MP 'will fight' decision to cancel roundabout work

Work on improving the Vauxhall roundabout was expected to cost £50m

An MP said he would fight plans to scrap a major road scheme in Norfolk.

In her Budget, Chancellor Rachel Reeves said the £50m Vauxhall roundabout upgrade in Great Yarmouth did not provide "clear value for money".

The work was planned to ease congestion on the A47 – the main route between Yarmouth and Norwich – and was expected to begin in the near future.

Rupert Lowe, Reform UK MP for the town, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: "The new Vauxhall roundabout scheme has been axed by this atrocious Labour government – clearly this has repercussions for dualling the Acle Straight.

"More sensible public investment has been sacrificed, punishing the hard-working people of Great Yarmouth. It is unacceptable."

Reform UK MP Rupert Lowe said he would "fight" the decision

The full Budget, published by the Treasury on Wednesday, said the government would "take difficult decisions where there is not a clear value for money case to invest".

It cancelled four road projects, including the Vauxhall roundabout work, for being "unfunded and unaffordable".

The upgrade intended to increase capacity and reduce congestion at what is the main entry point into Yarmouth from the west.

The plans included a new bridge crossing railway tracks on the outskirts of Great Yarmouth

It was first proposed in 2017, but work on the project was put back when a third river crossing was given the go-ahead.

However, Great Yarmouth Borough Council said the improvements could have been completed "two to three years" after the establishment of the new bridge, which opened in February.

The roundabout would have been compatible with a dualled Acle Straight – a nine-mile (14km) stretch of the A47 that is currently single-carriageway.

'I don't think it's a big issue'

Gorleston resident Stephen Lucas said the decision "made sense"

There was mixed reaction in the town to the decision.

Stephen Lucas, 72, from Gorleston, said it "made sense".

"The money perhaps could be spent better than remodelling a roundabout," he said.

"I don't think it's a big issue, unless it's summertime when there's more traffic on the roads."

Rachel Hillier said money could spent on other areas that were "more important"

Rachel Hillier, 50, from Great Yarmouth, said local roads "could definitely be improved".

"There's so much that needs help in this town. I think it needs to be done, but there's other things that are more important."

Roundabout 'a nightmare'

Karen Burnett said she felt the work was "very badly" needed

However, Karen Burnett, 66, said the wrong decision had been made and the roundabout was "an absolute nightmare" at times.

"That needs doing very badly," she added.