Long Stratton bypass finally approved - nearly 100 years after it was first proposed
A two and a half mile stretch of the A140 is due to be re-routed around the village
Almost a century after it was first proposed, a bypass will at last be built at one of Norfolk’s most notorious traffic bottlenecks.
Final permission has been granted for a new two-and-a-half-mile stretch of the A140 around the town of Long Stratton.
As well as cutting journey times on one of the busiest routes in the county, the new road will also transform the town and surrounding area.
It will not only remove traffic from the centre but also almost double the population, as the road forms part of a wider scheme to build 1,875 homes and a new school.
Plans for a bypass were first raised almost 100 years ago and demand has grown in recent decades as the road has become one of the county’s most notorious bottlenecks.
The project took a significant step forward in 2021, when the Department for Transport pledged £26.2m towards the £46.2m cost of the bypass. Additional funding will come from developers building the homes.
On Thursday, South Norfolk Council approved the scheme, removing the final obstacle from the project. Work is expected to start in spring next year and take around 18 months.
Alison Thomas, a county and district councillor for Long Stratton, told the development committee she had campaigned for the road since 1995.
“This is quite a historic day for me and many of the residents,” she said.
“Discussion around a bypass first started around 1930, so let’s hope we can get it done before we reach 100 years.”
David Allfrey from Norfolk County Council – which will build the bypass – said the road was essential to addressing regular congestion in the town.
He said: “This supports housing growth but it is also resolving those delays that people experience on a daily basis, bringing economic growth and an economic benefit.”
Some concerns were raised about the scheme during the planning meeting, particularly on whether there were too many roundabouts on the bypass and if the number of affordable homes in the plan was sufficient – just 14pc, or 265 homes across both sites.
However, the committee was generally positive about the plans.
Councillor Clayton Hudson described it as “the most important planning application that has come before the council in a long time”.
Lisa Neal said she was disappointed “in a big way” about the amount of affordable housing figure but independent experts had agreed more was not possible at this time.
The housing development covers two sites which combined make up an area more than twice the size of Mousehold Heath in Norwich.
One site covers 325 acres on the east side of the town, stretching from Church Lane to near Wood Lane.
It includes 1,275 homes, 20 acres of land that can be used for businesses, a five-acre primary school for around 400 pupils, public open space, and the new bypass.
The other sites covers 100 acres of land west of the A140 between Brand’s Lane and Swan Lane.
It would bring 600 homes as well as 3.7 acres of employment space and a new relief road.
Long Stratton is currently home to around 4,400 people. If each planned new property had two bedrooms it would increase the population of the town by 3,750, almost doubling the number of people in the town.
Ahead of the meeting, 62 neighbours have written to SNC’s development committee about the plans, with four in support, 27 objections and 30 neutral.
Concerns include extra pollution from the developments, the volume of traffic it will create and the impact on the historic Norfolk landscape.
Supporters hailed the delivery of the bypass, which will stop traffic going through the town.
Councillors unanimously approved the scheme.