Green light means work to build new £47m bypass will begin next week

Work to build a new £47m bypass in Norfolk will begin next week, after the government rubber-stamped the money it will give for the project.

Construction of the A140 Long Stratton bypass will begin on Tuesday after Norfolk County Council's full business case for the scheme was finally approved.

The Conservative-controlled council has already shut roads and carried out preparatory work to pave the way for construction of the two-and-a-half-mile, single-carriageway road.

The bypass will go to the east of Long Stratton (Image: Mike Page)

But the bulk of construction could not start without Whitehall's confirmation of the money it will put towards the scheme - which it has just received.

READ MORE: Photographs show route of new A140 Long Stratton bypass

Graham Plant, Norfolk County Council cabinet member for highways, transport and infrastructure (Image: Norfolk County Council)

Graham Plant, cabinet member for highways, infrastructure and transport at Norfolk County Council, said: "This is fantastic news for long-suffering commuters and residents in Long Stratton, and will provide an economic boost to our whole region.

"Our advance works have been progressing well and this final confirmation by government enables us to now deliver this vital new infrastructure without delay.

"The bypass is set to create hundreds of new jobs and homes, open up improvements for cycling and walking, and solve transport issues local people have been facing for more than a generation."

Long Stratton county councillor Alison Thomas (Image: Archant)

Alison Thomas, Conservative county councillor for Long Stratton, said she had campaigned for the bypass, which is linked to linked to the construction of 1,800 homes in the town, since 1996.

She said: "I am delighted to see the main works get under way."

The work, to be done by council contractor Octavius Infrastructure Ltd, is likely to last for 18 months, with a target to get the road opened by the end of next year.

A visualisation of the Long Stratton bypass (Image: Norfolk County Council)

The road will stretch to the east of Long Stratton, starting at a new roundabout junction at Church Lane to the north and rejoining the existing A140 near Oakside farm to the south.

The government announced in 2021 that it would give £26.2m towards the road, but the bill has risen to £46.9m.

The rest of the funding comes from a £14.5m commitment from the Greater Norwich Growth Board, local developer contributions and the Community Infrastructure Levy - a charge on developers.

There had been suggestions the road could get extra money after the northern leg of the HS2 rail route was scrapped, but that has yet to materialise.