This petition has been reviewed and the following response has been offered:
Norfolk County Council is aware of the issues residents face when there are problems on the highway network causing difficulty in exiting Queens Hills. We are therefore fully committed to working to bring forward a number of schemes to help traffic flow in the area and provide travel choice.
A number of smaller scale highway measures have already been delivered using a mixture of developer funding and monies from the Council. Key measures include a free-flow slip road from William Frost Way to Dereham Road and extensive widening of Dereham Road to two-lanes in either direction. The full list of measures devised to address transport issues in the area is shown below:
- Free flow left turn slip road from William Frost Way to Dereham Road
- Widening Dereham Road between the Longwater roundabout and the new traffic lights at Lodge Farm 2
- Longwater Lane/Dereham Road junction improvement
- Dereham Road widening to two lanes in each direction (east section)
- Part signalisation of the Longwater southern (Showground) roundabout
- Free flow slip road form Dereham Road westbound onto A47 eastbound
- A47 eastbound off slip road improvement
- Easton Village public transport corridor
- Cycle and pedestrian bridge over the A47
- 10.Improvement to the Easton roundabout
Items 1 to 4 are now in place. Item 5 is a developer requirement which will be implemented when a key trigger point is reached. Land has been made available by the developer for item 6, and this and items 7, 8 and 9 can be investigated further when funding is identified. The cycle and pedestrian bridge over the A47 was earmarked for inclusion in the Norwich Transforming Cities Fund (TCF) bid but the amount on offer from government for this round meant that it was not included this time but still remains a priority scheme subject to securing funding. Item 10, an improvement to the Easton roundabout will be delivered as part of Highways England’s scheme to dual the A47 between Easton and North Tuddenham, albeit further west than the current junction.
The favoured large scale intervention for the Longwater area is a link road from Dereham Road to the Ernest Gage Avenue/William Frost Way roundabout which would relieve the interchange and provide a second southern access to the Queens Hill/Longwater area relieving pressure on the William Frost Way access. Further work is required on this link road to enable the council to bid for government funding for construction. A bid was made to the Norfolk Business Rates Pool fund in autumn 2019 to fund this further work but this was unfortunately unsuccessful so we continue to seek funding.
In order to provide travel choice, whilst progress has been slow, we are also continuing to work with the consortium of developers at Queen’s Hill regarding the adoption and opening of the Bus Lane. This is currently private land but we are nearing the stage when it can be adopted as highway by Norfolk County Council which will allow the bus gate to come into operation.
An Emergency Access Protocol has also been devised for use of the Bus Lane and gate by other vehicles to exit Queens Hills if incidents occur that block the southern access. However, it is unlikely that we can progress this until the adoption of the bus lane has happened.
When in operation this bus link will provide a reliable public transport access to and from Queens Hills should operators choose to use it. This is the Council’s favoured use for this highway link as it would incentivise public transport.
You may also be aware that Norfolk County Council is promoting a Norwich Western Link (NWL) which will connect the A1067 to the A47 and we hope to be able to start to construction in 2023 with an opening to traffic in late 2025.
When the bus gate is available and the NWL is open, if there is no interest by that time from bus operators, consideration could be given to allowing other vehicles to use the road to access Queens Hills. Although at present the bus lane is single track with passing bays, sufficient land is available to the council to widen the route to enable it to operate safely.
However, any proposal for potential broader use of the bus lane would need to be supported by a robust evidence base potentially making use of traffic modelling tools, including those used to support the development and appraisal of the NWL scheme. In addition, further stakeholder engagement and consultation will be required. This is because it will be important to determine the current views of all the concerned town and parish councils both north and south of the River Wensum and the relevant district councils.
Notwithstanding, as stated above, the Council’s favoured use for the highway link between Queens Hills and Ringland Lane at this time remains as bus only in order to incentivise public transport.