Concerns around 'rat running' were raised at a consultation over the of possibility of creating a western link for the Norwich Northern Distributor Road (NDR)

The first of nine staffed consultation events about linking the £205m road to the A47 to the west of Norwich got underway in Ringland today (May 10).

People living in the area were invited to the village hall to discuss what they want - or do not want - to see happen.

Boards erected in the hall state Norfolk County Council is considering a range of options to alleviate transport issues to the west of the city.

They include the creation of a new road linking the NDR, now called the Broadland Northway, to the A47, improving public transport or introducing traffic calming measures.

Nineteen people had attended the consultation as of 3pm today.

A county council spokesperson at the event said: 'People have been wanting to know if we are going to build the new road and where it will be, but we are not at that stage yet.'

Now that the Broadland Northway is open to traffic, transport bosses have switched attention to the so-called 'missing link'.

A long-standing criticism of the road, which will stretch from the A47 at Postwick to the A1067 Fakenham Road, is that it does not join the A47 to the west of the city.

Such a link was previously ruled out because of the cost of crossing the Wensum Valley, but the council has made the Western Link one of its priorities.

The Wensum Valley Alliance and the Norfolk branch of the Campaign to Protect Rural England have both criticised the idea because of its impact on the countryside.

The council spokesperson said: 'A lot of people who live in these areas do have concerns about rat running and congestion. We are hearing a lot about that.

'People think there is a problem and something needs to be done about it.'

The consultation, at www.norfolk.gov.uk/nwl, will run for eight weeks.

So far, more than 300 people have shared their views online.

There will be a further eight staffed consultation events, with the last taking place on July 3.

The next one takes place at Hockering Village Hall on Thursday, May 17 from 10.30am to 8pm.