We at Extinction Rebellion Norwich oppose the “Western Link” because:
1. There is already a road linking the NDR and the A47, the B1535 (proposed route A on map). Improving this
road rather than building a new one would save Norfolk County Council over £100 million and preserve the
ecology of the valley.
2. Norfolk County Council estimate it will cost £160 million (with inflation the eventual cost is more likely to
reach £350 million), even as they have chosen to cut adult social care and children’s services funding by £51
million over the next three years.
3. It will destroy large parts of the Wensum River Valley, the biggest and most significant of only 210 chalk
streams worldwide. It is a Site of Special Scientific Interest and a Special Area of Conservation with a
precious ecological balance.
4. The existing NDR has already increased Norfolk’s transport emissions by 6% - the “Western Link” road will
lock in further transport emissions. Given the current Climate Emergency, a time when councils should be
rapidly reducing transport emissions with a completely new transport policy, this decision is disastrous.
5. It will encourage more traffic and open up huge swathes of the countryside to more development, such as at
Easton and Honingham where 4,000 new houses are already planned.
1. There is already a road linking the NDR and the A47, the B1535 (proposed route A on map). Improving this
road rather than building a new one would save Norfolk County Council over £100 million and preserve the
ecology of the valley.
2. Norfolk County Council estimate it will cost £160 million (with inflation the eventual cost is more likely to
reach £350 million), even as they have chosen to cut adult social care and children’s services funding by £51
million over the next three years.
3. It will destroy large parts of the Wensum River Valley, the biggest and most significant of only 210 chalk
streams worldwide. It is a Site of Special Scientific Interest and a Special Area of Conservation with a
precious ecological balance.
4. The existing NDR has already increased Norfolk’s transport emissions by 6% - the “Western Link” road will
lock in further transport emissions. Given the current Climate Emergency, a time when councils should be
rapidly reducing transport emissions with a completely new transport policy, this decision is disastrous.
5. It will encourage more traffic and open up huge swathes of the countryside to more development, such as at
Easton and Honingham where 4,000 new houses are already planned.