A council leader is lobbying ministers after plans for a desperately-needed new road were blocked blocked by new guidance on bats.
Cllr Kay Mason Billig, leader of Norfolk County Council has written to Government ministers to tell them their assistance is needed to help resolve what she calls an ‘impossible position’ the council finds itself in on its priority £274 million Norwich Western Link project, which has been planned for more than eight years.
Just days before the planning application for the link was due to be submitted in March, Natural England published updated guidance on barbastelle bats, which are present in the area around the proposed route of the proposed 3.9 mile dual carriageway to the west of Norwich.
It presents a massive obstacle to the new road, which was designed to relieve congestion on smaller local roads.
A report is due to be considered by Norfolk County Council’s cabinet on Monday, December 2 although the council has yet to receive a response from Government. Liaison between the council and Natural England has not resolved the matter.
The council has urged the Secretary of State for Transport and the Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to intervene and urgently review the issue.
Cllr Graham Plant, cabinet member for highways, transport and infrastructure for Norfolk County Council, said: “We want to deliver important infrastructure improvements like the Norwich Western Link but, despite our best efforts, we find ourselves in an impossible position.
“The Norwich Western Link was made a priority infrastructure project for the council in 2016, and advice from Natural England has informed our proposals from its early stages.
“Last year, we were in a good position, having secured outline business case approval from the Department for Transport, and they have backed the project with significant development funding. But we are now caught between Government policies and systems and need them to intervene to find a good solution.
“The Government has suggested that it is committed to enabling growth and to removing barriers in our planning system. We are therefore hopeful that they will help us to reach a positive outcome.”
In the letter to Ministers, Cllr Mason Billig states: “The ability for a statutory environmental agency to shift the goal posts so significantly and immediately is a potential barrier to any and all future development, and therefore our experience with the Norwich Western Link should not be seen as an isolated case.”
The council is now trying to cut the cost of the scheme.
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