Norfolk Chamber believes that getting the A47 fully dualled is vital to the future success of Norfolk.
The A47 trunk road is managed by Highways England on behalf of the Government and runs from just past Peterborough in the west and across the breadth of Norfolk to Lowestoft in the east.
Currently just 47% of this major route is dual carriageway and while Highways England have committed to making £300 million of improvements to the road, including dualling some stretches, this will still leave substantial sections of the A47 as single carriageway with no current plans to dual them.
So we have launched the Just Dual It! campaign with Norfolk County Council and the Eastern Daily Press. The campaign is calling on the Government to…
- Fund the dualling of the Acle Straight (near Great Yarmouth) and Tilney to East Winch (near King’s Lynn) sections of the A47 in the next round of Government-funded improvements for the UK’s trunk road network, with the work carried out between 2020 and 2025
- A commitment from the Government to make funding available to dual the entire length of the A47 by 2030
We firmly believe that we have a strong case and if we can make enough noise about it, this can make all the difference.
Commenting on the need to fully dual the A47, Chris Sargisson, Chief Executive of Norfolk Chamber said:
“Historically, Norfolk’s infrastructure has lagged behind the rest of the UK and the county as a whole needs to come together to give voice to our infrastructure needs.
The new campaign will highlight how vital the need for further improvements along the A47 really are. It is already evident that poor infrastructure is restricting business growth in Norfolk. Improvements along this significant east/west trunk road will help every sector of the business community, right across the county and will enable them to deliver greater economic growth and jobs for our region.
“Norfolk Chamber will continue to rally the business community and lobby hard to achieve the goal of fully dualling the A47 as soon as possible.”
How can you get involved?
- Buy a copy of the Eastern Daily Press on Friday, 23 March – inserted in the paper will be a Just Dual It! freepost postcard for you to send your own message to the Government about why you think the A47 needs to be fully-dualled as soon as possible
- Also from Friday 23 March, an e-postcard will be available on the Chamber website for businesses to complete. We will take your submission and transfer it onto the postcards
- Pick up a Just Dual It! postcard from receptions in any of the following buildings from Friday, 23 March onwards:
- Norfolk County Council, County Hall, Martineau Lane, Norwich
- The Eastern Daily Press, Prospect House, Rouen Road, Norwich
- Norfolk Chamber of Commerce, 9 Norwich Business Park, Whiting Road, Norwich
- Great Yarmouth Borough Council, Town Hall, Hall Plain, Great Yarmouth, NR30 2QF
- Borough Council of King’s Lynn & West Norfolk, Kings Court, Chapel Street, King’s Lynn
Please note, postcards in these locations will not be freepost, so will require a stamp. We would encourage you to fill them in at the venue and hand them back rather than take them away and post them.
- Tweet your support for the campaign using the hashtag #justdualit. If you include your full name and location (e.g. village/town name) in the tweet, we will transfer your message onto a postcard for you
The postcards will be collated in the summer with the intention of taking them down to Westminster to evidence the strong support that exists for getting the A47 dualled.
Please help us to show the Government how important this is to Norfolk. Thank you for your support!
