Town's party in the park event cancelled

A popular event that attracts hundreds of people to a Suffolk town centre has been cancelled, organisers have announced.

Party in the Park was expected to take place in Belle Vue Park in Sudbury this summer.

However, Sudbury Town Council has now confirmed the event will not take place this year.

Due to works for the new toilet block in Belle Vue Park taking place, the town council had hoped Party in the Park would be able to take place on Market Hill.

A spokesman for Sudbury Town Council said: "In April this year, Suffolk County Council decided not to commence with the planned Experimental Traffic Order for Market Hill meaning many of the plans for summer events also had to be cancelled.

"Unfortunately this means that Party in the Park will not be taking place in 2024, during this break we are re-thinking how we can reshape the event going forward."

The plan to close half of Market Hill to drivers and remove parking through the summer months, to allow extra space for outdoor dining was given a final approval by Sudbury Town Council in February.

However, Suffolk County Council, the body with the power to approve the Experimental Traffic Regulation Order that would have been required for the move, confirmed that decided to withdraw the proposal based on "opposition from a number of local businesses, Sudbury Chamber of Commerce and other stakeholders".

The decision was made just weeks before the pilot scheme was set to start in May and after 18 months of work between the town and county councils.

The plan was controversial, with Sudbury Chamber of Commerce carrying out a survey which it said found a majority of businesses were not in favour.