Councillor 'fuming' over cycle safety plan change

Maxine Webb said she was shocked the plans had changed

A councillor said she was "fuming" over the decision to remove cycling safety improvements from a busy junction.

They were due to be added to the Dereham Road-Larkman Lane crossroads in Norwich, alongside other works.

But Norfolk County Council said it had dropped the cycling element of the plans because of "rising costs and limited funding".

Independent councillor Maxine Webb said the decision had been made with no consultation and she could not believe what had happened.

Proposals to improve the junction on Dereham Road, which leads to the A47, were first drawn up in November 2021.

Proposals to add safety measures to the junction were first drawn up nearly four years ago

Plans included toucan crossings, cycling stop lines and changes to kerbs, with the work due to be paid for with part of £32m of funding provided by the Department for Transport.

However Graham Plant, Conservative councillor responsible for transport, decided to drop those elements of the plan at the end of July, on the basis that costs had risen.

While his decision was publicly available on the council website, no wider announcement was made.

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Local councillor Webb said she was "stunned and fuming that it was done unilaterally with no discussion".

"I couldn't believe it when I realised what had happened, I thought it had to be a mistake," she said.

"Everything that was in those plans was costed at the time. The idea it's no longer funded just doesn't add up."

Cycling campaigner Peter Silburn said the junction was "nasty" for cyclists

Peter Silburn from the Norwich Cycling Campaign said the junction was "very dangerous and intimidating" for bike-users and desperately needed to be made safer.

He was also angry about the lack of debate over the decision.

Until two years ago, discussions about road projects in the city took place in public.

Then the former Transport for Norwich Advisory Committee was replaced by a "steering group" that would meet behind closed doors.

However, Mr Silburn said that after making Freedom of Information requests, he discovered the group had not met since December.

"They're supposed to meet every two months. We're not very happy about it."

Graham Plant said the council did not currently have the funds to carry out the work

Defending the decision, Plant said the steering group was not a "decision-making body" and it was "absolutely correct" decisions on transport projects took place outside of its meetings.

He added that meeting every two months was not "a stated minimum requirement".

Blaming "rising costs and limited availability of funding", Plant said it was "regrettable" the cycling improvements had been dropped.

"We are, however, using further funding secured through our Bus Service Improvement Plan to provide priority for buses, improved passenger information and a new pedestrian refuge," he said.