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As more consultation is taking place about the traffic regulations in Haverhill High Street, the leading St Edmundsbury councillor with responsibility for the town has said the will of the majority should prevail.

Cllr Anne Gower, St Edmundsbury's portfolio holder for Haverhill, and also a Suffolk county councillor said she could not understand why the process was taking so long.

"We are never going to be able to please everyone, but we must go the will of the majority," she said.

"You can't say that we haven't listened to people. It's just that we can't accommodate everyone. We have to make a decision. The longer it goes on the more painful it is going to be."

Cllr Gower said The deal-breaker as far as she was concerned was that there had to be a physical barrier in place at each end of the pedestrian area.

"All the signage in the world will not stop people driving up High Street if there is no physical barrier. We should put a barrier in place and stick to it."

Town councillors recently called the current situation of 'shared space' between cars and pedestrians dangerous and warned there would be an accident.

The same week a two-year-old boy was hit by a car driven by a disabled driver, and although he was not seriously injured, the issue was heightened again.

Police have been unable to enforce any regulations in the street because the signs are not technically and legally correct.

Suffolk County Council is still in another round of consultation with the main objectors to street closure, the disabled blue badge holders.

Cllr Gower also said they were looking at the situation in The Pightle, now a cul-de-sac since the Tesco development and re-routing of the main road, completed six months ago.

"It was lovely when it was completed," she said, "and it looks horrible now.

"One of the trees has been snapped off, pllants have been pulled out of one of the planters and there are cars, trailers and vans parked everywhere.

"It is such a shame and we are working on a solution to that."

Residents parking is provided behind the houses, and the council is unwilling to resort to double yellow lines because it is thought they also would spoil the look of what had become an attractive area.