Road closure delay a victory, says councillor

The postponement of gas works that would have closed a road for three weeks was a "victory for common sense", a councillor said.

The gas distribution firm Cadent had been given a permit by Norfolk County Council to dig up parts of Longwater Lane in Costessey, near Norwich, to replace old gas pipes with plastic ones.

However, a councillor argued the work would have clashed with other roadwork schemes nearby, making it difficult to travel around western suburbs of the city.

Norfolk County Council said it always sought to ensure works were co-ordinated "to minimise disruption across the wider network".

The work on Longwater Lane was originally expected to begin on 6 January.

Stuart Clancy, the Conservative county councillor for nearby Taverham, said he wrote to the Norfolk County Council to urge it to postpone the works.

He said it would have caused "long tailbacks" as some alternative routes would have also been closed due to roadwork schemes.

He added the authority was showing a "lack of coordination" in managing road closures.

"The overall impact on the highway network is not taken into consideration well enough," he said.

"If there's emergency work there's no choice… But scheduled work needs to be programmed, coordinated and managed far better than we're currently doing."

Taverham Parish Council, which also wrote to the county council to voice its concerns, said other potentially disruptive road closures included Taverham Road and Hellesdon Road - and temporary traffic lights on Fakenham Road.

It added that Taverham Lane and Costessey Mill were also at risk of closure, as they regularly flood following heavy rain.

A Norfolk County Council spokesperson said: "Cadent are currently carrying out a number of gas pipe upgrades across Hellesdon, Drayton and Costessey.

"We always seek to ensure works are co-ordinated to minimise disruption across the wider network and have postponed works on Longwater Lane until later next month (exact dates to be confirmed)."

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