Calls for urgent progress on a pilot scheme for the future of Sudbury town centre, due to start this summer, are growing, with Suffolk County Council accused of "dragging its feet" over the plans.
Sudbury Town Council members aired their frustrations this week, after their requests for an update on proposed trial modifications to Market Hill failed to receive an update from Suffolk Highways.
Last year, town councillors chose a flexible approach - which would see central parking retained, but bays at the north end removed to widen the pavement - from a range of options presented by the county council.
Under this scheme, the road would close to traffic between May and September - allowing for events and outdoor dining space by hospitality businesses - which the town council felt supported its ambitions for flexible use of Market Hill at different times of year.
After discussions with the county council, it was agreed that this arrangement would be trialled for two years, starting this summer.
At a town council meeting on Tuesday night, however, members heard that there had been no update about this pilot from Suffolk Highways.
New town mayor Jan Osborne told the meeting: "The county council is doing what it always does - it is dragging its feet on this.
"At the time, when we discussed this option, it was up for doing a pilot this summer. The council needs to get its act together and start to get things moving. We want the pilot to be done now.
"I've spoken to the cafés and coffee shops down there. They will invest in the open space with tables and umbrellas, but only if they know it's on a permanent basis.
"They have said to me, if it is piloted for two years, that would be enough for them to invest, because they know it would be successful.
"We need to encourage music events and all sorts of things, but Rachel [Price, the town centre manager] needs to know this is going to happen.
"If we don't use the space in the first pilot year, people will say it wasn't a success and won't want to continue with it.
"To make sure it's a success, we need some warning from Suffolk County Council to say when it's going to happen."
Town clerk Ciaran Griffin confirmed he would pursue the county council for details, adding that he was "concerned we are getting quite well into the summer period" without a start date set for the trial.
Some councillors also argued that data needed to be recorded prior to the pilot starting, in order to properly gauge its impact on shoppers and trade.
Steve Hall said: "We've got no data and no evidence prior to it actually closing, so we've got no idea whether it will be a good thing or a bad thing."
Fellow councillor Tim Regester added: "We never had any form of consultation or survey, so if we want some data on whether it has any effect on businesses, parking or traffic, we need some benchmark data now.
"Unless we know when it is going to happen, and unless someone does some benchmark testing now, it's pointless, because afterwards, you've got nothing to compare with."