1 week Ago
Council leaders are ready to pump £1m of taxpayer's money into a controversial new £8.4m roundabout scheme seen as crucial to the fortunes of car maker Lotus. Members of Norfolk County Council's cabinet are next week due to agree to commit the money towards a new roundabout and spine road off the B1135 at Hethel.
The Lotus site at Hethel (Image: Steve Adams) County Hall officers are recommending that the Conservative-controlled cabinet commits the money towards the project, which they say will help unlock 1,000 jobs at the site. Hethel, near Wymondham, is home to Lotus Cars, Classic Team Lotus and the Hethel Engineering Centre (HEC). Plans for the roundabout at Hethel (Image: Norfolk County Council) Officers, in the report which will come before councillors, state: "Improvements to the site access are needed to unlock the strategic employment allocation at Hethel.
"Lotus Cars and HEC have separate plans to expand their operations with the potential to create a further 1,000 high value jobs and invest over £750m in the site, which would secure Lotus Cars' long-term car production future in Norfolk." The Lotus site at Hethel (Image: Denise Bradley) Officers said the money, which comes on top of £1.4m County Hall and South Norfolk Council had already agreed for design work, would "support the private investment in the businesses and secure economic investment, and commitment, in the county to support jobs both at the site and in the supply chains".
Officers added: "The provision of a roundabout and spine road will not only unlock the remainder of the allocated employment site, but will also provide more appropriate infrastructure to support the growth of existing businesses. "The scheme will improve traffic circulation around the employment and include provision for walking and cycling, which is well established at the site." READ MORE: Lotus revives racing team on 75th anniversary of F1 As well as the £1m Norfolk County Council is likely to contribute, South Norfolk Council's cabinet will be asked to commit a further £1m later this month.
South Norfolk Council previously had to rethink how to fund the scheme. The government previously blocked the use of a fund designed to boost rural businesses - a suggestion which had infuriated farmers . A further £5m has been earmarked through the Greater Norwich Growth Board - using pooled money raised from a levy on developers .
However, when outline proposals for the Lotus Cars' Hethel site expansion came before South Norfolk Council for approval last year, the project was criticised . Liberal Democrat councillor Jim Webber (Image: Liberal Democrats) Liberal Democrat district councillor Jim Webber likened it to "the Milton Keynes-isation of South Norfolk" - a reference to the many roundabouts in the Buckinghamshire city..
