South Norfolk residents quiz county council at roadshow
Norfolk County Council's executive directors and leader Cliff Jordan came to the Corn Hall in Diss to allow residents to quiz them on local issues. Managing director Dr Wendy Thompson addressing the audience. Photo: Harriet Orrell - Credit: Archant
Residents and business owners received the rare opportunity to quiz the executive officers of Norfolk County Council.
Norfolk County Council's executive directors and leader Cliff Jordan came to the Corn Hall in Diss to allow residents to quiz them on local issues. Photo: Harriet Orrell - Credit: Archant
More than 50 people packed into the historic Corn Hall in Diss to put their questions to the county council leader Cliff Jordan, the managing director Wendy Thompson and their colleagues.
The main topic of concern was the infrastructure around south Norfolk and the apparent increase in traffic.
Executive director of community and environmental services Tom McCabe handled a number of questions about the county's roads including Victoria Road in Diss and the long-awaited Long Stratton bypass.
He said: 'Norfolk is a county of market towns and most of our roads have not been designed in the past thirty of forty years with the villages and towns building up along them.
Norfolk County Council's executive directors and leader Cliff Jordan came to the Corn Hall in Diss to allow residents to quiz them on local issues. Leader Cliff Jordan addressing the audience. Photo: Harriet Orrell - Credit: Archant
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'The only way to alleviate this traffic is to look to a bypass which is part of the situation in Long Stratton.'
However Mr McCabe went on to say that a bypass for Diss is not on the county council's agenda, nor will it be any time soon.
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Resident of Victoria Road, John Capon, lobbied the officer to employ vehicle restrictions on Victoria Road that would limit the size and amount of heavy goods vehicles coming along the road.
He said: 'Something should be done to restrict the lorries as bigger vehicles cause so much noise at all hours and the pollution is terrible.'
Mr McCabe highlighted a similar situation in East Harling where a temporary traffic regulation order was put in place to restrict larger vehicles cutting through the village from the A1066 to the A11.
However he added this was placed on a B-road and as Victoria Road is an A-road it would be more difficult to achieve.
Other items on the agenda were the proposed loss of 50 per cent of the county's mobile library service and the rising population in Norfolk.
Leader Cliff Jordan closed the meeting with an open invitation for people to continue the conversation.
He said: 'It's very easy to sit here and think you have all the answers but we haven't and we have got to work together as a community.'
