Council criticized for lack of alternative plan for disputed road project

A council led by Conservatives has drawn criticism for its failure to establish a “plan B” as it prepares to halt progress on a contentious new road initiative. Earlier in the current year, Natural England revised regulations concerning the protection of Barbastelle bats, a species inhabiting the path of the projected £274 million Norwich Western Link (NWL). This regulatory change suggests that Norfolk County Council is improbable to secure the necessary licence for the road’s construction. On Friday, Kay Mason-Billig, who leads the council, stated that she had contacted the government, requesting its intervention and asserting that the “goalposts” had been shifted. Conversely, Steve Morphew, who heads the council’s Labour group, alleged that senior councillors had disregarded prior warnings, stating they had not taken a “blind bit of notice”. Mr Morphew commented, “It was a good three years ago we were warning… there would be major stumbling blocks with this scheme and they needed a plan B.” He further added, “And recently, as it’s looked less and less likely that it was going to go forward, we needed an exit strategy, and we were urging them to negotiate an exit strategy with the government.” Mr Morphew concluded, “But unfortunately [the council] hasn’t taken a blind bit of notice of any of those calls, so they’ve put themselves in a difficult position and they’ve got nobody to blame but themselves.” Should it receive approval, the 3.9-mile (6.3km) road is intended to link the Northern Distributor Road, also identified as Broadland Northway, with the A47 in Easton, situated to the west of Norwich. The preceding Conservative administration had pledged £213 million towards this initiative. Nevertheless, the Labour party is presently scrutinizing all financial commitments and has already rescinded the £50 million Vauxhall Roundabout upgrade project slated for Great Yarmouth. Graham Plant, the Conservative cabinet member responsible for highways, transport, and infrastructure, stated that alternative plans for the NWL would have incurred “similar amounts of money.” He asserted, “We’re in an impossible position and we need government intervention to resolve it positively for the people and businesses of Norfolk.” Plant added, “This new guidance from Natural England only came out in March of this year, and it came out at a time when we had put our planning application in.” He further elaborated, “We’re at an impasse. This is one government department against another. We’ve got the Department for Transport giving us £200m for a scheme which they saw in the outline business case as feasible.” Later this month, members of Norfolk County Council’s cabinet are scheduled to deliberate on the road’s future, with councillors anticipated to halt additional work on the undertaking. An announcement regarding a decision is foreseen during the government’s spending review, which is scheduled for the spring.