Bid for cash for new £37.4m bypass to be lodged

People in Long Stratton have been calling for a bypass for decades, so that traffic using the A140 does not go straight through the town.

Last year, the Department for Transport made £570,000 available to work up the business case for the bypass.

And this month, Norfolk County Council will submit the outline business case to the government, in the hope of securing close to £27m to pay for the road.

Martin Wilby, cabinet member for highways, infrastructure and transport at Norfolk County Council, said: “The A140 through Long Stratton is a real pinch point that affects thousands of road users, and the people who live and work in Long Stratton, on a daily basis.

"We remain committed to this vital scheme which will cut congestion, help the local economy and vastly improve this major route linking Norwich and Ipswich.

"The bypass is set to create hundreds of new jobs and homes, open up improvements for cycling and walking, and solve issues local people have been facing for more than a generation.”

The business case aims to convince the government the bypass is worth investing in.

The project would be mainly externally funded with 70pc from the government’s Major Road Network Fund and 30pc from local contributions, made up primarily of developer contributions and Community Infrastructure Levy contributions.

South Norfolk Council is due to make a decision on existing planning applications connected with the road in the spring or summer.

The new bypass, to the east of the town, would be a single carriageway road, extending from the existing junction between the A140 and Church Lane to the north.

It would head south for just under two miles and then rejoin the existing A140, just south of Oakside Farm.

The council says the bypass would create 625 jobs and 1,800 new homes.

The target date for work to start on building it is mid-2023, with the road open to traffic before the end of 2024.