Norfolk CC has submitted to the Highways Agency a draft Section 6 Agreement under the Highways Act 1980


Norfolk County Council want to build Postwick Hub to "improve capacity for access to the new Broadland Gate commercial development area and also the planned Norwich Northern Distributor Road". However, as we now know, planning permission for Broadland Gate and Postwick Hub  has been quashed by the High Court. 
 
DRAFT SCHEDULE:

The Works shall comprise:

A47 / A1042 Postwick Interchange Improvement

Full detailed description of relevant works associated with the work to be carried out on the trunk road in association with this Section 6 agreement.

It is proposed to modify the existing grade separated dumbbell junction to improve
capacity thereby delivering future growth in Broadland District including the for access to the new ‘Broadland Gate’ commercial development area and also the planned Norwich Northern Distributor Road. This will be achieved by the following:

 1. Construction of a second road bridge over the A47 Trunk Road;
 2. Construction of a new roundabout, which will be a County Road, at the northern end of the new A47 overbridge, together with associated diverge and merge slip roads, which will be Trunk Road, from and to the A47 Trunk Road eastbound carriageway;
 3. Closure of the existing eastbound diverge and merge slip roads to and from the existing
     northwest dumbbell roundabout at Broadland Way;
 4. Conversion of the existing southeast dumbbell roundabout at the Postwick Park &
     Ride site, which is County Road, to a signal controlled junction, with associated realignment of the westbound merge slip road which is Trunk Road.
5.  Modifications to the existing road bridge over the A47 Trunk Road.

        The parts of the above works which fall within the terms of the Section 6 Agreement are described in the Schedule of works below.

Schedule of works

 i). Construction of a new bridge over the A47;
 ii). Replacement of the parapets to the existing A47 overbridge and remodelling of the existing road layout to provide 3.0m lanes (2no southbound and 1 northbound) and widening of the western side to accommodate a non segregated pedestrian and cycle facility;
iii). Modification to the northern abutment of the existing overbridge by replacing the
     generally sloping paved embankment with a vertical retaining structure;
 iv). Modification of the existing diverge slip road from the eastbound carriageway of the A47 Trunk Road and construction of a realigned section of this slip road beyond the nosing to the northern boundary of the Trunk Road, through the modified northern span of the existing overbridge;
 v). Removal of part of the existing diverge slip road in iv) above, leading to the north west roundabout of the existing dumbbell junction, together with the dedicated left slip road to the A1042;
 vi). Construction of a new merge slip road connecting the new roundabout at 2. above, from the northern boundary of the Trunk Road to the termination of its taper with the eastbound carriageway of the A47 Trunk Road;
 vii). Removal of the existing merge lane from the existing northwest roundabout of the dumbbell junction, over its entire length including the dedicated left slip from Broadland Way dual carriageway;
viii). Realignment of a section of the west-bound merge slip road from the signal controlled conversion of the existing southeast dumbbell roundabout;
 ix). New road pavement construction and reshaping of existing carriageway in
     connection with all of the above;
 x). Consequent installation of new and alterations to existing surface water drainage
       systems including infiltration ponds or similar features / devices as may be required;
 xi). Consequent alterations to existing verges and earthworks and the construction of new verges and earthworks;
 xii). Consequent alterations to road markings, and road signs, safety fences and provision for future VMS;
xiii)  Providing or modifying existing footpath / cycleways;
 xiv). Consequent alterations to existing and provision of new street lighting equipment;
 xv). Consequent landscaping of areas beyond the highway verge including areas of existing slip roads to be removed above;
xvi)  Closure of the existing ‘entry only’ private means of access to The Grange and the construction of a new access track to the north of the new trunk road eastbound merge slip road.

14 comments:

  1. Rackheath Resident15 June 2011 at 20:59

    What does this mean to a Rackheath Resident please explain SnuB

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  2. As I understand it the junction has to be rebuilt to allow the existing Business park to be completed and the Broadland Gate expansion to take place. That will bring thousands of new jobs to the area and that will lead to more pressure for houses. And the best place for the houses would be close by. So we have to oppose the junction to make sure that the economy cant expand and then we wont need the houses. Simples!

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  3. Anonymous is trolling again.
    Actually, the County Council have been very tight lipped about the facts. Last year they connived together with Broadland to give themselves planning permission for a new junction at Postwick on the false premise that it was for better access to the Broadland Gate Business Park.
    In fact the plans for this junction facilitate the NDR and access to the business park would have been seriously prejudiced. The District Council had no right to grant it.

    The owners of Broadland Gate objected strongly and threatened to take the County Council to court seeking a judicial review. Now the Council have acknowledged their fault and are submitting a new application.
    It is different layout but there will be no new consultation, just the 21 days planning application period (already one week in) and kept quiet to sneak it through. You will also see that the application this time goes to the Highways Agency.

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  4. So its basicly a planning application to provide a better flow of trafic to Broadland Business Park ? ( which is OK anyway)
    What about the road ( a real cut through) from Broadland Business park to Thorpe ?
    Does this get sorted ? as its treated like a Northern Bypass at the moment.

    Yes im the first person to reply to this.

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  5. Scrivener - are you saying that the junction doesnt need to be rebuilt to allow the rest of the BBP to be built and the expansion to happen? I thought the Highways Agency had put a stop to any more building until this happened.

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  6. Read the EDP Page 14

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  7. Thorpe End Resident17 June 2011 at 16:58

    Things seem to be unravelling at Broadland District Council. This decision just shows that they have not followed the process in a correct and legal manner. But what if no one had taken them on? It would all have gone through. The GNDP seem confident that the JCS was legally sound..... but is it? Guess we will find out soon!

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  8. Hey all you anti-SNUB people - take a good look at today's EDP article. It seems that the professionals and experts you place so much faith in are not as infallible as you think!

    It would be good if you'd all stop moaning about SNUB (and others who aren't even members of SNUB, like me) protesting about flawed processes and highly dubious council/GNDP decisions. In a democracy, the decision-makers must be held to account for their decisions. This is exactly what SNUB & others are doing. You'd like them all to just shut up and go away, to stop interfering and let the experts get on with their jobs, wouldn't you? Just as the experts have in Kings Lynn re. the incinerator, or in Newmarket re. their version of the JCS. There are plenty of other examples of planning decisions that have been deeply and fundamentally flawed: some have been challenged, many have just gone through because ordinary people have been unaware of how to challenge them, or afraid to do so due to the prospect of lengthy legal battles and huge costs.

    Everyone who cares about democracy and accountability should support what SNUB are doing, not snipe at them like silly children. Grow up please!

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  9. Hal,

    As Scrivener has pointed out we have trolls on this blog.
    Seems perfectly correct to send your spin boys in to throw a negative view on what people should challenge as gross incompetence.

    happy days troll.

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  10. What ever is a Troll ?

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  11. I thought we were living in a time of austerity with huge cuts in services. Why then do we need to waste money on the huge Postwick hub when we already have a good interchange which feeds the excellent roads serving the Broadland Business Park. Using the Postwick Interchange almost every day I have never been held up yet.

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  12. Definition of a troll taken from Wikipedia:In Internet slang, a troll is someone who posts inflammatory, extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community, such as an online discussion forum, chat room, or blog, with the primary intent of provoking readers into an emotional response or of otherwise disrupting normal on-topic discussion.

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  13. I thought we had been told that our Country is in the worst recession yet with the biggest debt in history. If this is so just how can the County Council and the GNDP even consider building a new and unwanted bypass, when they are cutting care for the elderly, buses, policing and other vital services. They are not living in the real world like all Politicians.

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