Renewed calls for second exit out of burgeoning city estate

A battle to get a second exit out of a large housing estate put in have been reignited after temporary traffic lights have been installed in the only route out.

Folk living in Queen's Hills in Costessey - which hosts 1,879 homes - were held up for an hour during rush hour on Monday, June 13.

This was due to temporary traffic lights being put up near Hampden View in Dereham Road.

The only road into and out of the estate near the A47 is via William Frost Way - which lead drivers directly into the jams in Dereham Road.

Gary Blundell, longstanding member of Costessey Town Council, who has lived in Queen's Hills for 14 years, said: "It was frustrating but when you have roadworks you have to grin and bear it.

"There should be a second exit out of the estate."

Suggestions have been made that a bus lane connecting the west side of the estate to another main route out of Costessey should be made available to normal traffic. 

He said: "If the Poethyn Drive to West End bus lane was made available then every piece of traffic using the route would have to come through the estate. It cannot cope with that."

He added he feared this may prompt rat-running along the road.

A county council report on a second exit said: "Feasibility work found there were two possible large-scale interventions.

"The first one was to provide a link road from Dereham Road to the Ernest Gage Avenue/William Frost Way roundabout. This would be called the Longwater link road.

"This would help the interchange and provide a second southern access to the Queens Hill/Longwater area. This would relieve pressure on William Frost Way.

"This scheme was favoured over the second more expensive option which was to provide an additional bridge over the A47.

"Further work is required on the Longwater link road to develop a business case. This will be essential for securing funding."

The council was approached for comment.