Business is concerned about poor transport links

The plans announced last week by the government included extra lanes on the M1 from London to Milton Keynes, on the M25, A12 from London to Ipswich, and the A120.

But proposals to fully dual the A47 from Norwich to Peterborough have been rejected at this stage.

Now the plans have been given the backing of the East of England Development Agency.

Transport plans The widening of the M1 between the M25 and Milton Keynes in Buckinghamshire to four lanes at a cost of �623m A �246m package of improvements to the A12 corridor, including the upgrade of the A12 to dual three lanes between the M25 and Chelmsford in Essex Dualling the A120 between Braintree and Marks Tey in Essex at a cost of �203m Dunstable Northern Bypass linking the A5 to M1 in Bedfordshire - �48m Dualling eight miles of the A421 between the M1 and Bedford - �171m Plans to widen most of the remaining three-lane sections of London's orbital M25 to four lanes with �1.7bn investment over the next decade

Steve Cox, EEDA's head of urban renaissance, said: "Poor transport infrastructure has been highlighted by business as a key issue and a major barrier to productivity and competitiveness.

"These announcements go some way to addressing the region's transport needs.

"EEDA and partners will continue to work with the Government to bring forward rail and other public transport priorities as well as other road improvements needed to support the region's continued progress.

"Early delivery of improvements to the A47 between Peterborough and Norwich will form an important part of these discussions."

But the plans faced criticism from environmental groups.