Council leaders have come under fire from critics who say they should have paid more heed to warnings that barbastelle bats could be a hurdle in getting the Norwich Western Link built.
Campaigners have accused Norfolk County Council of "flagrantly disregarding irrefutable evidence" by pushing ahead with the scheme after being told by ecologists that a sizeable population of the protected species was living along the proposed route.
Last month, Natural England threw the entire scheme into major doubt by suggesting it was unlikely to issue a license to allow the bats to be disturbed by the construction of the road.
However, Conservative leaders at County Hall insist they had always taken the need to mitigate for the presence of bats seriously and that it was last-minute new guidance from Natural England which threatened to knock the scheme off course.
BATTLE OVER BAT DATA
Ecologist Dr Charlotte Packman, who had been working with Norfolk Wildlife Trust, previously told the council her studies showed the mammals were far more widespread than the authority had accepted.
She had warned that building the 3.9-mile route, to connect the Norwich Northern Distributor Road to the A47 west of Norwich, would have a "catastrophic impact" on a nationally important population of barbastelle bats.
County Hall officials said Dr Packman, a director of University of East Anglia-based Wild Wings Ecology, had not fully shared her data but she insisted she had given the authority "more than adequate information".
'DISREGARD FOR EVIDENCE'
The council's own bat surveys had identified the presence of bats - and led to the route of the proposed £274m road being altered.
Council leader Kay Mason Billig last month announced the Norwich Western Link was at risk of not getting an environmental licence - needed to allow work to take place given the presence of bats - because of new guidance from Natural England.
David Pett, from the Stop The Wensum Link campaign group, said: "The decision-makers flagrantly disregarded irrefutable evidence highlighting the critical significance of the area for the barbastelle bat - a species whose survival hinges on such habitats.
"This evidence wasn't merely anecdotal. It was grounded in comprehensive surveys and scientific research, underscoring a catastrophic failure in judgment."
Gareth Dalglish, Norfolk Wildlife Trust’s director of nature recovery, said: “We have been telling Norfolk County Council for several years that the proposed road will result in unacceptable harm to wildlife.
"We have made it clear that the council would be very unlikely to get a licence for a development that would have such a damaging impact on wildlife."
'THE GUIDANCE CHANGED'
But Andrew Jamieson, deputy leader of Norfolk County Council, said: "We did take the environmental concerns extremely seriously. That's why we spent a great deal of time talking to Natural England on the basis of the guidance which was in place.
"They had given us their view of what we needed to do and what action we would need to take, only for the guidance to be changed."
James Marshall, Natural England area manager, said preliminary advice had been given to the council and there had been no change in how information is assessed.
He said: "As the developer of the proposed Norwich Western Link, the council will need to demonstrate there is no satisfactory alternative to the scheme and that the conservation status of the bats would not be negatively affected by the road."
The council has said it will press ahead with lodging a planning application for the road to its own planning committee.
'NO PLAN B'
At a recent full council meeting, leader Mrs Mason Billig railed against Natural England's guidance as "subverting the will of the people".
Political opponents have called for the council to come up with a plan B.
But Graham Plant, the council's cabinet member for highways, infrastructure and transport, told the meeting there was none and that the Western Link was the solution needed to boost the economy and tackle rat-running.
Mr Jamieson has said he hopes pressure on the government, including from MPs, who have written to environment secretary Steve Barclay urging him to intervene, will increase the likelihood that the road will secure an environmental licence.
On the prospects of a plan B, he said: "We would obviously have to look at alternatives if we reached that sorry state of not getting a licence.
"But doing so would take years, with the prospect of more delays and cost increases."
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