Projects in Ipswich are to get a £500,000 boost from Suffolk County Council as the first phase of a £2m attempt to improve the town.

The largest grant - £125,000 - is to go towards refurbishing the viewing platform at Stoke Bridge which is dominated by a huge buoy and a vandalised former phone box.

The buoy is set to stay - but the fate of the phone box has still to be decided. Its most recent use was to house a defibrillator but it is now just a shell with the glass smashed.

Ipswich Star: The fate of the vandalised phone box at Stoke Bridge has still to be decided.The fate of the vandalised phone box at Stoke Bridge has still to be decided. (Image: Paul Geater)

The project will see an upgrade to the existing viewing area for residents and visitors, new seating, planting, and new permanent heritage interpretation boards.

Last week Ipswich Borough Council and Suffolk County Council set out improvement works they hope to achieve after the football club secured promotion to the Premier League. 

Visitors will also be able to enjoy digital content, thanks to a new online platform offering the same harbour view of different periods in history, plus information about the waterfront as it is today, with links to the businesses and organisations.

Ipswich Star: Terry Baxter welcomed the plans to improve Stoke Bridge.Terry Baxter welcomed the plans to improve Stoke Bridge. (Image: Newsquest)

Ipswich Central chair Terry Baxter said: “We are extremely pleased that our vision for the Stoke Bridge project, another of our business plan pledges for the town, will happen thanks to funding from Suffolk County Council.

"Stoke Bridge is a key location for the town, an important historic landmark and point of welcome for visitors to Ipswich Waterfront.”

Ipswich Star: A CGI of the proposed new viewing area at Stoke Bridge.A CGI of the proposed new viewing area at Stoke Bridge. (Image: Ipswich Central)

Other schemes getting funding are:

London Road (£100,000). Work to complete a fit out of London Road premises so that bespoke training courses for young people not in education, employment or training can be run through the Trade Skills Academy.

Lighting rig and tour-grade PA for music venue (£76,674 - Sounds East). Supporting a local music venue to purchase its own lighting, PA and DJ set up enabling them to promote more events on a regular basis.

Achieve Vocation project (£137,862 – Inspire) Designed to engage with young people who are facing various challenges within school. The project supports personal development, employability skills, well-being, and vocational experiences.

Risk Avert programme (£16,095) Funding for a Risk Avert one-year pilot to eight secondary schools and four Pupil Referral Units (PRUs) in Ipswich.

Our Town Heritage theatre project (£50,000 – Red Rose Chain). To create a new heritage theatre project, ‘Our Town’, which will bring together disadvantaged and disabled young people from diverse communities in Ipswich through exploring the heritage of the town.