Representatives from Norfolk Chamber, Norwich Business Improvement District (BID) and Norfolk County Council sat down this week to talk about the proposed improvements to the city centre, in particular the inner ring road.
At an earlier November meeting of the Norwich Chamber Council, concerns had been raised about the noticeable increase in inner ring road traffic, with particular focus on the traffic impact roadworks planned for Golden Ball/Westlegate area. It was agreed that a joint meeting with the Chamber, the Norwich BID and the County Council would be useful to clarify the improvement plans.
The impact of the NDR; the inner ring road; and specific projects such as the works on Golden Ball/Westlegate were reviewed. It was noted that the inner ring road was nearly at capacity and at peaks times was at or over capacity. The County Council advised that once the improvements to Golden Ball/Westlegate had been completed, they planned to do more detailed modelling of the inner ring road, looking in particular at the junctions.
Chairing the meeting, Chamber President, Jonathan Cage said:
“The joint meeting has helped to provide clarity on the County Council’s plans for the city centre. The Chamber and the BID agreed that closer engagement with the business community at an earlier stage would not only provide a better understanding when construction/roads works were underway, but would help provide business support to the proposed plans.”
The meeting closed with an agreement for all parties to meet again in late January/early February 2016. In the meantime, the Chamber has released a quick transport survey to allow the business community to communicate their views on how Transport for Norwich affects their business. The survey is open until 21 December 2015.
