Opponents of the Norwich Western Link taking their fight to London have been reminded that plenty of people in Norfolk are in favour of the £251m road.

On Friday, Extinction Rebellion protesters will travel to Westminster to picket outside the Department for Transport against building the road to link the NDR to the A47 west of the city.

It comes as Norfolk County Council waits to learn if the government will bankroll 85pc of the cost.

During the protest, the group led by Baroness Jenny Jones will make speeches and deliver a letter to transport minister Mark Harper and a painting of the Wensum Valley.

Eastern Daily Press: Extinction Rebellion Norwich on a previous London protestExtinction Rebellion Norwich on a previous London protest (Image: Extinction Rebellion)

READ MORE: Major road project branded 'elephant in the room' over climate change drive

But as they head to London, James Palmer, chairman of Eastern Powerhouse reminded them that the long-running saga also has plenty of supporters despite the environmental consequences.

He said: "To enable a strong economy, infrastructure has to be of the level necessary to allow for free movement of people and freight.

Eastern Daily Press:

"We support upgrades to both road and rail networks in the region when necessary and the Western Link is such an example.”

The painting, by Norfolk artist Tor Falcon, shows the part of the valley which is earmarked to be built on, which is home to a rare chalk stream featured in Sir David Attenborough’s recent series Wild Isles.

Eastern Daily Press: Norfolk artist Tor FalconNorfolk artist Tor Falcon (Image: Newsquest)

READ MORE: Fears raised over safety of a bridge on £251m Norwich Western Link

Ms Falcon said: "Five years spent drawing Norfolk’s rivers has shown me that a river is not just the water.

"A river is the valley it has carved and all its tributaries and their valleys. A river is the flora and fauna that moves freely along its life-sustaining corridor. It is the oldest living thing in the landscape and everything is part of it."

Eastern Daily Press: Norfolk artist Tor FalconNorfolk artist Tor Falcon (Image: Newsquest)

The protest will be part of a weekend of action called the Big One which will bring Extinction Rebellion groups from across the country together.

Eastern Daily Press: A visualisation of how the Western Link would lookA visualisation of how the Western Link would look (Image: Norfolk County Council)

A petition set up by a number of groups opposing the Western Link has attracted almost 15,000 signatures.