West Norfolk communities welcome road safety improvements thanks to share of £1m fund

Norfolk's new £1m Road Safety Community Fund (RSCF) has already seen 15 locally important road safety improvements completed just one year after councillors backed the funding boost.

The RSCF is one of the initiatives included in the latest Highway Capital Programme set to be discussed by Cabinet at their meeting on Monday 6 March. Members will hear how community-based initiatives such as this are enabling more locally important safety schemes to go ahead.

Projects now in place include a vehicle activated sign to help give drivers additional warning of people waiting to cross the busy former A17 in West Lynn, additional road signs and markings in Great Massingham and Castle Rising, refreshed cycleway markings in areas of King's Lynn and two flashing speed awareness messaging (SAM2) signs in Bircham and Burnham Market. Speed limit reductions in Marshland St James, North/South Creake, Walpole St James, Terrington St John and Wretton will be completed during March and April.

Cllr Graham Plant, Cabinet Member for Highways, Infrastructure and Transport, said: "It's great to see this additional money already making a difference with fifteen locally important small scale safety improvements now in place, and many more to follow. These improvements are set to make it safer for all highway users, especially people walking and cycling. This four-year programme is moving swiftly and will see the West Norfolk schemes completed over the next few months, and the team will then move on to put in place similar schemes in North and East Norfolk."

Allocation of the £1m Road Safety Community Fund is councillor led, and means that each county councillor will have a fair share of the available funding to make bids for small safety improvements in their division, based on local priorities. These smaller road safety schemes can include lowering speed limits or making changes to road signs and markings, to help address local issues and concerns.

King's Lynn and West Norfolk is the first area of the county to benefit since the fund got the backing of councillors in August 2021. The money is being spent on improvements right across Norfolk over four years, with work focused on one area of the county each year to help maximise efficiencies and allow as many schemes as possible to be funded.

The focus is West Norfolk in year one, North and East Norfolk (made up of Broadland district, North Norfolk district, and Great Yarmouth borough council areas) in year two, South Norfolk and Breckland in year three, and Norwich in year four. Proposed schemes for the North and East Norfolk are set to be agreed by Cabinet on 6 March 2023, ahead of the design work starting in those areas in April 2023.

Cabinet will consider the report when it meets at 10am on Monday, 6 March. Read the report and watch the meeting, live or afterwards.