Locals hoping bypass has ended traffic 'nightmare'

Mel Storer-Needham, owner of No.5 Hair Studio, hopes Long Stratton will no longer be a "drive-through town"

Property prices, cleaner air and a quieter daily life are all on the agenda for residents of a town that has seen a long-awaited bypass finally open.

Traffic was allowed to start using the new road around Long Stratton, Norfolk, on Monday morning as a £46.9m project for the A140 passed a major milestone.

Emma Browne, co-owner of a beauty salon on the main road through the town, said: "It feels so different. It used to be rammed every morning with traffic booming through, big lorries, sirens every day.

"I commented to my colleague that it feels like a little village instead of a town."

Emma Browne of the Doll House beauty salon is relieved to see less traffic outside her business

The centre of Long Stratton has looked much quieter than usual this week following the opening of the bypass, which now takes the A140 around the east of the town

Work on the road, which is the main A-road between Norwich and Ipswich, started in April 2024 and is continuing as the finishing touches are put in place before the end of the year.

The A140 used to be the main road through the centre of Long Stratton - and it is lined with shops, pubs, restaurants, car and motorcycle dealerships and other businesses.

The bypass stretches for 2.4 miles (3.9km) to the east of the town and has been built with new housing and employment in mind.

Ms Browne, from the Doll House salon, said: "We have a really loyal client base and obviously there is going to be a new development of houses coming as well, so obviously that's more faces for us to welcome into the salon."

Stephen Sutton is interested to see the long-term impact of the new bypass

Local resident Stephen Sutton says the impact of the bypass has been immediately noticeable.

"I thought how quiet it was - it's lovely," he said.

"It does feel safer. We've been waiting long enough. I think they've done a good job.

"[But] in Suffolk, at Botesdale [where the A143 bypasses the village], they said it made it like a ghost town, so we'll see."

Andrew Lansdell is concerned some cars have been speeding on the quieter road

Another of the businesses in The Street, as the (now ex-) A140 is named through the town, is Aldridge Lansdell chartered surveyors and estate agents.

Owner Andrew Lansdell said: "I think it will certainly bring a greater proportionate rise once prices start to recover in properties on the A140, which in the past have been more difficult to sell because of the traffic and the noise.

"So I think they will go up in price more than they would, perhaps more than other properties in the area."

Mr Lansdell is also a town councillor and said he was pleased to see less traffic and was hopeful that would improve air quality, but that he was also concerned more vehicles were exceeding the 30mph speed limit.

With 1,800 homes planned for Long Stratton, he also hoped a "greater community sense" would develop.

Long Stratton's new bypass opened to traffic on Monday

Mel Storer-Needham, owner of No.5 Hair Studio, said the new bypass was "amazing".

"We're not just going to be like a drive-through town now; we're going to be more of an established town," she said.

"We've got new houses coming as well; I think it's going to be great."

Stephen Ogden cautiously welcomed the opening of the bypass

Local resident Stephen Ogden said the bypass brought an end to a "nightmare".

"The heavy traffic has gone, which is brilliant but it's the school holidays as well, so we'll see what it's like come September," he said.

"Anything to make the town a little bit quieter and safer... as we know through here has been a nightmare for years."