This cautious approach is the right one and throughout we shall be following Government guidelines and adapting to any changes announced by the Prime Minister.
“But we should not get carried away and think we shall soon be getting back to normal. Our public buildings will remain closed until at least 22nd May and we are still stressing the need for social distancing to continue.
MORE: Old Tooks Bakery to be developed for 60 homes“The current situation is, perhaps, best described as a cautious beginning of a partial recovery phase. We will continue to meet the needs of the most vulnerable in society as well as provide a range of important services. The Council will carry on redeploying staff into key areas to enable this to happen but alongside this we hope to see some elements of our ‘closed services’ slowly get back to something like normality – all where they can follow relevant national guidelines.”
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