Dear All
As one of our valued key stakeholders, I wanted to update you personally that we’ve just been informed by the High Court that the claims in the judicial review have been rejected, and found in favour of the Secretary of State for Transport. This means that the development consent order (DCO) decisions stand.
In all legal processes, there is a right for the claimant to appeal the decision, and they must do this within 21 days of the judgment being passed down.
We welcome this outcome, and subject to an appeal, this means we can continue our work to deliver these much-needed schemes:
- New dual carriageway and junctions between A47 Blofield and North Burlingham
- New dual carriageway and junctions between A47 North Tuddenham and Easton
- Redevelopment of Thickthorn junction (where A11 meets the A47 south of Norwich).
The judicial review challenged the decisions made by the Secretary of State for Transport to grant DCOs to three A47 road improvement schemes near Norwich. Among the main grounds for the legal challenges was how cumulative carbon is assessed by the government at a national level. This has been fundamentally rejected by the High Court on all grounds.
Next steps
We have been constrained in terms of the work we could undertake while awaiting the outcome of the judicial review. Now that we have this clarity, we are working with our contractor to establish a new timeline. Our intention is to deliver the three schemes as soon as possible.
Face-to-face public information events
We are continuing to hold face-to-face public information events to meet with our customers and stakeholders. Recently, we held an exhibition at the Royal Norfolk Show and feedback continues to show huge support for our schemes by the local communities. We have more events planned, where we will share our updated construction timelines and answer any questions our stakeholders may have. Our team will be at the following locations:
- Wednesday 26 July, 10am to 4pm at Norwich Camping and Leisure, 58 Yarmouth Road, Blofield, Norwich, NR13 4LQ
- Thursday 27 July, 10am to 4pm at Acle Coop, Norwich Road, Acle, Norwich, NR13 3BY
- Friday 28 July, 8am to 6pm at Castle Quarter Shopping Centre, (near Starbucks) 100 Castle Mall, Norwich NR1 3DD
- Monday 4 September, 10am to 5pm at Tesco, Kingston Road, Dereham NR19, 1WB
- Monday 11 September, 9am to 4pm at Tesco, Ipswich Road, Norwich, NR4 6DZ
Kind regards
Stephen Hedley – Senior Project Manager
Major Projects Regional Investment Programme
National Highways | Woodlands | Manton Lane | Bedford | MK41 7LW
Email Address: [email protected]
A47 North Tuddenham to Easton: https://www.nationalhighways.co.uk/A47NT-E
National Highways: https://nationalhighways.co.uk
Customer Contact Centre: 0300 123 5000 or [email protected]
Report a Problem: https://nationalhighways.co.uk/about-us/contact-us/
