The Department for Transport has approved the council’s outline business case, submitted in January, and agreed to stump up £26.2m towards the cost of construction.
The A140 cuts right through the middle of Long Stratton, which is 12 miles south of Norwich. The 2.5-mile easterly bypass is expected to reduce congestion in the town centre while also supporting plans for 1,800 new homes and the development of new employment land in the area.
The council is working in collaboration with developer Norfolk Homes/Norfolk Land to bring forward the proposals for the long-awaited bypass, which will feed into a revised planning application expected to be submitted shortly to South Norfolk Council by the developer. As part of the planning process, South Norfolk Council will then complete a consultation on the planning application details.
The proposed new A140 bypass will be a single carriageway road that will provide a new junction at Church Lane to the north, extending from this junction on the east side of Long Stratton in a southerly direction for approximately 3.9km, where it will re-join the existing A140 just south of Oakside farm.
The estimated overall cost of the bypass is £37.44m with the remaining funding primarily sourced from local developer contributions and community infrastructure levy (CIL).
Subject to receiving all of the necessary statutory approvals, including planning permission, the target date for work to start on construction is mid-2023, with the road open to traffic before the end of 2024.
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