A47 North Tuddenham to Easton improvements

Latest updates

• 11 November 2024

  Upcoming road closures and public events

  We’re doing preparation work on the A47 during November. The work is scheduled to take place overnight between 8pm and 6am. To allow us complete this work safely, we will need some lane closures. 

  Berrys Lane and Dereham Road Honingham full road closure - 18 to 22 November 2024 

  Berrys Lane and Dereham Road will be fully closed to through traffic.

  Access for residents will be maintained and local diversions will be in place. 

  For the northbound diversion route: 

  • head south on Berrys Lane 
  • turn left onto Mattishall Road
  • head East on Mattishall Road/Norwich Road to the Honingham Roundabout and turn left on the A47
  • head West on the A47 until you reach the Berrys Lane/Wood Lane crossroads 

  View the northbound diversion map.

  For the southbound diversion route: 

  • head east on the A47 to the Honingham Roundabout 
  • turn right onto Norwich Road/Mattishall Lane and head west
  • turn right onto Berrys Lane and head north 

  View the southbound diversion map.

  We apologise for any disturbance caused by our work, and we will try to keep this to a minimum where possible. Please remember that closures can change at short notice. You can check the latest information on our daily closures page or find live travel information on our Traffic England website. Our travel alerts give details of live incidents on our network.

  Face-to-face public information events 

  During December, we’ll hold another round of face-to-face public information events. Come along to meet the team and hear about our construction plans at the following locations: 

  • Tuesday 10 December, 9am to 4pm at Sainsburys Longwater, William Frost Way, Norwich NR5 0JS
  • Wednesday 11 December, 9am to 4pm at Tesco, Kingston Road, Dereham NR19, 1WB

   

• 23 October 2024

  Overnight work and road closures

  We’ll be doing the following preparation work on the A47 between 21 October and 22 November. The work is scheduled to take place between 8pm and 6am. To allow us complete this work safely, we will require some lane closures. 

  A47 between Taverham Rd and the Easton Roundabout - 21 Oct and 22 Oct 2024 

  One lane of the A47 between Taverham Rd and the Easton Roundabout will be fully closed with temporary traffic lights in place to allow traffic flow. 

  A47 at the Low Road junction, near Hockering - 22 October - 24 October 2024

  One lane of the A47 between Taverham Rd and the Easton Roundabout will be fully closed with temporary traffic lights in place to allow traffic flow. 

  A47 between Fox Lane Junction and Low Road Junction - 24 to 26 October 2024

  One lane of the A47 between the Fox Lane junction and Low Rd junction will be closed with temporary traffic lights in place to allow traffic flow. 

  Full road closure, Norwich Road/Lyng Road near Poppy’s Wood, North Tuddenham - 28 October to 1 November 24

  The preparation work on the Norwich Road/Lyng Road near Poppy’s Wood, North Tuddenham will enable us to start constructing the new Lyng Road Junction with the A47. 

  Norwich Road/Lyng Road will be fully closed between 7.30am to 5pm on these dates. Local diversions will be in place.  

  Eastbound diversion route: 

  • Head West along Norwich Road and turn right onto Pound Lane. 
  • Head North along Pound Lane and turn right onto Hall Road
  • Follow Hall Road and turn right onto Peaseland Green
  • Follow Peaseland Green to the Junction with Lyng Road

  View eastbound diversion map.

  Westbound diversion route:

  • Head North along Lyng Road to the junction with Heath Road. 
  • Turn left onto Heath Road and follow Heath Road which transitions into Back Lane. 
  • Continue following back lane which transitions into Elsing Road then Hall Road. 
  • Follow Hall Road to the junction with Pound Lane.
  • Turn Left onto Pound Lane and follow to the Junction with Norwich Road
  • Turn left onto Norwich Road. 

  View westbound diversion map

  Full road closure, Church Lane, East Tuddenham - 6 to 7 November 2024 

  Church Lane will be fully closed from 7:30am to 5pm to through traffic. Access for residents will be maintained and local diversions will be in place. 

  Northbound diversion route  

  • Head south on Church Lane and turn left onto Mattishall Road 
  • Head east on Mattishall Road/Norwich Road to the Honingham Roundabout. 
  • Turn left on the A47 
  • Head west on the A47 until you reach the Church Lane/Sandy Lane crossroads 

  Northbound diversion map  

  Southbound diversion route 

  • Head east on the A47 to the Honingham Roundabout. 
  • Turn right onto Norwich Road/Mattishall Lane and head west. 
  • Turn right onto Church Lane and head north. 

  Southbound diversion map

  Full road closure, Berrys Lane and Dereham Road Honingham - 18 to 22 November 2024 

  Berrys Lane and Dereham Road will be fully closed to through traffic. Access for residents will be maintained and local diversions will be in place. 

  Northbound diversion route: 

  • Head south on Berrys Lane 
  • Turn left onto Mattishall Road
  • Head East on Mattishall Road/Norwich Road to the Honingham Roundabout and turn left on the A47
  • Head West on the A47 until you reach the Berrys Lane/Wood Lane crossroads 

  Northbound diversion map

  Southbound diversion route: 

  • Head east on the A47 to the Honingham Roundabout 
  • Turn right onto Norwich Road/Mattishall Lane and head west
  • Turn right onto Berrys Lane and head north 

  Southbound diversion map

  We’d like to apologise for any disturbance caused by our work, and we will try to keep this to a minimum where possible.

  Please remember that closures can change at short notice. You can check the latest information on our daily closures page or find live travel information on our Traffic England website. Our travel alerts give details of live incidents on our network.

• 30 September 2024

  Overnight work and road closure

  We’ll be carrying out work on Honingham Roundabout to enable UK Power Networks to divert existing cables.

  The work will take place between 8pm and 6am from Thursday 3 Oct 2024 – Sunday 6 October 2024.

  To allow us to complete this work safely, one lane of the A47 Honingham Roundabout will be closed at times overnight with temporary traffic lights in place to allow traffic through.

  Please remember that closures can change at short notice. You can check the latest information on our daily closures page or find live travel information on our Traffic England site. Our travel alerts give details of live incidents on our network.

  We’d like to apologise for any disturbance caused by our work, and we will try to keep this to a minimum where possible.

  Thank you for your patience and understanding. 

• 23 September 2024

  Tree maintenance work on A47 Granary Close

  We’ll be carrying out tree maintenance behind properties on Granary Close in Hockering.
  
  We anticipate that this work will only take one day. We will be working on Sunday 29 September between 9:30am and 4pm, weather permitting.
  
  Unfortunately, we will be working nearby properties and this work may be noisy at times. We will however try to keep the noise disturbance to a minimum.
  
  We thank you for your patience, and apologise for any noise and disturbance caused by our work.
  
  

• 22 August 2024

  Early construction activities start

  On the 29 May, it was announced that the Supreme Court refused the application seeking permission to appeal the order made by the Court of Appeal on 22 February 2024, meaning all legal avenues had been exhausted.

  This meant that we were able to begin more of our early construction activities. This includes preparing the concrete foundations and posts upon which our structures will be built, including the new underpasses at both the Wood Lane junction and Norwich Road junction and the new River Tud crossing.

  We are also currently constructing drainage basins for the collection of water for use on site. Eventually, these will be incorporated into the drainage scheme for the new road.

  We have continued diverting utility services, completed archaeology works and finished our compound construction. With careful planning and environmental licences, we are now able to begin some vegetation clearance to enable further construction work.

  This means there has been a large increase in our activity along the whole scheme corridor and this will now continue right through our full construction period.

  We’d like to apologise for any inconvenience caused by our work, and we will try to keep this to a minimum where possible. Thank you for your patience and understanding.

• 08 July 2024

  Overnight lane closures at Honingham

  Due to the substantial rainfall experienced in recent months, the A47 at Honingham has flooded multiple times, leading to several emergency closures. 

  During June, a floodwater storage tank was installed alongside the A47 at Honingham in Norfolk. This large tank is part of a drainage solution to help prevent flooding which has previously closed the road in this area. The tank is 13.6m long by 3m wide, and will help to increase capacity of the existing road drainage.

  We're going to install a second drainage tank in that location. To safely install the tank, we need to make lane closures overnight between 10 July and 30 August.

  Please remember that closure details can change at short notice. For the most up-to-date information on dates, times and locations, check our daily closures page.

  Diversion routes will be clearly signposted. Please don't follow your satnav during any closure and check your journey before you travel. 

  If you have any queries about this work, please contact us by email: info@nationalhighways.co.uk or call 0300 123 5000.

  Diversion routes

  Eastbound traffic will be diverted to A47 Thickthorn, A11 Thetford, A134 Mundford, A1065 to Swaffham. Westbound traffic will follow the diversion in reverse. 

• 31 May 2024

  The Supreme Court decision – permission to appeal refused

  On Wednesday 29 May, The Supreme Court ruled that an appeal against the A47 schemes should not go ahead. We will provide an update about the schemes in due course.

  We would also encourage you to sign up to updates to keep directly informed of scheme developments.

• 23 February 2024

  A47 schemes judicial review Court of Appeal outcome – Dismissed

  On 22 February, we received the outcome of the appeal against the Judicial Review Process for the three improvement schemes on the A47. 

  Three judges found that the Development Consent Orders (DCOs), previously granted by the Secretary of State for Transport, were properly assessed by the government for the cumulative effects of carbon, and will stand.  

  This means we can now begin work on developing our plans for the construction phase of the project and when we will be able to start work on the three schemes along the A47, improving customer journeys, enhancing safety and supporting economic growth in the region.   

  We will provide further updates on the progress of our plans and start of works in due course. 

• 09 November 2023

  Update on the legal challenge

  A legal case heard in July 2023 had challenged the decisions from the Secretary of State for Transport to grant development consent orders (DCOs) for this and two other A47 improvement schemes near Norwich. The High Court judge, Mrs Justice Thornton, dismissed the claimant’s argument.

  However, on 18 October 2023, the Court of Appeal granted the claimant a right to have his appeal heard.

  We have been advised that the one-day hearing will be on 16 January 2024.

  Allowing the appeal to be heard is disappointing, causing further delay to these schemes. This is a difficult turn of events for those of us who recognise and support the safety case to upgrade key stretches of this very busy road.

  As we have done throughout this process, National Highways will continue to respect the decision of the court.

  In the meantime, we are taking time to fully consider our next steps. This includes what work can continue at our sites to ensure the areas remain safe and with as little disruption and disturbance to those living nearby as possible.

  For the A47 Blofield to North Burlingham and A47 Tuddenham to Easton schemes, we have completed a number of preconstruction works such as archaeology, surveys and utilities. Our contractors are in place and we will be ready to re-commence works once the legal process is concluded.

  We remain committed to delivering these plans, and confident that they will provide significant improvements to both safety and congestion on the A47, as well as helping to boost the regional economy.

• 03 August 2023

  Update on the A47 Norwich schemes

  We have received notification that an appeal on the court’s decision to reject the claims in the judicial review of our three Norwich schemes has been submitted.

  What does this mean?

  The Court of Appeal must now decide whether to grant the claimant permission to appeal. National Highways will be taking all necessary steps to challenge the application. 

  Next steps

  To avoid any further delays, we can continue to carry out early works, such as archaeology, compound set up and utility diversions, on the schemes while we await the court’s decision.

  We stand by our plan to deliver these important schemes and remain confident they can deliver significant improvements to both safety and congestion on the A47, as well as providing a significant boost to the regional economy.

• 07 July 2023

  A47 Norwich schemes – outcome of judicial review

  We have been informed by the High Court that the claims in the judicial review held on 10-11 May 2023 have been rejected, and found in favour of the Secretary of State for Transport.
  
  The judicial review challenged the decisions made by the Secretary of State for Transport in granting development consent orders (DCO) to three A47 road improvement schemes near Norwich.

  The news means that the DCO decisions for these schemes still stand. 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.

  We welcome the outcome, which 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)

  Next steps

  Work on these schemes has previously been limited while we were awaiting the outcome of the judicial review. Now that we have this clarity, we are working with our contractor to establish new construction timescales. We intend to start work on the three affected schemes as soon as possible.

  Face-to-face public information events 

  Over the next few months, we’ll hold another round of face-to-face public information events. Come along to meet the team and hear about our construction plans 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 

• 21 December 2022

  Update on the A47 legal challenges

  A legal challenge has been made to the Secretary of State (SoS) for Transport's decision to grant Development Consent Order (DCO) for our three A47 schemes:

  • A47 Blofield to North Burlingham
  • A47 North Tuddenham to Easton
  • A47/A11 Thickthorn junction

  The challenge mainly focuses on the way cumulative carbon assessments were carried out, along with local carbon plans, bat licences and the completeness of the briefings given to the Ministers prior to the decisions.

  On 14 December the High Court held an oral hearing for the claimant to put their arguments to a judge as to why the challenges should proceed to a judicial review. At this hearing the judge granted permission for a substantive hearing, mainly on the grounds of how cumulative carbon is assessed by government at a national level, so the case will now progress to a full judicial review.

  A judicial review is the process of challenging the lawfulness of decisions made by public authorities, including central government, so this will now decide whether the SoS acted lawfully. The challenge to the A47 schemes is not on the schemes themselves, but to the process of approving the DCOs.

  Delay to our schemes

  This means we cannot start work as soon as we had originally planned on the three A47 schemes and have had to delay the improvements our customers have asked us for.

  Our continued commitment

  We stand by our plans and remain committed to investing almost half a billion pounds on a series of improvements to the A47 the people and businesses of East Anglia have told us they want. These will make the road safer, connect local communities and deliver a huge economic boost to the region.

  Over the last three months we have held a series of public information events, attended by over 800 people, and the feedback from our stakeholders was positive towards our A47 schemes.

  We will now work with the Department for Transport, ahead of the case being heard in full.

  More information

  • Drive to reducing carbon emissions Net Zero Highways.
  • Commitment to no net loss of biodiversity across all projects by 2025 Biodiversity Plan.

  To make sure you know what’s coming up, sign up to our regular project updates by using the link on the right-hand side of this page.

   

• 12 August 2022

  Development Consent Order given the green light

  Today we welcomed the Secretary of State for Transport’s decision to grant us a planning application called a Development Consent Order (DCO), which allows us to proceed with our plans to improve the A47 between North Tuddenham to Easton. You can view the decision letter here.

  The scheme will:

  • Create a new dual carriageway to replace the existing single carriageway between North Tuddenham and Easton.
  • Build two new junctions where the A47 passes over the existing local roads, one will be where Berrys Lane meets Wood Lane (Wood Lane junction) and one where Blind Lane meets Taverham Road (Norwich Road junction). This creates a more free-flowing and safer A47, with no access on to the new dualled A47 from local roads.
  • Remove the existing roundabout at Easton to create safer routes for walkers, cyclists and other vulnerable users.

  The improvements will:

  • Provide a more reliable and integrated network for local communities
  • Deliver a safer route for cyclists, pedestrians and other vulnerable users
  • Reduce congestion related delays, improve journey times and increase the overall capacity of the A47 to support economic growth

  The existing A47 has one of the highest recorded accident rates for an A road in the UK. Traffic modelling data from 2019 shows this section of the A47 is used by over 25,000 vehicles a day.

  The scheme will improve road safety by reducing the number of accidents and consequently the number of casualties. Over a 60-year timeframe, the scheme’s improvements could save up to 341 accidents and 64 killed or seriously injured (KSIs).

  For more information on our DCO and to view our documents, visit the Planning Inspectorate website.

  Keeping you informed

  You can find out more about our plans and speak to our construction and project team at the following public drop-in events:

  Friday 11 November 2022, midday to 8pm
  Heathersett Village Hall, Back Lane, Hethersett, Norwich, NR9 3JJ

  Tuesday 15 November 2022, 8am to 4pm
  Co-op Acle, Norwich Rd, Acle, Norwich NR13 3BY

  Friday 18 November 2022, 9am to 4pm
  The Willow Centre, Willow Croft Way, Cringleford NR4 7JJ

  Friday 25 November 2022, 10am to 6pm
  East Tuddenham Hall, Dereham, Norfolk, NR20 3LR

  Wednesday 30 November 2022, 8am to 4pm
  Waitrose Wymondham Norwich Rd, Wymondham NR18 0SH

  Thursday 1 December 2022, 9am to 6pm POSTPONED due to venue double-booking*
  Chantry Place, St Stephens St, Norwich NR1 3SH

  Friday 2 December 2022, 8am to 5pm
  Hay Hill Haymarket, Market Place, Norwich NR2 1ND

  Friday 9 December 2022, 8am to 5pm
  Castle Quarter Shopping Centre, Castle Meadow, Norwich NR1 3DD

  Monday 16 January 2023, 9am to 6pm (*new date for previously postponed event)
  Chantry Place, St Stephens St, Norwich NR1 3SH

• 21 January 2022

  Planning Inspector examination process

  The A47 North Tuddenham to Easton scheme’s Development Consent Order (DCO) examination started on 12 August 2021 and will finish on 12 February 2022. The examination process is explained on the Planning Inspectorate's website.

  The dates for examination can be viewed on the Planning Inspectorate’s Examination Timetable page.

  For more information on our DCO application and to sign up for email updates about our project, please visit the A47 North Tuddenham to Easton Planning Inspectorate’s web page.

• 23 June 2021

  Planning Inspectorate acceptance of scheme submission

  We are pleased to announce that our Development Consent Order Application was submitted to the Planning Inspectorate in March 2021 and was accepted in April 2021, allowing us to progress through to examination. The process is explained on the Planning Inspectorate's website.

  The Section 56 Notice notifies the public that the A47 North Tuddenham to Easton Development Consent Order application has been accepted for examination. View the Section 56 Notice.

  Members of the public were able to register to participate in the examination and provide a response to our application during the Relevant Representation period, which closed on Thursday 17 June 2021 at 23:59.

  Details of next steps for this scheme are available on the A47 North Tuddenham to Easton Planning Inspectorate’s web page.

• 19 April 2021

  Plans to dual A47 between North Tuddenham and Easton move a step closer

  Plans for a new dual carriageway and junction improvements moved a step closer after Highways England’s proposals were formally accepted by the Planning Inspectorate for examination last Monday (12 April).

  Highways England is improving the A47 in six places between Peterborough and Great Yarmouth as part of a £300 million-plus investment, including the Norfolk section between North Tuddenham and Easton.

  The Planning Inspectorate will now start the process of a full examination of Highways England’s proposals before deciding whether to grant a Development Consent Order, which will help to inform the Secretary of State for Transport when deciding whether to give the green light for construction to begin two years hence.

  Highways England programme lead for the A47, Chris Griffin, said: “This stretch of road connects areas of growing economic activity around Norwich. The current layout of the road can act as a bottleneck, resulting in congestion and slower journey times. Our improvements will make shorten journeys while improving safety for the thousands of drivers who use this stretch of road daily, while also maintain connectivity and improving access for local residents.

  “The decision to accept our DCO application represents a major milestone for the scheme, not only for us as the project team but for all those who have supported this project over a number of years.”

  

  The preferred option for upgrading this stretch was announced in August 2017, and a statutory consultation was held last year that had nearly 700 responses. That feedback found that almost three quarters of people felt that road improvements were needed on this stretch of road, and that Highways England’s proposals would help reduce congestion and shorten journey times.

  Feedback received during a consultation in Spring 2020 refined the scheme design, which now includes an added underpass for traffic and pedestrians at Mattishall Lane, replacing the Church Lane underpass and link road.

  Changes to the Wood Lane southern junction into Dereham now reuses more of the existing A47, while the new River Tud Bridge has been altered based on feedback from the Environment Agency. A walking and cycling link was added from Honingham to St Andrew’s Church via an A47 underpass, while the Norwich Road junction was moved east to reduce the impact on the church, while maintaining farm access.

  The northern roundabout at the Norwich Road junction was changed removing the link to Church Lane, and a new walking and cycling route added between Easton and Lower Easton, replacing the existing one which crosses the A47. New embankments will reduce traffic noise, and an extra wetland drainage zone will provide a welcome boost for the environment by increasing biodiversity.

  Councillor Martin Wilby, Chairman of the A47 Alliance and Cabinet member for Highways, Infrastructure and Transport at Norfolk County Council, said: “The A47 is crucial for the economic prosperity of Norfolk, connecting Norwich to Peterborough in the west and Great Yarmouth in the east. Thousands of our residents use the A47 for commuting, for seeing family, for trading, for holidaying, and far more.

  “This package of improvements that Highways England will deliver along the A47 will thus be of huge benefit to not just Norfolk, but to the whole region, making journeys shorter and safer for our residents.”

  The Planning Inspectorate’s examination process will provide people with the opportunity to comment on the proposals in writing as well as the chance to participate in hearings. Following the examination, the Planning Inspectorate will make a recommendation to the Secretary of State for Transport, who will decide whether the project can move forward with construction. If the application is approved, work on building the road is due to start in March 2023.

  More information about the Development Consent Order process can be found on the Planning Inspectorate’s website

• 13 April 2021

  Development Consent Order application accepted

  This scheme is a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP), which means it’s classed as a large, complex infrastructure project that benefits the entire country.

  To build the scheme, we need to seek permission through a special planning process and gain a Development Consent Order (DCO) from the Planning Inspectorate.

  We submitted our DCO application in March 2021. Our application was accepted by the Planning Inspectorate on 12 April, allowing us to progress through to examination. The next steps in the process can be found on the Planning Inspectorate's website.

  You can view the application here. You will soon be able to register to be involved in the examination process as an Interested Party. We'll update this webpage as soon as we have a confirmed date.

  Details about how to have your say can be found in this video by the Planning Inspectorate. You can also read more about the DCO process.