Norwich: Sweet Briar Road to be shut for another month

Sweet Briar Road in Norwich has been closed since 17 February

A major road which has been closed to traffic for eight weeks will be out-of-action for at least another month, Anglian Water said.

A burst water main flooded and damaged an embankment on Sweet Briar Road, part of the Norwich outer ring road, on 17 February.

Residents and businesses had been told the road would reopen at the end of April.

Anglian Water said it was now expected to remain closed until the end of May.

The water company said the repairs needed were "incredibly complex", the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

The embankment by the bridge on Sweetbriar Road was damaged when water from a burst main flooded the road

The effect of the closure has spread to roads across the neighbourhood, including Hellesdon Hall Road, home to the Hellesdon Barns garden centre.

Darryl Eastell, owner of Plantmania - based within Hellesdon Barns - said: "It's absolutely bonkers. It's a major artery.

"I've had to escort some trucks out of Norwich, just to get them on to the NDR - so it's been complicated.

"Even today, I had to do a delivery five minutes away which took 25 minutes - that's insane."

Mr Eastell said the closure was having a "negative effect on business".

"Passing trade is what I think we've lost. I wouldn't want to sit in traffic for 20 minutes to travel 100 yards to possibly buy a £10 plant, so why would I expect them to," he said.

Paul Skinner said the loss of business due to the road closure was "soul destroying"

Paul Skinner, owner of Norwich Reptile Company, said the road closure had affected business "greatly".

"We noticed it straight away," he said. "The loss of business and lack of people coming in - and there's no sign of it ending soon.

"It's soul destroying because you're sitting here worrying what's going wrong."

Anglian Water said the embankment had been removed and was being reinstated

An Anglian Water spokeswoman said: "This is an incredibly complex repair which has required stringent health and safety measures to be put in place due to the embankment needing to be removed and reinstated.

"We expect this work to be completed by the end of May.

"We would like to thank everyone for their patience while this emergency work is taking place."

Find BBC News: East of England on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. If you have a story suggestion email [e-mail]