Talks ongoing over road cancelled due to bat fears

An artist's impression of part of the proposed Norwich Western Link road, which has been cancelled - for now

A senior councillor insisted he was still confident a "good solution" could be reached over plans for a controversial road.

Norfolk County Council withdrew its plans for the £274m Norwich Western Link last month, over concerns it would not get planning permission.

Conservative Graham Plant, the cabinet member responsible for transport, told a meeting that talks were still ongoing with the government.

Opposition groups warned that the multimillion-pound cost of the road could leave the authority with a large hole in its finances.

The council dropped its planning application to the government for the 3.9-mile (6.2km) link, connecting the Northern Distributor Road around Norwich to the A47 west of the city.

That was because new rules protecting rare Barbastelle bats meant a licence was unlikely to be granted.

However, millions of pounds had already been spent on things including buying land, and staff and consultants' costs.

Liberal Democrat Brian Watkins said he wanted to know if a contingency plan was in place to pay for the shelved Western Link

The total cost so far is about £56m, with £33m provided by the government, which could have to be repaid if the road is not built.

It is unclear how that money would be paid back, but council staff said they had planned for "a range of scenarios".

Liberal Democrat group leader Brian Watkins told a meeting of the full council that the authority's handling of the project had been "inept".

"The council is continuing to fail to provide suitable reassurances that it has a proper contingency plan in place, should this come to pass," he added.

Labour's Steve Morphew compared the "red risk" rating the council had given the finances surrounding the road to a red weather warning.

"If, for example, the red warning is for a torrential downpour that could result in flooding, I'd suggest any prudent person would move their belongings to higher ground and maybe fill some sandbags."

Conservative Graham Plant said he hoped a plan could still be agreed with the government

But Plant said the council was still in discussions with government and insisted both sides "want a good outcome".

"The government has said it is keen to enable economic growth and deliver infrastructure and make the planning system less onerous for applicants, so we've got shared goals, which gives us confidence that we can reach a good solution together."

The Department for Transport said it would "continue to work with Norfolk County Council on measures to improve congestion".