More Bonkers Thinking!

We heard yesterday (31st Oct 2011) that the Government is going to invest taxpayers’ money into local regions in order to kick-start the economy.  Great news and locally it seems that Lotus will benefit to the tune of £10.4m from the regional growth fund with the prediction that this will generate 800 new jobs in the local supply chain and according to a Lotus spokesperson “considerable number of new jobs at Lotus itself over the next 6 to 8 years”.

If this investment is combined with the £26m secured by the Norwich Research Park and the now inevitable dualling of the A11 then the prospect for the South of the city looks extremely good.  There is a real opportunity to develop the area into a hub of high technology in the way that Cambridge has been developed in the past.

Of course all these new jobs will need new people and these new people will need new houses to live in! 

I know lets put these houses in the North East growth triangle of Norwich and give all of these new people the task of commuting across the city to get to their new jobs. 

The journey from Station Road, Salhouse to Hethel engineering is a round trip of 40 miles.  Even if the NDR were to go ahead it would only account for 8 miles of that commute! 

Well say the GNDP they will be able to catch a bus!  At the moment that would take about 90 minutes one way with a 123 bus from Salhouse to the city and then a 10A bus to Wreningham and a walk of 1.2 miles to get to work.  At least the commuters would be able to get some liquid refreshment at the Sole and Heel or the Bird in Hand!

On the same day we heard that East Anglia Offshore Wind are predicting that the ports of Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth will support hundreds of new jobs in both construction and operations.  These jobs are predicted to start in 2015 and be sustainable over decades as the area builds a reputation for Renewable Energy expertise with predictions that the area will be the new base for manufacturing as the Midlands were in the mid 20th century.

Of course all these new jobs will need new people and these new people will need new houses to live in! 

I know lets put these houses in the North East growth triangle of Norwich and give all of these new people the task of commuting across the county to get to their new jobs. 

The journey from Station Road, Salhouse to Great Yarmouth Port is a round trip of 40 miles down the notorious Acle straight.  Even if the NDR were to go ahead it would only account for 8 miles of that commute!  It is another 24 miles to Lowestoft i.e. a round trip of 64 miles from Salhouse to Lowestoft.

Get the train we here GNDP say!  Well the train does go from Salhouse to Great Yarmouth and this is the timetable, which for a 0900 to 1700 day job, means a total daily commute of 3 1/2 hours plus the walk at each end.  This would mean leaving the house at 0700 each morning and then returning about 8.30 in the evening.  Oh and the cost will be around £12 a day or £60 per week.
 

Depart
Arrive
Duration

Depart
Arrive
Duration
07:17
Salhouse
07:32
Norwich
00h 15

18:47
Great Yarmouth
19:25
Norwich
00h 38
08:09
Norwich
08:43
Great Yarmouth
00h 34

19:55
Norwich
20:05
Salhouse
00h 10

The same can be said for Lowestoft.

So there you have it a classic example of disjointed thinking whereby all of the new jobs and investment are miles away from the majority of the new houses called for in the Joint Core Strategy!  BONKERS.

5 comments:

  1. Yes, and to 'top that off', not ONE mention of another Penny for the so-called 'eco-town'...surely the white elephant is dead and buried and therefore the need for the Norwich eco developement road ( NDR as we know it called) shoiuld also now be dropped and the money oput to a better use.Remember, the GNDP states that the NDR will generate £1.3 billion in investment but strange that the cost of the proposed Joint Core Strategy will cost tax payers £1.35 billion...how absurd..1 minus 1 equals nothing.old Rackheath resident

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  2. Hence the need for the NDR, which is not, as it is claimed, being built to increase and aid business, and solve "rat running" problems, but to take all the additional traffic which BDC know will be generated by all the additional building. They already know that cars will be used by the residents of these knew housing estates, and towns, in order to get to work, but of course to admit that knowledge, throws their whole devious schemes into chaos.

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  3. Salhouse Resident3 November 2011 at 09:17

    The GNDP Planners and Councillors will never consider travel cost, time wasted, or the destruction of vital food producing land, all they are interested in is generating the huge profits for their Developer friends.

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  4. Have you ( never mind the 'silly' planners) ever considered the proposed answer to all the traffic problems in and around the Norwich outskirts, from Rackheath to Postwick to Costessy to Where-ever...( FANFARE) 'THE RAPID BUS TRANSIT SCHEME'..YES! WHAT WE, AT COUNTY INTEND TO DO, IS PUT BUS LANES EVERYWHERE FROM SALHOUSE ROAD TO DEREHAM ROAD (THAT SHOULD STOP ALL THOSE BLOODY CAR-USERS AND FORCE THEM TO USE THE BUSSES WHICH WE ARE CURRENTLY AXING DUE TO GOVERNMENT CUTS)??? has any real 'WORKER' sat in serious traffic for hours while an occaional bus with 4 persons on board wizzes-past?...is this is the 'vision' of our future transport policy if we stand-by...remember, we pay for these 'fools' to make these decisions!..older Rackheath resident

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  5. Don't worry!
    The GNDP proposes thousands of extra houses south of Norwich as well...so all those people crowding in to the county to work at Lotus or Colney will be spoilt for choice in Hethersett or Wymondham....
    But, I wonder, has anyone in authority stopped to consider for just one moment how Lotus are going to increase their sales in a global recession? Also, £10m does not go very far in car manufacturing- anyone remember DeLorean??

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