Why improve?

“The A47 provides South Norfolk with a crucial link to the rest of the country. With a growing science and technology industry in the heart of rural South Norfolk, connectivity and transport links are becoming more vital than ever.
I support dualling the A47, particularly upgrades to the Thickthorn Junction, to reduce delays, improve road safety, and drive investment and economic growth in Norfolk.”

“Dualling and investment in the A47 is crucially important and long overdue. The A47 is particularly important to my constituency of Lowestoft as it connects our internationally significant offshore wind energy clusters, alongside our port and soon, the building of Sizewell C. The sections of single carriageway on the A47 are frequently blocked by congestion adding business freight transport costs each year estimated at £25m. With so much at stake, and growth as a central mission for the new Government, investment in the A47 is urgently required.”

“The A47 is a key transport route through Broadland and, in its current form, presents a risk to safety with many accidents occurring along the route.
The A47 dualling, particularly along the Acle Straight, will bring significant economic and environmental benefits for Norfolk and I’m delighted to be supporting the A47 alliance in its work to Just Dual It.
With a new Government, we need to continue to work as one voice for Norfolk so that we can deliver for residents and businesses across this county and get the very best for our communities.
I will be working closely with our local authorities, businesses, and all the new MPs in Norfolk to drive this forward.”

“Full dualling of the A47 (from Lowestoft in the East all the way through to the A1 in Cambridgeshire in the West) is vital if we are to ensure the long term safety of motorists and help unlock Norfolk and the East’s full economic potential. That’s why I remain committed to working with fellow parliamentary colleagues and the Alliance to drive forward that campaign and fight for more funding, upgrades and improvements – so that we can attract the investment we need to create thousands of new jobs and opportunities, as well as spread prosperity, ‘Level Up’ and breathe fresh life into our local communities. ”

“Dualling the A47 is vital to improve road safety, boost jobs and investment, and support economic growth along this strategic route. I will continue to work with MPs, businesses, and councils across the region to support the A47 Alliance’s compelling case to include three priority schemes in the Road Investment Strategy 3.

Investing in the Tilney to East Winch scheme, including the Hardwick Flyover, would reduce fatalities, cut delays, attract investment, enhance productivity, and unlock new homes in King’s Lynn and across the area.

The message from businesses, MPs, and councils, is clear - just dual it.”

“Norwich Airport strongly supports calls for the dualling of the A47. With 1.5 million people living within 90 minutes of the airport, good surface transport links are vital to connectivity. Upgrading this essential corridor would greatly improve journey times and reliability, while boosting productivity and unlocking new investment in our region. We urge the Government to commit to dualling the A47 now.”

“Chantry Place Shopping Centre supports the A47 Alliance’s ask for A47 dualling because improvements in transport infrastructure release opportunity for businesses and communities and with it the potential for social value. It also improves journey times and safety for our staff, logistics for our supply chains and makes our destination more attractive for visitors with the disincentive of an inadequate road network removed.”

“Our business, the East of England Co-op, supports the A47 Alliance’s call for A47 dualling. A fully dualled A47 would help our business to help us to attract more national and international business. This would be achieved by improving links between ports and airports and the national trunk road network. This in turn, would improve accessibility to our stores, which would help attract more customers and strengthen our business.”

“We recognise the importance the A47 road improvements will have for Norwich and surrounding areas, as a large renewable energy developer and generator looking to make future investments in the region to expand the UK’s clean energy ambitions, RWE supports the program. The road scheme will support local investment and jobs, thereby supporting economic growth along this strategic route.
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“The Cambridgeshire Chambers of Commerce proudly supports the proposed improvements to the A47. This vital route not only connects several key economic centres throughout our region (mainly Peterborough and Wisbech) but also serves as a critical link from Birmingham to Lowestoft, supporting everywhere along the route. The planned enhancements will significantly reduce travel times, enhance safety, and increase reliability for all users.
We believe that the A47 road improvements will unlock substantial economic benefits, facilitating smoother transportation of goods and services and promoting efficiency. By easing congestion and updating infrastructure, these improvements stand to bolster local businesses and attract new investment into the area. The positive ripple effects of this project will undoubtedly extend beyond immediate logistics and transport sectors, fostering broader economic growth and development throughout Cambridgeshire and beyond.
The A47 road improvements are a strategic investment in our region's future economic health and competitiveness. We look forward to seeing the positive outcomes these enhancements will bring for our members and the broader business community.”

“Suffolk has a number of key UK assets including Felixstowe, the UK largest container port, Ipswich the UK's largest grain exporting port, Sizewell and the Port of Lowestoft serving the East of England's energy coast. Despite these key assets, the strategic road network connecting Suffolk with the rest of the UK is woefully inadequate. Therefore, Suffolk Chamber of Commerce supports the call for dualling of the A47, as well as campaigns to improve congested sections of the A14, A12 and A11. It is also important that Government recognises that delaying these much needed improvements is a false economy, as poor connectivity is delaying much needed economic growth”

“At FSB, we represent thousands of small businesses across the East of England. And we know directly from our members that the A47 causes huge disruption and delays because it is notoriously slow and dangerous! Transporting goods, travelling to meetings, and staff commuting all takes far longer than it should. This not only costs businesses money but it also deters customers.

We also know that many businesses who would like to set up in the region are deterred by the poor transport links - a road network that is simply not fit for a vibrant and prosperous region like ours. Small businesses need supporting and we need swift and decisive action to dual the A47. ”

“Cabins and Containers supports the A47 Alliance’s ask for A47 dualling because external hauliers do not want to or refuse to come here. We have storage space we could use at Hopton but we keep our stock in an alternative yards at Cabridge or Essex because transporting the cabins to Hopton costs a fortune due to how bad the roads are. We have also been considering opening a display yard but given how bad the A47 is I would not open it here. The best local site we looked at for location and transport costs was the A11.

I’ve lived in Gorleston for 20 years now and unlike most areas that have shown growth over the years the population around Great Yarmouth is well below average. From 2011 to 2021 the East of England (not including London) has shown an average of 8.3% growth, Great Yarmouth is 2.6%. This has mainly to do with not attracting businesses like “Norfolk Line” to stay here. Again looking at the figures there are just over 70,000 employed people living in Great Yarmouth area but only around 38,000 jobs within Great Yarmouth meaning that nearly half the population are having to drive out of area for work.
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“Core recruiter supports the A47 Alliance's call for A47 dualling due to the manifold benefits it promises. Firstly, such an upgrade would significantly enhance accessibility, making it easier for businesses to tap into diverse talent pools and for potential candidates to commute to work. Secondly, the reliability offered by dual carriageways in terms of travel times and reduced congestion is invaluable for recruiters orchestrating interviews and ensuring punctuality among candidates. This reliability fosters efficiency in the recruitment process. Thirdly, the economic implications are profound; an improved A47 could spur economic development along its route by facilitating smoother transportation of goods and services.
Consequently, this development could lead to an expansion in job opportunities within the region, thereby enriching the talent pool available to core recruiter.”

“Our farm is split by the A47 and our yard is on the Beeston junction. Dualling the A47 would improve our links to grain customers, reduce lorry turnaround times and improve our access to markets for quality grains into the midlands and down to key ports. ”

“Our businesses, Pasta Foods and Snack Creations, supports the A47 Alliance’s ask for A47 dualling because we have four sites in Norfolk – all are either situated on the A47 or adjacent to it.

All of our 180 staff depend therefore in one way or another on the smooth functioning of this key road. This is either though their journeys to our factories, which all operate 24/7, or through the requirements for incoming raw materials and outgoing deliveries all dependent upon an efficient road network.

Therefore, this road improvement project of the A47 is crucial to the ongoing growth and development of our businesses.”

“We are a family owned long established manufacturing business based in Great Yarmouth. Our customer base is predominately UK and we deliver via our own lorry and receive goods via road transport.
Dualling of the Acle straight would have a significant beneficial impact on our delivery schedules, by reducing traffic holdups, reducing our drivers stress, including maintaining driver hours. It would also benefit existing employees traveling in from the Norwich area.
As a growing business it would assist with our recruitment/employment opportunities making it more attractive for potential employees from Norwich and further afield.
Finally it would be advantageous for visitors to our factories both customers and suppliers and would provide a positive impression as an area of growth and investment. ”

“Uptech Ltd supports the A47 Alliance’s ask for A47 dualling because as a business servicing East Anglia, but being Norfolk Centric, these are roads that are travel consistently. To have the A47 as a whole dual carriageway would provide much better links to other areas, and easier travel for our staff when visiting clients. The time lost by businesses in the traffic caused by the current set up can be hours. ”

“Westcotec supports the A47 Alliance’s ask for A47 dualling because as a company working all over the British Isles, we are often restricted because of the lack of reliable routes to the motorway network.

We would welcome the A47 being dualled asap to support us in our efforts to grow and as a result lift the economy of Norfolk and East Anglia.”

“[Improvements to the A47] would help in all aspects of our transport. Making it easier to get goods in but also out.
It would also bring us more work opportunities as it if transport was easier it would bring down our costs. ”

“[Improvements to the A47] would make the road safer and easier to drive.
Stop the traffic building up so badly at the bottle necks.
Journey times would be less and as traffic wouldn't build up the same there would be less pollution.”

“My son lives in Peterborough and it would be great if the A47 was duelled. 1) it would be safer due to people trying to overtake on the single carriageway. 2) it would be a more relaxed journey. 3) it would be quicker. ”

“I live on the a47 in East Winch, this section of road is notorious for accidents, especially on the cross roads of station road and common road. Cars always speed through the village, and then there’s also the noise pollution. The dual carriage way would make a massive difference to our quality of life.”

“It would make commuting to and from Norwich a far safer experience for all would help to reduce the losses of human lives that occur on a far too frequent basis.”

“[A47 improvements would improve day to day life through] Easier access for work and safer travel. On the single road part it is dangerous pulling out due to speed of other users. Dualling this would provide better access and slip roads reducing crashes and deaths.
Also this will improve travel time either way of the A47 as currently it causes bottle necking and tailbacks which increases the risk of crashes. ”

“[Improvements to the A47 would improve day to day life because] Commuting to and from work would be so much smoother. Pretty much daily there is an incident which causes so many delays. ”

“Traffic moves freer on a dual carriageway making driving cheaper and better for environment. ”

“I travel to Norwich on a very frequent basis and the time taken if the Acle straight were dialled would cut the journey time down substantially. The main reason I would like it dualled though is down to safety. There are multiple serious and fatal accidents on that stretch of road annually due to overtaking into oncoming traffic and no escape route for miscalculations. Farm traffic, bikes and other slow moving traffic use the road continually so to make overtaking safe it has to be dualled. When there is an accident the road is shut due to its poor access and no way around an incident, which causes havoc with the surrounding road systems that aren’t able to cope with the volume and size of vehicles. ”

“Improvements to the A47 would make it easier and faster to get to Great Yarmouth for shopping and visiting the sea front for leisure and a day out. ”

“I am a regular user of the A47, commuting along the route from Wansford to Kings Lynn. The A47 is a major east-west route, as important as the A14 parallel route to the south and should be treated as such in terms of government infrastructure investment. ”

“The Acle straight is a dangerous road which I have to drive down almost daily. It is regularly closed due to accidents causing massive disruption and I fear that one day I will be caught up on one of these accidents myself.”

“[Improvements to the A47] would significantly speed up my commute to Dereham.”

“People lose lives on this road every year. If there's an accident, travel to work is horrific and takes over an hour instead of 15 mins. ”