Norfolk A47 scheme: Activist loses Court of Appeal case

Andrew Boswell has taken his case to both the High Court and the Court of Appeal in London

A climate activist has threatened to take his case to the Supreme Court after he lost his latest legal bid to block three improvement projects on a major road.

National Highways has been granted development consent orders to start work on the A47 near Norwich.

Andrew Boswell has seen his crowd-funded legal action about carbon emissions rejected in the appeal court.

One Court of Appeal judge said his case had "an air of complete unreality".

The former Green councillor, who describes himself as an environmental consultant who has done computer modelling work on climate change at the University of East Anglia, has argued that the Department for Transport (DfT) had failed in each case to assess the significance of the cumulative greenhouse gas emissions, as required by law.

The DfT argued its environment impact assessment was correct.

The A47 is the main east-west trunk road across Norfolk, linking Lowestoft in Suffolk to Cambridgeshire and the Midlands

The three A47 projects are:

• dualling of the carriageway and new junctions between Blofield and North Burlingham

• more dualling and new junctions between North Tuddenham and Easton

• Redevelopment of Thickthorn junction (where the A47 meets the A11, south of Norwich)

Having lost in the High Court in May 2023, Mr Boswell brought his case to the Court of Appeal where a hearing took place in January.

On Thursday, appeal court judges ruled in favour of the DfT.

Sir Launcelot Henderson, one of three judges in the case, said Mr Boswell's complaint had "an air of complete unreality" with there being "no logical basis" upon which a wider assessment of carbon emissions could have been undertaken.

'Policies are a shambles'

The projects would have been completed by the end of 2025, but have been delayed by more than 20 months.

Mr Boswell, a former Norwich City and Norfolk county councillor, has unsuccessfully stood for parliament three times,

His long-running, crowd-funded legal actions have already delayed the schemes and added tens of millions of pounds to their cost, reported the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Nearly £70,000 has been donated by his supporters to fund the court battles.

• Link road cost rises to £274m

• Road plan protest held amid bat colony claims

• What will a new river crossing mean for Great Yarmouth?

Mr Boswell, who said he had not had to dip into his own pocket to pay for legal fees, said he was now considering taking the matter to the Supreme Court as it was a "case of national interest".

"There is so much hype around climate change, but our actual policies are a shambles," he said.

"The cost of climate change is greater than the cost of this case. There is big money needed to deal with coastal erosion, flooding, and other issues that make it impossible for people to live.

"I have given up three years of my life - that is part of the cost of this battle."

'Deadly accidents'

Conservative MP for Mid Norfolk, George Freeman, criticised Mr Boswell's actions saying he and a "small" group of eco-campaigners had been "holding Norfolk to ransom" and people had been "forced to suffer the terrible consequences" of the road not being dualled.

He said the consequences were "wholly inadequate safety and deadly accidents, as well as facing regular flooding disruption and sitting in pollution caused by constant congestion".

He urged Mr Boswell to allow the road schemes to go ahead without a further legal challenge.

Graham Plant, cabinet member for highways, transport and infrastructure at Norfolk County Council, said the Court of Appeal judgment was "great news".

"These three National Highways projects constitute a huge investment in the county's transport network and will not only tackle current problems with traffic congestion and delays but also help to ensure Norfolk has the infrastructure it needs to cope with population and business growth."

National Highways, which is in charge of the schemes, said the A47 was a vital artery.

Chris Griffin, programme leader for National Highways in the East of England, said: "The judgment will be welcome news for people living and working around Norwich.

"We know from speaking to local people there is overwhelming support for these schemes and this is a positive step in progressing our plans to improve journey times and increase safety on the A47."