County council defend Heartsease roundabout work in Norwich

Work started in September and is on course to finish in May after falling a month behind schedule due to unexpected drainage problems.

When announcing the £4.4m scheme, Norfolk County Council highlighted that the five-junction roundabout had 33 recorded safety incidents between July 2011 and November 2022, including injuries to 15 cyclists and eight pedestrians.

With businesses and those living nearby continuing to find the major disruption a problem, Norfolk County Council has shared further context.

The Heartsease road roundabout work started on September 11 (Image: Newsquest)

In comparison, the similarly busy Earlham Fiveways roundabout had 38 injuries reported in a 10-year period up until 2018 which led to safety improvements that were completed in August 2019.

Of the Heartsease work, a county council spokeswoman said: "The area has experienced an exceptionally poor safety record with more than 30 reported accidents in a 10-year period, many of those involving casualties of people walking or cycling.

The roadworks have been impacting businesses for months, such as Ozgul Balcimer, owner of Hartland fish and chip shop in Harvey Lane (Image: Newsquest)

"The work at Heartsease roundabout is necessary to ensure this key city junction is safe for everyone.

"We're aware that the work at Heartsease has been a source of frustration for those who live or work nearby.

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"We have taken steps to reduce the impact of the work and we have been in regular contact with local businesses about their concerns."

The Heartsease Road roundabout roadworks have been delayed one month (Image: Newsquest)Proposed changes to the Heartsease roundabout (Image: Norfolk County Council)

The work includes a realignment of the roundabout to make it easier to navigate, as well as changes to the lanes to help reduce driver confusion and hesitation.

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There will be one clear lane around the roundabout, with a single-lane entry and exit on each arm to reduce speeding, and zebra crossings for pedestrians and cyclists on all arms of the roundabout.

Norfolk County Council said the work was necessary due its exceptionally poor safety record (Image: Newsquest)

Norwich Cycling Campaign however has previously criticised the changes as "falling well short of what is needed".

A public consultation on the plans which attracted 500 responses saw 46pc of people in favour and 47pc against.

The council admitted the roadworks have been a source of frustration for people in the area (Image: Newsquest)