A deal which would see Great Yarmouth port serving as the base for a company building two huge windfarms off the coast of Norfolk, highlights why the government must fully dual the A47, council leaders have said.
Vattenfall, the company behind proposals to build two of the world's largest offshore windfarms off the Norfolk coast, approached Peel Ports last summer with plans to locate its operations base for the projects in Great Yarmouth.
Ten months after signing a memorandum of understanding – meaning the two parties would continue in exclusive negotiations – the Swedish energy group said a final agreement is on the horizon.
Norfolk County Council says the deal demonstrates the rich potential of Great Yarmouth and strengthens the case for full dualling of the A47.
At the moment, less than half the road is dualled, but the 'Just Dual It!' campaign, spearheaded by the Eastern Daily Press, Norfolk County Council and Norfolk Chamber of Commerce, is putting pressure on the government to commit to full dualling.
Martin Wilby, chairman of Norfolk County Council's environment, development and transport committee, said: 'This is further evidence of Yarmouth's enormous potential, which is why we have worked hard to win investment from the government to build a third river crossing in the town.
'But investing in transport in the town is only one piece of the puzzle.
'We need the government to allow Great Yarmouth's economy, and the wider Norfolk economy, to reach its full potential by committing to dualling the Acle Straight in its next round of trunk road funding and the whole of the A47 as soon as possible.
'This is what our businesses need to reduce costs and grow and it's what our residents need to work in skilled jobs.
'So please ministers, let us show you just how successful Norfolk can be with great transport links to the rest of the UK and Just Dual It!'
More than 2,000 people have sent the county council postcards stating why they want to see the road dualled.
People can also tweet their support for the campaign using the hashtag #justdualit.
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