Norwich Northern Distributor Road decision will cost local taxpayers dearly
14 December 2011
Responding to the announcement today of the go ahead for the Norwich Northern Distributor Road, Sian Berry, Campaign for Better Transport’s sustainable transport campaigner, said:
“Experts and campaigners have highlighted the Norwich Northern Distributor Road as poor value for money and one of the transport schemes least worthy of Government support, so we’re very disappointed to see nearly £90m being given to this road by the Department for Transport, along with tens of millions of pounds from local taxpayers. There are better and cheaper ideas for improving transport in Norwich that would improve the lives of many more people, but the council has simply ignored them in its enthusiasm for a dinosaur road project.”
Denise Carlo, Norwich and Norfolk Transport Action Group (NNTAG) spokesperson, said: “The Government’s decision to fund £90m of a huge outer orbital road costing £160m in total flies in the face of common sense, especially when environmental groups and developers have proposed much cheaper solutions. To add insult to injury, Norwich residents will be forced to contribute £55m towards the road raised from a levy on major new development, which could otherwise be spent on essential community facilities such as public transport, pedestrian and cycle links. The Northern Distributor Road will literally hang like a permanent millstone around the neck of Norwich. It will forever blight a large area of countryside, generate traffic and undermine efforts to encourage use of green transport.”
The Government announced after the Spending Review that the money available to local authority transport schemes, including the Norwich Northern Distributor Road, would be reduced and 45 schemes would enter a Development Pool to compete for £630m of Government funding to ensure only the best and most cost effective were approved. The Chancellor announced funding for 20 of the schemes as part of his Autumn Statement and has now agreed to provide a further £351m for another 21 schemes today.
Notes to Editors
1. The 41 schemes in the Development Pool given approval so far include 18 new roads, 13 public transport projects, five maintenance projects and five mixed transport schemes. Read the full statement from the Department for Transport here.
2. Campaign for Better Transport’s briefing on all the schemes, including the B Norwich Northern Distributor Road, is available here.
3. Campaign for Better Transport is the UK’s leading authority on sustainable transport. We champion transport solutions that improve people’s lives and reduce environmental damage. Our campaigns push innovative, practical policies at local and national levels. Campaign for Better Transport Charitable Trust is a registered charity (1101929).
4. The Norwich and Norfolk Transport Action Group (NNTAG) is an umbrella body of local environment and transport groups founded in 1988 with the aim of promoting sustainable transport in the County. Members include: Living Streets, Light Rail Transit Association, Norfolk Railfuture, Norwich Cycling Campaign, No to an N25 (NNDR), Norwich Friends of the Earth and Radical Transport.
