SUDBURY RAMBLERS
FEBRUARY
Sunday 3rd February, Bentley, 5 mile circular Bentley Woodland Walk, meet at Bentley village hall IP92DW, 10:30 am start. Mark 01787370640
Wednesday 6th February, Sicklesmere, a 5 mile circular walk, meet at the Rushbrooke Arms car park, Sicklesmere IP300BU, 9am for cooked breakfast before 10:30am walk or option for brunch after the walk. Keith 01787464972
Sunday 17th February, Ipswich, Christchurch Park, Waterfront and Holywells Park, 5 Miles, no need for walk boots and coffee on way round, meet at Westerfield Road entrance to Christchurch Park, IP42UJ, 10:30am start. Philip 07854179779
Details of all our walks can be found by searching www.sudburyramblers.org.uk

Permanent and Seasonal Attractions
Permanent and Seasonal Attractions in the District include: Flatford (NT), Lavenham Guildhall (NT), Melford Hall (NT), Kentwell Hall. Please see contact details for these below.
Gainsborough’s House - Mon to Sat: 10am – 5pm Adults £6.50
Long Melford Heritage Centre - Sat 10am-4pm, Sun Noon-4pm, Weds 2pm-4pm. Free Entry

Various Dates
Stepping Out in Suffolk- Health Walks, See web site www.walkingforhealth.org.uk
Guided Countryside Walks – See www.getting-out.co.uk

SAVE FREE PARKING IN SUDBURY
Sudbury’s businesses are proud to be able to offer their customers 3 hours free parking in their District Council Car Parks. However, there is currently a review by Babergh District Council who are considering starting charging for the currently free period and businesses are very concerned by how this will affect their trade. There has been a lot of publicity about how High Streets all over the country are struggling, initially it was the competition from out of town shopping, who not only benefit from being able to offer free parking but also have lower business rates, now it is the growth in online shopping, which again does not have the same high levels of business rates. Reports can be found to show evidence that shopkeepers overestimate the proportion of customers that travel by car. However, these reports relate to metropolitan areas rather than small rural towns where many people have no option but to drive to the shops.
Keeping three hours free parking in Sudbury is important to both businesses, visitors and residents as demonstrated in two recent surveys carried out by the Sudbury Town Team. In a survey of businesses in Sudbury Town Centre in January 2014, free car parking was the main issued which was raised as the most important factor to the success of their business in the future. Stephane Chapotot co-owner of The Secret Garden in Friars Street said "business rates are a large proportion of our costs and on top of that as a business we also have to pay for our bins to be emptied, what are these business rates going towards if we are also going to lose free parking for our customers?"
Another survey carried out by the Sudbury Town Team and Gainsborough's House of visitors and residents who visited the town centre which come out in June 2015 showed that 31.7% came into Sudbury because of the free parking and 27.3% would like more free parking available.
Jane Hatton from the Sudbury Town Team said " Local authorities should see free parking as a service for local people not a short term method to raise money and more importantly as a way of supporting their market towns. It has been proven in other towns that when they lose free parking it discourages people from using the town centre, towns where parking charges have been introduced have then had to offer hours when parking is free to increase footfall but the damage to their town centres has already been done".
Chris Storey from Sudbury Chamber of Commerce added "A careful scrutiny of the details surrounding the location of Sudbury, access to the town and other retail centres and the particular challenges of the town centre should make it absolutely clear that three hours free parking is essential if the town centre is not to decline significantly. From a purely economic perspective the council should not have any grounds for bringing in charges. The town is dependent on this for its future prosperity and a more retrograde step is hard to envisage. Reducing the long term rateable value of the town centre – which is likely to result from such an act – together with the reduced employment and wellbeing derived from the town centre would reduce long term local government income and be far more costly than the small income car parking charges would produce. The Chamber in conjunction with the Town Team remain resolved to fight these proposals and ensure that the town centre can have a long term viable and successful future for the benefit of all, including Babergh District Council.”
If you have any comments or thoughts on Sudbury losing free parking please leave your comments at http://seeanddosudbury.co.uk/community-news/10154/ or email info@seeanddosudbury.co.uk

CONTACTS
Assington Mill, Assington Ln,Sudbury, CO10 5LZ. 01787 229955
www.assingtonmill.com
Flatford: Bridge Cottage – NT Flatford,East Bergholt CO7 6UL 01206 297201 www.nationaltrust.org.uk/flatford- bridge-cottage/
Kentwell, Kentwell Hall, Long Melford, CO10 9BA, 01787 310 207, http://www.kentwell.co.uk
Lavenham Guildhall – NT, Market Place, Lavenham CO10 9QZ. 01787 247646 www.nationaltrust.org.uk/lavenham-guildhall/
Lavenham Tourist, Information Centre, Lady Street, Lavenham CO10 9RA. 01787 248207 www.southandheartofsuffolk.org.uk
Melford Hall, Long Melford, Sudbury, Suffolk, CO10 9AA. 01787 379228. http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/melfor
d-hall/
Mander Auctioneers, Glemsford, near Sudbury CO10 7QU. 01787 282261 www.manderauctions.co.uk
The Quay Theatre, The Quay Theatre, Quay Lane, Sudbury. CO10 2AN. 01787 374745. www.quaytheatre.org.uk
Contemporary East Anglian Artists and Tudor Life Exhibition. Gainsboroughs House, 46 Gainsborough St. Sudbury CO10 2EU Normal entry prices. Contact 01787 372958 www.gainsborough.org