More than £1million of government funding has been agreed to help move forward the third river crossing project in Great Yarmouth.

The Department for Transport (DfT) has agreed to put £1,080,000 towards building a business case for the bridge project.

Norfolk County Council, which is taking a lead on the project, has already contributed £60,000 to prepare a bid for further funding.

Now, an economic case can be compiled for the project, as well as detailed engineering plans, before a final application is put before government ministers.

MP for Great Yarmouth Brandon Lewis said it was great for the town on a day when Yarmouth's Regent Street had been hit by a devastating fire.

'It's a big boost when we could do with some good news,' he said, adding: 'It will make a huge difference to our infrastructure.'

Mr Lewis said that developing the business case itself would be a huge piece of work.

He stressed that although people talk about dualling the Acle Straight as a priority, this scheme would do a lot to alleviate traffic issues in the town.

He added: 'We have secured £10m for safety improvements on the Acle Straight and £30m to improve the Vauxhall roundabout. With the third river crossing, this would do a lot to tackle the traffic problems in the town. That will give us the position to then argue for dualling.'

It is proposed that the bridge, which could cost between £100m to £120m, will run from the Harfrey's roundabout on the A12 and cross the River Yare to South Denes. If the scheme is approved, an estimated start date for the project is 2021. It is thought around 9,000 jobs could be created through its construction and afterwards, and it would make the town much more attractive to investors.