A landowner has spoken of his frustration at being powerless to stop preparatory work on the controversial Western Link road scheme from starting on his property.
John Wells is opposed to the project - to link the A47 west of Norwich with the NDR - which is due to run through his woodland at Ringland Hills.
The 73-year-old bought the land for his retirement, intending to enjoy it with his grandchildren.
Although the scheme has not been given the final go-ahead, preparation work has already begun.
The next stage will include boring into the ground in areas along the route, including Mr Wells' woodland.
“My wife and I own a small two acres of woodland that is directly in the path of the proposed road," Mr Wells said.
“Norfolk County Council has been surveying our land for a number of years - assessment of trees, bats, flora and fauna etc - which we were happy with.”
But he has now received a 'section 172' notice - which grants access rights to authorities for undertaking surveys - with work set to start this week.
The notice said this would be for “intrusive ground survey and sampling to understand ground conditions” and could include the use of drilling rigs and excavators.
The council has since sent another letter, setting a meeting with woodland owners, before the work actually starts.
Mr Wells said: "We do not want these intrusive surveys to take place in our woodland.
"There's no right for me to negotiate. It's like me going round a councillor's house and saying 'sorry, I'm going to dig to see if I can plant an oak tree here'.
"They seem willing to talk to us but I don't think it will change the outcome.
"I'm pretty mad about it but we can only hope and keep doing what we can."
Mr Wells is just one of a group of hobbyist woodland owners who will be disrupted by the NWL.
While the latest proposed route - unveiled by County Hall in February in order to avoid the habitat of a protected bat species - will now strip Mr Wells of almost all his land, his neighbour, Iain Robinson will see his woodland left almost entirely alone.
However, Mr Robinson, a lecturer in creative writing and literature at the University of East Anglia, fears he will have no way to access his property, once the road is built.
He believes the new route will bring traffic closer to ancient woodland and split two bat colonies, potentially causing them ecological harm.
Mr Robinson, 49, said: “They can’t put the road through the bat roost, so instead it will go between them severing the connection between them.
“It’s far too close to the colonies and even the survey work will cause noise, light, vibration. It will degrade the habitat for all creatures, not just bats.
“They will put in green bridges and say it fixes the problem but the construction of the road will be a huge disruption for the bats. It beggars belief.”
Mr Robinson described the bat bridges as “relatively untested”.
In 2020, a BBC investigation found the road crossings did not work but Norfolk County Council (NCC) said it was "early days" to gauge success.
Mr Robinson described the emotional strain of the scheme as hugely stressful for the woodland owners and their families.
He added: "It's the wrong road, in the wrong place, at the wrong time and will just see more houses built into the Norfolk countryside."
Simon Flett, 58, a solicitor who purchased land in the area as part of a syndicate, said he saw himself as more of a custodian of the wood, to protect it for the future.
His wood could now run along the side of the new route.
Cllr Martin Wilby, Cabinet Member for Highways, Transport and Infrastructure said NCC would be carrying out a survey to help them understand the ground conditions.
"These surveys are required for an infrastructure project of this nature and will help our contractor to deliver the project responsibly and efficiently."
Mr Wilby added that steps were being taken to minimise disruption to wildlife, with extensive data on areas of least detriment to wildlife that will provide the required information.
Before the surveys get underway, ‘walkovers’ by trained ecologists are being carried out to prevent impact to protected species and habitats.
An NCC spokeswoman promised to speak to owners ahead of work taking place and anyone with concerns should contact them.
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