The controversial revamp of Norwich's Heartsease roundabout will now feature a cycle track which runs separately from the footpath, after council bosses snapped up extra land.

The £4.4m revamp of the busy junction started in September, before Norfolk County Council owned all the land it needed to complete the scheme.

The council conceded that if it could not obtain all the necessary land then some parts of the project, including a segregated cycle path, might have to be ditched.

But Conservative-controlled County Hall has confirmed it has now obtained the land necessary to put in the segregated footpath and cycle track between Plumstead Road East and St Williams Way.

READ MORE: Heartsease businesses facing drop in footfall and trade

Eastern Daily Press: Graham PlantGraham Plant (Image: Norfolk County Council)

Graham Plant, cabinet member for highways, infrastructure and transport, said: "Feedback from our consultation on improvements to Heartsease roundabout told us that many people who cycle and walk through the area would prefer segregated facilities.

"As a result, we pursued the purchase of the land needed to provide the space for a segregated cycle track, rather than delivering the shared-use path in the original proposals.

"This was put forward at the time as a possibility and I’m delighted that we’ve been able to make it a reality, providing a better outcome for people travelling on foot and by bike."

The scheme had come in for criticism from the Norwich Cycling Campaign, which had said the project was falling "well short" of making the crash blackspot safer.

The county council is also in the midst of a legal process to buy some other plots of land either side of Harvey Lane.

Greene King has been identified as the owner of two plots outside the Heartsease pub, while the authority is now seeking to stake its claim over another section outside the former Lloyd's bank site.

That land is unregistered and no legal owner has been identified.