Money to improve 'dangerous' junction welcomed

Campaigners have welcomed £1m to be put towards safety improvements at a busy junction.

Norfolk County Council has awarded funding for the Crostwick Lane junction at Spixworth, on the B1150 North Walsham Road, as part of its capital programme for highways.

It comes after years of campaigning from residents and the parish council, with a petition signed by more than 2,000 people.

Dan Roper, Liberal Democrat district councillor for the village, said: "For people living in Spixworth it will make a huge difference to people's journeys every morning.

"I think a lot of people in the village dread using that junction during busy times, because it is so dangerous."

A feasibility study was carried out by Spixworth Parish Council in 2023 which indicated that either a signalled junction or compact roundabout would reduce waiting times for traffic wanting to exit Crostwick Lane, and would "achieve accident reductions based on the historical data".

It identified that a traffic light junction would provide the "safest facilities" for pedestrians and cyclists.

The allocated funding is part of the Conservative-led council's capital programme for highways for 2027-28. It has yet to be decided what traffic calming measures will be put in place.

During a Norfolk County Council cabinet meeting on Monday, Conservative councillor for Wroxham, Fran Whymark, said: "At the Spixworth junction I think many people would know if they tried to get out of Spixworth in the morning it's very, very difficult indeed.

"It makes a significant impact on the local area, so seeing an improvement of £1m being put towards that is fantastic."

Roper said safety improvements would also help the traffic on the 50mph stretch of single carriageway road.

He said: "The traffic on the North Walsham Road has increased significantly since the NDR [Norwich Northern Distributor Road] opened.

"Not only is it volume of traffic but it is also speed of traffic, and this junction turning out on to the B1150 is very difficult now for residents coming out of Spixworth."

He said there had been a number of crashes at the junction, including one involving a school bus.

"It [the money] will make a huge difference - also, traffic lights will allow for safe passage across the road to use the bus stops and also open up a network of lanes opposite Spixworth for walking and cycling that's simply not available for residents at the moment."

While he said the proposed funding was "brilliant", he hoped the scheme would come to fruition next year.

"It's a huge step forward... they've said it's for 2027, let's make sure it does happen in 2027 and I'm going to keep lobbying to make sure that it does."

Follow Norfolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.