Roads chaos continues with more work lined up at busy junction

The county council has revealed Hospital Lane will be closed from Wednesday, June 1 to Friday, August 26, due to works at the junction with Drayton High Road.

Hospital Lane has been busier than usual since February as it is a diversion route for traffic unable to use Sweet Briar Road which is undergoing emergency repair work due to a burst water main.

But the council has promised the new works will only start once Sweet Briar Road reopens.

Anglian Water has said this work will be completed by the end of May in time for the Hospital Lane works which are expected to last 87 days.

The junction of Hospital Lane and Drayton High Road in Hellesdon (Image: Google Maps)

Shelagh Gurney (Cons), district and county councillor for Hellesdon said: "The area has had more than its fair share of roadworks which have not been programmed particularly well with the potential for overlaps.

"I have had to intervene with councils as there has been gridlock in Hellesdon and it has become a continuous stream of roadworks.

Chairman of Chairman Parish Council Shelagh Gurney (Image: Norfolk County Council)

"I ask for people to be tolerant but I appreciate the frustrations they are experiencing."

Gas works are currently taking place with temporary traffic lights in Middleton's Lane while a new cycle and pedestrian crossing is planned on Boundary Road at its junction with B&Q.

Traffic queuing in Middleton's Lane in Hellesdon after the temporary traffic lights stopped working earlier this month (Image: Steve Turner)

Steven Turner, 44, who lives in Low Road in Hellesdon said: "The amount of roadworks is horrendous.

"I work from home but sell to garages around Norfolk and getting to and from my customers is a joke. Sweet Briar, Fakenham Road, Middleton’s lane and Aylsham Road all having road works at the same time is unreal."

The Hospital Lane roadworks are part of the Persimmon Homes project at the former Royal Norwich Golf Club funded by section 106 contributions.

The area where the trees have been cut and cleared along the Drayton High Road at Hellesdon for the Persimmon development (Image: Archant 2022)

Mrs Gurney said the plans were on display at a public meeting at the community centre back in 2016.

Traffic will be diverted via Hellesdon Hall Road, Low Road and the reopened Sweet Briar Road. There will be access for homeowners affected.

Traffic along Hellesdon Hall Road heading towards Hellesdon Road as a result of the Sweet Briar Road closure (Image: Archant)

A county council spokeswoman said: “We’ve worked with the developer, who is carrying out this planned work, to ensure the Hospital Lane closure will not take place until Sweet Briar Road is open again."