1 week Ago
A £1million "stumbling block" is standing between the village of Spixworth and a safer new junction. Drivers waiting to get onto North Walsham Road from Crostwick Lane say they currently have to wait up to 20 minutes at a time, because fast-moving traffic makes the turning so unsafe. Village officials have spent tens of thousands over the past two years to come up with a new design for the junction that should make getting in and out of Spixworth easier and safer.
The Crostwick Lane and North Walsham Road junction is growing more difficult to use (Image: Google) These efforts have also gained the support of Broadland MP Jerome Mayhew who committed to help develop an outline redesign. But village councillor Dan Roper said the biggest hurdle is finding £1m in funding for the project. READ MORE: County Hall disposing of nearly an acre at former primary school "There was a technical review in 2023 for which I provided the funding via my councillor's highway allowance," he said.
"This identified a high need for improvement on the junction with options including a roundabout and traffic lights. Councillor Daniel Roper (left) said around £1m of funding is needed for a new junction (Image: Bill Smith) "The lights were seen to provide better value for money, however, the stumbling block is funding given that the total cost is quoted at more than £1 million for the scheme." Mr Roper added that another £50,000 needs to be allocated for further designs to be drawn up so the project is "bid ready".
READ MORE: Hopes junction onto busy road will be made safer after MP backs redesign "This design work is important because it enables highways to make bids for schemes in the future," he said. Traffic at the junction has worsened since the NDR was built, Dan has said (Image: Google) "In reality, this is most likely to come via infrastructure funding arising from development within Broadland. "There is a compelling case for action to be taken about this junction as traffic and speeds have increased since the opening of the NDR.
"I think traffic lights will be a good fit for the junction and improve things for Spixworth drastically.".
