26 March 2010
Susan Curran, the Green Party General Election candidate for Broadland, is calling on the government to make sure there’s a public inquiry into the major alterations planned for the A47 Postwick Interchange.
The so-called Postwick Hub is effectively the first phase of the controversial Norwich Northern Distributor Road but Mrs Curran says Norfolk County Council has avoided having to have a public enquiry by submitting it to Broadland District Council as a planning application for highways works serving a proposed business park, rather than as an application to itself for a County road scheme.
So Mrs Curran has written to the Transport Secretary, Lord Adonis and Communities Secretary John Denham with a plea for a public inquiry to take place.
Ms Curran says that the alterations involve cutting off entry and exit roads at the A47 Postwick Junction used daily by thousands of people in buses, cars and delivery vehicles. For example, closure of the eastbound off-slip road between the A47 Southern Bypass and A1042 to East Norwich would force people to travel further through an extensive network of junctions and link roads in order to suit the development industry.
Susan Curran said:
“The enormous Postwick Hub scheme would affect thousands of people living and working in and visiting north-east Norwich and Broadland. Ministers must meet their legal obligations and take steps to ensure that all those in Broadland constituency affected by the Orders have the opportunity to be heard at an inquiry. I also call on the sitting MP Keith Simpson to back his constituents in their efforts to secure an inquiry.
“Alternatives to this expensive, land-hungry and intrusive scheme must be considered. But local people and parish councils affected only have the right to submit alternatives under the Highways Act 1980 if an inquiry is held.“
She added that a public inquiry was required for several reasons:
There has been no prior public consultation on the current off-slip road proposal for Postwick Interchange. The only public exhibition held was an event hosted by the developers into a proposed business park (Broadland Gate) and highways works (Postwick Hub) in October 2008. Plans displayed showed a different road layout for the A47 exit road than that now proposed.
It would be improper to allow approval of a controversial major road scheme in open countryside without an independent Inquiry, when the adopted Local Plan shows no development or new roads at this location.
The Postwick Hub, which is dependent on the draft Orders being confirmed, is the first stage of a proposed Norwich Northern Distributor Road (NNDR). The failure to hold a public inquiry into the draft Orders would pre-empt the outcome of any public examination into a NNDR.
