Norfolk County Council withdraws planning permission for Norwich Western Link in new blow for road construction

Above: Norfolk County Council.

The Tory administration at Norfolk County Council have withdrawn the current planning application and prioritised discussions with the Department of Transport on a way forward on the proposed Western Link road. This follows a decision last March from Natural England  who objected to the plans, thereby presenting a ‘significant impediment to delivery’ of the Western Link Road. The costs to date have reached £274m. 

A county council press statement said that, “because the Government is keen to enable economic growth and deliver infrastructure, we remain confident that we can reach a good solution together.”

Leader of the Lib Dems on Norfolk County Council, Brian Watkins, commented: “We are still awaiting news from the Department of Transport about whether they are prepared to fund the project, and that response is long overdue.”

It is generally believed that the Labour government are hesitant to fund the road, and so are demanding a more thorough business case from the county council, including full consideration of alternative proposals and their relative likelihood of success. The irony is that the Lib Dems have been calling for greater scrutiny of the Western Link plans since their inception. If more study of alternative provisions and routes had been considered at the beginning, perhaps the county wouldn't be so many tens of millions in the red with nothing to show for it. 

Withdrawal of planning permission suggests that, if anything is ever built, it'll be a long time coming. Little relief to the taxpayers who footed the enormous bill.