If you’ve ever been to Barnham Broom Hotel you’ll know how beautiful it is, especially in the glorious sunshine. We were lucky enough to hold the very first event in their newly refurbished Barford Suite on Wednesday 20th March and it did not disappoint. We had over 80 delegates in attendance for our first South Norfolk Breakfast of the year.
The morning was very kindly sponsored by Norfolk County Council who were also presenting on improving Norfolk’s infrastructure. Our speakers were David Allfrey, Infrastructure Delivery Manager, and Chris Fernandez, Norwich Western Link Project Manager, from Norfolk County Council.
David gave an excellent overview of the importance of investing in Norfolk’s transport infrastructure (something that is very close to many of our delegates’ hearts) and an update on the Council’s priority projects. He also touched on the Transforming Cities Fund, its goals, and where the funding is coming from; as well as the improvements being made to the A47.
Chris then took over the mantle and concentrated specifically on the Norwich Western Link which will see the A47 linked to the western end of the Broadland Northway (formally the NDR). He highlighted the issues currently faced by those using the transport links around Norwich and the benefits to business including: improving access to employment areas, cutting travel times and fuel costs for haulage and distribution, and alleviating congestion among others. Chris then went on to outline the route options that the council is considering for the project and the impact each option would have.
It was a very informative morning and there were a number of questions from delegates including around what the council is doing about public transport links and how this will work with the improvements being made. To keep updated about the Norwich Western Link please go to www.norfolk.gov.uk/nwl.
We were very pleased to have the National Centre for Writing as our featured charity and they were running a competition for a delegate and a group from their company to win a guided tour of the historic Dragon Hall where they’re based.
Our next networking breakfast in South Norfolk is on Thursday June 13th, find out more here.
