New public car park opens at Long Melford Village Memorial Hall to ease strain on main shopping street

A new, free car park is open and ready for use in Long Melford, which the parish council hopes will alleviate the parking strain in the village’s main street.

Work was completed on the resurfacing and repainting of the former village hall parking site on Monday, with 34 marked spaces, including two disabled bays, now available to the public.

Funded through the parish infrastructure investment plan, with help from a Babergh District Council community infrastructure levy grant, the work was a collaboration between the parish council and the village hall committee, in response to requests from businesses in Hall Street for more parking options in the village centre.

Parish councillor Jonathan Ewbank told the Free Press: “There has been a big call for car park assistance for quite some time.

“The idea is to ease the pressure on Hall Street. I think this will have a good impact because it will give 34 extra spaces and alleviate the pressure on the parking outside shops in Hall Street, which can get quite full.

“We want to give as much help for businesses in Long Melford as possible, so they can be successful.”

The new car park will be reserved for use by the village hall for events on specific days of the month.

It is free to use, although a donations box has been installed, with contributions going towards the ongoing maintenance of the site.