Traffic on the A47 south of Norwich. Photo: Bill Smith

MPs will press for cash to improve A47 in House of Commons debate

By JOSEPH WATTS, Political editor Thursday, February 7, 2013
9:16 AM

Norfolk MPs will press ministers for cash to improve the A47 during a debate in the House of Commons today.

George Freeman, Conservative MP for Mid Norfolk. Photo: Bill Smith

East Anglian political and business leaders recently launched the Gateway to Growth campaign to secure A47 upgrades which could generate nearly 10,000 jobs, add £390m to the region’s economy and attract £800m of private investment.

In a debate led by Mid Norfolk MP George Freeman, MPs from around the country will push transport minister Stephen Hammond for a funding commitment.

Mr Freeman said before the debate: “Norwich is a large hub here in Norfolk, but it is not properly connected to the rural community and outside businesses.

“By improving the A47 we can change this.”

Gateway to Growth demands action on 14 projects at pinch-points and problematic junctions, including the Acle Straight, creating a third river crossing at Great Yarmouth, and building an East Winch/Middleton bypass in west Norfolk.

Originally it was thought these would be delivered over the next 20 years, but in December Mr Hammond indicated work might begin sooner than hoped.

He said the government may begin considering funding for the upgrades from this year as one of several “route-based strategies” – in which case money to pay for them could come through as early as 2015.

As well as creating a link between the Midlands and Europe, through Great Yarmouth, Mr Freeman will argue that an improved A47 would aid Norwich’s standing as a world- leading site for agricultural and plant science, making it the next “Silicon Valley”.

Andy Wood, chairman of New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership, said: “[The A47] is a crucial artery for Norfolk and we know that improvements will boost the economy and help grow jobs in the region.”

15 comments

The long term aim of improving the A47 is to bring in industry and jobs as a byproduct the easing of local transport problems will come about.Unfortunately, the A47 stretches through other counties and if they do not do their bit you are not a lot more forward on your main objectives.One of the main tributaries to the A47 is the A17 and with the announcement that the Southern Grantham By Pass is on line for 201517 it should a lever in the argument for the A47 improvements.However It is of no use improving the east end of the A47 if you cannot encourage traffic to enter the west end.

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monet

Monday, February 11, 2013
It's such a bugbear for Freeman that he could hardly bring himself to move to his constituency. Really? He is perhaps best known for being descendant of William Gladstone, but also likes to portray himself as an "entrepreneur", which is an interesting way to describe a decade and a half spent in the murky world of venture capital. His specialism, the biotech sector, the in-thing in the early noughties which soon imploded like so many investment bubbles. Never mind, as one feeding off the investors' stupidity GF doubtless did jolly well out of it. Following that demise he remained involved in the sector through his own consultancy firm, before the Conservatives kindly rescued him from the doldrums.

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Mr Cameron Isaliar

Friday, February 8, 2013
That's what we like from our MPs. Lots of pressing, pledging, calling for, and other headline-chasing hot air. In fact isn't that all these people do?

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Police Commissioner ???

Thursday, February 7, 2013
And where in the world George is a third river crossing going to get you in Yarmouth? Just been over a gridlocked Bure and Breydon Bridge, every evening Gapton Hall Road is jammed, the A12 is terrible There is no point at all paying for a third bridge when there is no way of getting the traffic across to Breydon Bridge and the A47 . Let the town fester, the planners were so intent on developing where access was bottlenecked on the Lowestoft side of GY and the Gorleston bypass has been allowed to be an estate access road for Bradwell. The A12 which was meant to be a bypass is cluttered with retail parks-there is no way of moving port traffic easily on it.There are far better things to do with funding than a third crossing-putting a decent Bure Bridge in and moving the Breydon roundabout onto the allotments so that it can have slip roads to separate traffic and enough room for traffic to move around it would cut jams at a stroke.I can't see an A149 link road mentioned Nick-that would need a bridge and for councillors to care about the East Norfolk part of GY borough and North Norfolk council districts.

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Daisy Roots

Thursday, February 7, 2013
Looks liek Richard Bacon is completely out of touch with this, as he is with everything else of importance to South Norfolk.

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john smith

Thursday, February 7, 2013
Two words for those who want to open the county up. Clement Scott. As Ingo has said, we need to create innovative ways to manage transport on the infrastructure that exists. A Third Crossing for Great Yarmouth might make the outer harbour viable and less traffic on the A47 would also facilitate that. It is time now to ask what a causeway from Acle to Great Yarmouth might cost. For Dereck Colman the excise duty on cars has been morphed into a penalty payable on exhaust emissions and no longer contributes to maintenance of the highway network.

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George Ezekial

Thursday, February 7, 2013
Two words for those who want to open the county up. Clement Scott. As Ingo has said, we need to create innovative ways to manage transport on the infrastructure that exists. A Third Crossing for Great Yarmouth might make the outer harbour viable and less traffic on the A47 would also facilitate that. It is time now to ask what a causeway from Acle to Great Yarmouth might cost. For Dereck Colman the excise duty on cars has been morphed into a penalty payable on exhaust emissions and no longer contributes to maintenance of the highway network.

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George Ezekial

Thursday, February 7, 2013
Unable to directly link rail and air passengers, unable to use P+R buses to pick up other fare paying customers and unable to undertake a traffic survey that does not disrupt commuters and costs them time and money, this NCC needs new fresh input, ideas on how to integrate and make buses work. Far from throwing more money on unsustainable roads, we only have to look at the backlog of repairs, still we want to add to the maintenance budget by increasing the road portfolio, we ought to look at why successful City's have trams, look at the work done in the past and plan for it, we should add extra modes of transport, rather than perpetuate one mode that is not serving all of us. The A 47 needs to be made more safe between Costessy and Dereham, urgently, some junctions are just not conducive to the amount of traffic that uses them. Further we need to look at using the A47, not just as a road, but a road that allows large HGV.s to get direct access to Anglian Water, a direct access to the N&N, cutting 1.5 minutes of ambulance times, unless we make this A 47 work for us, its just a limited bypass.

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ingo wagenknecht

Thursday, February 7, 2013
Norfolk is still waiting for the roads that should have been built 30 years ago, but that did not stop the government from charging us the same road tax as all the other counties that did have their roads built. We have been short changed, or should that be shafted?

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Derek Colman

Thursday, February 7, 2013
Third River crossing and a link road A 149A47for Yarmouth have been needed for many years. Brilliant news.

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Nick

Thursday, February 7, 2013
Doh- Wisbech -sorry.

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Daisy Roots

Thursday, February 7, 2013
A47 improvements would be easier if the fools at West Norfolk District council had not allowed their chums to build in the way over the last 30 years. Planning on putting a huge bypass on the low peaty land between Hardwick via Middleton Towers to East Winch was always going to be beyond a budget surely? Then there is that other major stumbling block just outside the county-the Nene river bank stretch at Ely.

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Daisy Roots

Thursday, February 7, 2013
What would aid Norwich’s standing as a world leading site for agricultural and plant science AND bring it up to speed with the rest of the country is a COMPLETE northern by-pass creating an orbital network around the city. In addition to the completion of the A11 we should also be looking at improving the rail network to the capital. Surely we want people to visit this FINE city and invest in its furture, but they wont be doing this is they cannot easily get here!!

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NorthNorwichAndy

Thursday, February 7, 2013
I wonder where the MP for Great Yarmouth is on this report no mention must not be high enough on his gender only thing he wants to do is destroy Gt Yarmouth I bet 100% he will be there when the Royay Ship arrives for the Cocktail party though.

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Dave

Thursday, February 7, 2013
I wonder where the MP for Great Yarmouth is on this report no mention must not be high enough on his gender only thing he wants to do is destroy Gt Yarmouth I bet 100% he will be there when the Royay Ship arrives for the Cocktail party though.

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Dave

Thursday, February 7, 2013