> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.ipswich.co.uk/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Merchants Yard link expected to open in January - URL: https://www.ipswich.co.uk/merchants-yard-link-expected-to-open-in-january/ - Published: 2026-11-04T06:57:01.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-04T06:59:43.000Z - Description: Developer Galliard Homes has confirmed that the pedestrian and cycle link between Merchants Yard and the Princes Street bridge is expected to open to the public in January 2027. As Ipswich.co.uk reported in July, the link had never opened, despite its ramp being finished in 2024. - Author: Nicola Sebastian - Tags: News, Suffolk County Council, Planning & Licensing, Housing & Urban Development **Why it matters:** The new link was a condition of planning permission for the 173-home Merchants Yard development on Grafton Way. The pavement it was meant to join was closed by Suffolk Highways as unsafe. Now it has an opening date. **The details:** Galliard Homes said works to stabilise the eastern footway of Princes Street bridge, including works on Network Rail land, form part of its current programme. “These works will enable the footway to be safely reopened to the public,” the company said. - Suffolk County Council confirmed the stabilisation works are also required to open the link. - Alongside them, Section 278 works will introduce a new crossing point and dropped kerbs, and remove the existing taxi rank road markings. Section 278 agreements, under the Highways Act 1980, allow developers to make changes to an existing public highway. **What to look out for:** Princes Street is closed southbound at all times from Monday, 2 November until 18 December, with the closure also affecting Commercial Road, according to roadworks platform one.network. - Drivers are being diverted via West End Road, London Road and Ranelagh Road, a 1.5-mile (2.4km) route that takes about four minutes. - Ipswich Buses has warned that several outbound services will be diverted, although inbound services are not affected. - Routes affected include the 3, 12, 13, 15, 16, 20, 91, 92, 93, 93A, 97, 118 and 997. **For context:** As Ipswich.co.uk reported in July, Galliard Homes subsidiary GHL (Ipswich) Developments Ltd wrote to Ipswich Borough Council in August 2024 to say: “The ramp is completed but the connection to the pavement on Princes Street Bridge is still proving to be really difficult to implement.” [Merchants Yard: Two years on, still no access to Princes Street bridgeThe ramp linking Merchants Yard to Princes Street was complete in 2024\. It has never opened. Suffolk Highways closed the adjoining pavement, deeming it unsafe, and no repair date has been given since.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/29/1e/291e4b7f-e551-4458-b546-61963954b22f/content/images/icon/ipswich-icon-f83734fc-511b-4ad2-995b-3c27b8ba6c64.png)Ipswich.co.ukNicola Sebastian![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/29/1e/291e4b7f-e551-4458-b546-61963954b22f/content/images/thumbnail/IMG_3074-3-1-06e73d8e-5b3c-444c-8800-b734cd8c6242.jpg)](https://www.ipswich.co.uk/the-footpath-ipswich-finished-but-never-opened/) - The planning condition originally required the link to be open before the 75th of the 173 homes was occupied. - The council has since amended it twice. It now requires the link to be open within 12 months of the final home first being occupied. - In July, Galliard Homes said: “While these works are not Galliard Homes’ responsibility, we have committed to funding and delivering them to improve connectivity for the local community.” **What they’re saying:** A spokesperson for Galliard Homes said: “We currently anticipate that the new pedestrian and cycle link between Merchants Yard and Princes Street bridge will open to the public in January 2027.” On the Section 278 works, the spokesperson added: “The works are progressing as planned and remain on programme for completion by January 2027.” **What’s next:** The southbound closure is listed on one.network until 18 December, while Galliard Homes says the Section 278 works remain on programme for completion by January 2027. **The bottom line:** More than two years after the ramp was finished, people living at Merchants Yard and other passersby have an expected date for when they can use the link. --- **Don't forget:** If you enjoy our content, please [add Ipswich.co.uk as a "preferred source" on Google](https://google.com/preferences/source?q=ipswich.co.uk&ref=ipswich.co.uk) so you can easily find more of the content you value. [Add as a preferred source on Google](https://google.com/preferences/source?q=ipswich.co.uk&ref=ipswich.co.uk) --- ### This article cost us \~£34 to produce It's free for you to read thanks to the generous support of our partners. Please support us by supporting them.