National Highways has said it will work with contractor Galliford Try to progress three delayed schemes on the A47 in Norfolk after a judge upheld decisions by ministers to grant the schemes planning permission.
On Friday, (7 July), following a judicial review at the High Court, Mrs Justice Thornton DBE found that the decisions of the transport secretary to grant development consent orders were properly assessed.
She said: ‘The secretary of state succeeds on the primary issue raised by the challenge in that the Court is not persuaded that his approach to the assessment of cumulative carbon emissions was unlawful and/or in breach of [the Infrastructure Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2017].’
The three schemes are:
- new dual carriageway and junctions between Blofield and North Burlingham
- new dual carriageway and junctions between North Tuddenham and Easton
- redevelopment of Thickthorn junction (where A11 meets the A47 south of Norwich)
The planned Wood Lane junction between North Tuddenham and Easton
Chris Griffin, programme leader for National Highways in the East Region, said: ‘Today's judgment is wonderful news for people living and working around Norwich. Our plans will improve journey times and are designed to make the A47 a safer road. We know from speaking to local people there is overwhelming support for these schemes.’
However, National Highways said that work on all three schemes, which had been expected to start shortly after their DCO decisions last year but was put on hold pending the legal challenges, has now been delayed by at least a year.
It said it will now work with its contractor, Galliford Try, to establish new timescales for all three projects. The intention is to deliver them as soon as possible, with any changes to the completion dates set to be announced over the coming weeks.
The original completion date for the Blofield scheme was summer 2024; the Tuddenham upgrade was due in winter 2025; and the Thickthorn redevelopment in early 2025.
Dr Andrew Boswell, who brought the judicial review, said his lawyers were commencing immediate proceedings to appeal the judgement.
He said: ‘This case is extremely important as it addresses issues of pressing public importance including how the environmental impacts of new infrastructure are assessed and whether the UK can deliver its climate targets.
‘The case is of wide importance as the same methodology which systematically ignores cumulative emissions is used to assess nearly all road schemes in the UK.
‘Yet just last week, the risks to delivery of the Net Zero targets from the combined effects of ever-expanding traffic were set out in stark terms by the Government’s own official climate advisors when they advised the Government to conduct a systematic review of current and future road-building projects against delivering climate targets.’
