National Parks watchdog hits out at road building through the Broads
14 March 2005
The National Parks watchdog the Council for National Parks (CNP) (1) has today hit out at plans for new road building that would cause severe damage to The Broads (2), an area which is protected nationally and internationally for its countryside and wildlife. This was in reaction to a new estimate (3) that building a dual carriageway through the Broads will cost a staggering £56 million. CNP sees this as a sobering reality check on a road scheme that should go no further.
CNP transport campaigner Rachel Reeves said: "Plans to upgrade the Acle Straight into a dual carriageway were originally ruled out by consultants in 2001 following a study (4) which found that this would have severely harmed the landscape, tranquillity and wildlife of the Broads and people's enjoyment of it. Despite this clear finding, local politicians and business representatives have continued to lobby hard for dualling, arguing that it is vital for the economy of Great Yarmouth.
"The new report (5), commissioned by the A47 Alliance (6) to demonstrate the economic benefits of dualling, is extremely weak on the possible regeneration effects of dualling the Acle Straight, especially given the staggering £56 million cost of dualling and the irreversible damage inflicted on the Broads. It estimates that dualling on its own would create only one hundred additional jobs in Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft (7). Improvements to public transport services and speed reduction measures to improve safety would cost a fraction of this.
"The report also ignores the fact that levels of out-commuting from Great Yarmouth could potentially be made worse by A47 dualling (8). And it pays scant regard to the need for investment in other transport areas such as better local bus services or on other policy initiatives such as education and skills training.
"All of this proves that dualling the Acle Straight would be a transport white elephant which would irreversibly damage The Broads (9) and whose financial cost would dwarf any modest economic benefits that it might bring to Great Yarmouth".
Notes to editors
1. The Council for National Parks (CNP) is the national charity that works to protect and enhance the National Parks of England and Wales, and areas that merit National Park status, and promote understanding and quiet enjoyment of them for the benefit of all.
2. The A47 Acle Straight is an 8 mile stretch of single carriageway road which runs from Acle to Great Yarmouth, cutting across the Halvergate Marshes of the Broads.
3. Eastern Daily Press, Wednesday 2nd March 2005.
4. Norwich to Great Yarmouth Study (Maunsell and Oscar Faber, 2001).
5. 'The Economic Impacts of Dualling the A47 Acle Straight' (Mott MacDonald, 2004).
6. The A47 Alliance includes representatives from Norfolk's county and district councils, the Chamber of Commerce, the Mid-Norfolk MP Keith Simpson, the RAC Foundation and the East of England Regional Assembly.
7. The figure could rise to one thousand jobs but only if a large number of other economic development projects in the pipeline were implemented.
8. A Norfolk County Council report (Great Yarmouth Area Transportation Strategy, Problems and Issues Report, June 2004) identified that levels of out-commuting from Great Yarmouth could potentially be exacerbated with improvements such as A47 dualling, enabling people to live further away from their workplace and other facilities.
9. The Broads has National Park equivalent status and is nationally and internationally important for wildlife. Major developments should not take place unless there are exceptional circumstances and they are proven to be in the public interest.
Contact: Ruth Chambers 020 7924 4077 extension 222
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