Meeting called over A47 Honginham roundabout

Emma KnightsA meeting about the proposal for part-time traffic lights to help ease congestion on an A47 roundabout and stop rat-running in nearby villages is to be held today.Emma Knights

A proposal for part-time traffic lights to ease congestion on an A47 roundabout and stop rat-running in nearby villages is to be discussed at a meeting today.

Norfolk County Council and Highways Agency officials will discuss technical aspects of the lights which are proposed for the Honingham roundabout and the best way to use the available funding.

Currently many drivers use roads in and around Honingham and neighbouring villages as rat-runs during the morning rush hour to avoid the build-up of traffic on the A47 caused by the Honingham roundabout that was built last year in place of a notorious blackspot.

In a letter to Brian Winchester, chairman of Honingham Parish Council, the Highways Agency said another meeting with the parish councils whose villages were affected by the traffic congestion may be arranged following its meeting today with the county council.

The letter also included details of a study of traffic movements before and after the roundabout was built. It said about 640 more vehicles between 7am and 10am were now travelling along the Mattishall Road and turning right at the Honingham junction on to the Norwich-bound carriageway of the A47.

Mr Winchester said this helped prove the point that many more people were using backroads as rat-runs, but he said he believed the increase in drivers doing this was much higher. He welcomed today's meeting but said: "There is no point just having meetings - let's have some action."

Mr Winchester said that ultimately this section of the A47 needed to be dualled, and he said he and Hockering parish councillor Richard Hawker were hoping to form a pressure group involving 11 parishes to campaign to get something done about the traffic issues.