The Just Dual It! Campaign went to Westminster on Tuesday 25th June 2019, the event was hosted by Brandon Lewis MP. Michael Ellis MP, Minister of State for Transport attended the event and was left in no doubt that there is significant support for dualling the A47.
Over 70 delegates including business leaders and politicians from Norfolk, Cambridgeshire, Lincolnshire and Suffolk attended the parliamentary reception to make the case for investment in the A47 trunk road, which runs from Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth on the east coast and connects to the A1 at Peterborough.
The campaign called on the Government to commit funding to fully dual the A47 by 2030 and specifically to prioritise upgrading the following sections from single to dual carriageway by 2025:
The Minister of State for Transport, Michael Ellis MP, said ""how key [the A47] is, in terms of east/west movement and the economic value of the road, I was minister of tourism until a few weeks ago and understand the value of tourism to the economy" and that the A47 Alliance and the delegation delivered a "really powerful message" to Westminster.
Over 2,000 postcards supporting the dualling of the A47 have been received since the campaign was launched in March 2018.
The aim of the campaign is to lobby the Government to:
The Just Dual It! campaign was launched on Monday 19th March 2018, calling on the Government to commit to make funding available to dual the entire 115-mile length of the A47 by 2030. The campaign is being spearheaded by Norfolk County Council, Norfolk Chamber of Commerce and the Eastern Daily Press. Click here to find out more.
Photo: David Powles (EDP), Cllr Martin Wilby (A47 Alliance Chairperson), George Freeman MP, Jesse Norman MP (Roads Minister), Henry Bellingham MP, Richard Bacon MP, Nova Fairbank (Norfolk Chamber of Commerce)