Norfolk West Winch bypass plans to be lodged within weeks

Norfolk County Council officers have been given the green light by senior councillors to submit plans for the West Winch Access Road.

The new road, near King's Lynn, would link the A10 and A47 and serve 4,000 homes which are due to be built in the West Winch area.

A graphic showing the proposed route of the West Winch Access Road (Image: West Norfolk council)

It would connect the two routes via a new 1.5-mile road, starting to the south of Gravelhill Lane in West Winch and joining the A47 before it reaches the Hardwick Junction.

There have long been calls for the access road to be built before the thousands of new homes are constructed, to stop roads being further clogged up by extra traffic.

County Hall’s Conservative-controlled cabinet agreed on Monday to take the necessary steps to submit a planning application for the scheme to its own planning committee.

County council leader Kay Mason Billig said: “This will help to hit housing targets.

”But it will also bring relief to the A10, which suffers from massive congestion.

”And it is good that this road will be built before most of that housing has started.”

Andrew Jamieson, deputy leader of Norfolk County Council (Image: Norfolk County Council)

Andrew Jamieson, the council’s deputy leader, said: “I am extremely pleased to see this finally coming to fruition.

”It has been a long time in the making.”

Norfolk County Council is hoping the government will confirm it will contribute almost £67m of the cost for the road.

Developers would contribute £14.7m towards the road's cost, while the rest would come from the county council, the borough council and business rates.

At the cabinet meeting, councillors agreed to temporarily put a further £2.75m into the pot for the road, repayable once the government approves funding.

The county council hopes work can start in spring or summer 2025, with the road opened two years later.