Open for business: New Felbrigg roundabout opens two weeks ahead of schedule

A sod-cutting ceremony was held to mark the start of work on the new roundabout at Felbrigg. Picture: Ally McGilvray (Image: Archant)

Norfolk County Council has confirmed it has completed the construction of the new roundabout at a once notorious bottle-neck at Felbrigg - at the junction of the A148 Holt Road and the B1436 Cromer Road - two weeks ahead of schedule.

The road, which neighbours the area's new crematorium and Felbrigg Hall, reopened to traffic on Friday ahead of the holiday season, however minor works to the grass verges are due to be completed this week ahead of landscaping works in the autumn.

The £619,000 project, which was completed by Norfolk County Council's Community and Environmental Services Department and their contractors, follows the construction of roundabouts in nearby Holt and Aylsham.

The New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership, North Norfolk District Council, Cromer Town Council, the parish councils of Roughton, Runton and Felbrigg, as well as developers and local businesses all contributed to the building project following a decade of campaigning.

A spokesperson for the local authority said: 'The County Council thanks people for their patience while these road improvement works were being carried out.

'Minor works within the grass verges will be taking place over the next week, with the replacement trees and hedgerow being planted during autumn 2017 to coincide with the preferred planting season.'

Road safety campaigner John Blair revealed he hopes the new roundabout could help drive more tourism to the area.

Speaking at the sod-cutting ceremony in March, Mr Blair, chairman of Felbrigg Parish Council, said: 'This is a roundabout which is being created to a large extent by a few people and will benefit the whole of north Norfolk - it has opened the gateway to the whole area and this is going to be a good move for tourism and traffic in general. We'd like to thank everybody involved.'