Approval of Norfolk County Council’s Outline Business Case has now been received from The Department for Transport along with a funding commitment of £26.2m towards the cost of building the new road.

The council is working in collaboration with developer Norfolk Homes Ltd/Norfolk Land Ltd to bring forward the proposals for the bypass, which will feed into a revised planning application expected to shortly be submitted to South Norfolk Council by the developer.

Roads Minister Baroness Vere said: “This new scheme will provide a huge boost to Long Stratton and Norfolk by ensuring faster, smoother journeys, cutting congestion and noise pollution, and allowing the construction of 1,800 new homes in the area.”

Cllr Martin Wilby, Norfolk County Council’s Cabinet member for highways, infrastructure and transport said: “The A140 through Long Stratton is a real pinch point that affects thousands of road users, and the people who live and work in Long Stratton, on a daily basis.

“We want to deliver this vital scheme as soon as possible to cut congestion, help the local economy and vastly improve this major regionally important route linking Norwich and Ipswich. The bypass is set to create hundreds of new jobs and homes, open up improvements for cycling and walking, and solve traffic and transport issues local people have been facing for more than a generation.”

The proposed new A140 bypass will be a single carriageway road that will provide a new junction at Church Lane to the north, extending from this junction on the east side of Long Stratton in a southerly direction for 3.9km, where it will re-join the existing A140 just south of Oakside farm.

The estimated overall cost of the bypass is £37.44m with the remaining funding primarily sourced from local developer contributions and Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL).

Subject to receiving all of the necessary statutory approvals, including planning permission, the target date for work to start on construction is mid-2023, with the road open to traffic before the end of 2024.