Concern over plan to take dualled A47 through the north of Hockering

North Tuddenham to Easton - option 4. Image from Highways England (Image: Highways England)

The new dual carriageway to the north of the existing A47 is one of four options being considered to alleviate the notorious A47 bottleneck between North Tuddenham and Easton.

Highways officials are also considering a new section of dual carriageway to the south of the A47 but to the north of the River Tud as the route passes the village of Hockering or a completely new section of dual carriageway to the south of the existing A47 to the south of the River Tud. Dualling the existing A47 also remains an option.

Hockering parish councillor Richard Hawker said the north Hockering option was 'extremely disappointing' and would go right through the village playing field which was well-used.

'There is no detail other than the line of the possible route and no details on what junctions would be needed or how many houses would be affected and would be demolished.

North Tuddenham to Easton - option 4. Image from Highways England (Image: Highways England)

'If it went through the existing line it would mean a lot of the village would be affected by more traffic noise than it already has now.

'If we are to make a sensible decision on which option to go for then we need a heck of a lot more detail than we have now.'

Hockering parish councillor Matthew Darge said he did not think the northern dualling route would going ahead.

'It makes no sense and it's surely a non-starter? It would certainly not be very popular. If it went ahead it would destroy the village and surrounding countryside. It would go through the village playing field – and we've just recently seen Hockering Football Club reform. To follow the existing line of the road would appear to make more sense.'

North Tuddenham to Easton - option 4. Image from Highways England (Image: Highways England)

Honingham parish councillor Sally Blyth said: 'There are obviously some concerns in Honingham, for example we don't want the church cut off from the rest of the village.

'But at the moment we've not seen enough information to comment.'

'We had a parish council meeting last night and about 20 people turned up, but we only had one copy of the proposals to share around.

'We want the route which best serves our village and will be attending future meetings to find out more.'

North Tuddenham to Easton - option 4. Image from Highways England (Image: Highways England)

Public consultation events are due to be held at Honingham Village Hall on Thursday, April 6 between 3pm and 8pm, at Hockering Village Hall on Friday, April 7 between 10am and 5pm and at Easton Village Hall on Saturday, April 8 between 1pm and 4pm.