Bids for major road schemes near King's Lynn supported by county council
Plans for a major road project have moved on to the next step after £1.1 million was pledged towards funding the scheme yesterday.
Norfolk County Council’s cabinet agreed to set aside the funds for the West Winch Housing Access Road (WWHAR), as well as £100,000 to improve the Pullover roundabout.
The meeting heard that the West Winch road, which would provide a bypass route to the A10 through the village, would unlock the potential to build thousands of new homes in the area.
Tom McCabe, executive director of community and environmental services, said: “Any of us who has spent time in the west will be very much aware of issues on both the A10 and at the A17/A47 junction.
“This proposal sets out our plans to begin to tackle these and indeed to deliver some much-needed housing in the area.”
The cabinet agreed to initially pledge the £1.1 million towards getting the project off the ground, which would be reimbursed through Department for Transport (DfT) grants, and the authority will now bid for the same amount to be taken from the county’s business rates pool.
Councillor Bill Borrett said: “I’m aware that we’re putting in a bid so we haven’t definitely got the money from central government but for every pound that we are approving from the business rates pool, we will get another pound from government to deliver infrastructure in Norfolk, so I absolutely support this and I hope it’s successful.”
Graham Plant, cabinet member for growing the economy, said the delivery of the West Winch road will “kick-start” the planned housing growth in the area.
Mr Plant said without the access road, around 300 dwellings can be built in the area, but once the new road is in place, that number will increase to 4,000.
“Implementing the WWHAR at the earliest opportunity will also demonstrate to local residents that Norfolk County Council is serious about putting the infrastructure in place first, to support planned growth across the county,” he added.
Martin Wilby, cabinet member for highways and infrastructure, said: “It’s important that we get the right infrastructure in place throughout the county and this is a key, major scheme that we need to develop so I fully support it.”
He added: “This is a crucial part of our plan, Together for Norfolk, to improve the road network and enable housing and economic growth.”
Richard Blunt, West Norfolk Council’s cabinet member for development, said the West Winch development is the largest strategic growth area in the borough.
He said: “Along with the recent news that the regional transport body has supported these two Norfolk schemes, this latest support means we have taken two major steps towards making these schemes a reality.”