At the Norfolk County Council (NCC) Scrutiny Committee meeting on the 23rd June many questions were asked about the risks involved in the Council submitting the Outline Business Case for the Norwich Western Link road to the Department for Transport. Whenever a question was asked the portfolio holder for Highways, Cllr Wilby, other members of the Cabinet, or council officers appeared to answer with vague statements such as "we are still collecting the evidence", or "we have begun to take legal advice on the legal aspects of proceeding with the project", or "we will address that issue at the planning application stage".
The point that was clearly highlighted by the Green Councillors Jamie Osborn (a member of the Scrutiny Committee) and Ben Price was that insufficient legal advice had been taken on the legality of a planning application and insufficient evidence had been gathered on the environmental and biodiversity impacts of the proposed road. In particular, future carbon emission data was highly controversial and unconvincing whilst totally inadequate responses were given to concerns over the impact of the road on very rare barbastelle bat colonies in the Wensum Valley.
A key part of the problem is that data and evidence just haven't been made publicly available and so mistrust and suspicion has been stoked through the inability, or unwillingness, of the council to provide the evidence and legal advice.
All this is in the week the Welsh Government announced it is freezing all future road-building projects as part of its plans to tackle the climate emergency. The deputy minister for climate change told the Welsh parliament, "We need a shift away from spending money on projects that encourage more people to drive". Can Norfolk learn from the Welsh?
