A Full NDR is a Necessary Evil - Cllr Tim East

12.00.00am GMT Wed 2nd Dec 2009

Dear Letters Editor,

I wholeheartedly agree with David Clayton's letter and his argument that, "A full NDR is a necessary evil", and "to construct the NDR and end it on the main Fakenham Road (A1067) and not take it across the Wensum Valley (not Waveney Valley) will cause similar, if not worse congestion" in the western parishes. (EN 25.11.09)

Logically County Hall should be promoting and building a complete NDR. Then it really could be correctly described as a Northern bypass as it would BY PASS all the northern parishes and join up with the Southern Bypass, stretching from Postwick to Costessey or vice versa.

The 'incomplete' NDR will not alleviate rat-running in the western parishes either, as the NDR from Postwick stops at Taverham. Here all the traffic will fall off the end of the proposed ¾ NDR and continue to rat-run through the parishes of Costessey, Taverham, and Ringland for many years to come.

The Wensum Valley has been designated a Special Area for Conservation (SAC) under European legislation and a Site of Special Scientific Interest, but apparently the SSSIs only apply to the banks and river bed of the River Wensum, not from one valley escarpment to the other.

The construction of a contemporary viaduct over the Wensum Valley, similar to that at Millau in France would perhaps protect the Wensum Valley, rather than damaging the environment, as the Environment Agency and Natural England have contended.

This would thereby complete a proper Northern Bypass, unlike the incomplete NDR proposal.

My only hope is that it will not be too long before common sense prevails and the missing link, crossing the Wensum Valley, from Taverham to the A47 Southern Bypass is completed, bringing some long overdue relief from 'rat-runners' in these western parishes.