News on NWL Initial Views

Norfolk County Council’s Cabinet has this morning agreed Option C as the preferred route for the Norwich Western Link.

As mentioned previously, we recommended Option C as the best overall solution and preferred route for the new link road between the A47 and Broadland Northway (formerly the NDR) as it balances all of the issues the project needs to address. It limits environmental impacts, has a high cost-to-benefit ratio, reduces congestion and rat-running on existing roads, minimises the impact on communities and properties, and received considerable support through our recent consultation.

This is a major milestone for the project and, while there is still much work to be done, having a preferred route brings us a step closer to starting work to construct the Norwich Western Link in late 2022 and opening the road to traffic in early 2025, subject to securing funding and completing necessary statutory processes.

Further surveys and design work will now be carried out to develop the preferred route. This will include the development of complementary measures to mitigate environmental impacts, encourage walking, cycling and public transport use, and limit the amount, speed and type of vehicles using the existing road network in the area where appropriate.

Alongside our work to identify a preferred route, we have also put together a Strategic Outline Business Case for the project which councillors on our Cabinet also approved today. We intend for this to be submitted to the Department for Transport by the end of the month, which will start the process required to secure funding for the Norwich Western Link from the government. We have an excellent case for the need for the road and strong support from the public, the business community, emergency services, local councils and MPs, so we’re very hopeful we’ll be successful.

We’ll continue to let you know when there are significant updates about the project, and we’ll keep the Norwich Western Link pages of the County Council website updated, which you can find at www.norfolk.gov.uk/nwl . There will also be a further public consultation on the preferred route before we submit our planning application.