Developing the West Winch Housing Access Road

The King's Lynn and West Norfolk Local Plan set the basic outline for a housing access road as part of the West Winch Strategic Growth Area proposals. Since then, the Housing Access Road project has developed further. It now also includes needed improvements on the A47 and at the Hardwick junction.

The A10 is already part of the Major Road Network (MRN). This is a new designation of roads that form part of the county road network, maintained by Norfolk County Council, but that sit between this and the national trunk roads (such as the A47), maintained by National Highways (formerly Highways England). As part of the Major Road Network, we can access funding for improvements to the A10 from the Department for Transport (DfT). We have completed the initial stage of this business case process.

In March 2021 Norfolk County Council's Cabinet confirmed its support for the delivery of the West Winch Housing Access Road. View the full documentation from the Cabinet report.

We prepared a Strategic Outline Business Case (PDF, 1 MB), alongside other documentation, including an Options Assessment Report, and submitted them to the Department for Transport.

In the summer of 2022, the Department for Transport approved the Strategic Outline Business Case (SOBC). This allowed the scheme to progress to the next stage which will see the Outline Business Case (OBC) developed and submitted to DfT in 2023.

Alongside the development of the Outline Business Case (OBC), we will also finalise and submit a planning application for the road in 2023.

The West Winch Housing Access Road scheme has the support of Transport East, the sub-national transport body for our region.

West Winch Growth Area

West Winch has been allocated within the King's Lynn and West Norfolk Local Plan as a Strategic Growth Area. What this means is that it has been identified as a key site in the district for new homes, facilities, and services. It is a site that is of local, regional, and national importance.

The growth area is the largest and most strategically important site for housing in west Norfolk. It will bring up to 4,000 new homes as well as a new housing access road. It will also offer, on one site:

Employment opportunities
Commercial space
Community resources
Health facilities
Schools
Play facilities
Public open spaces
Transport links

The aims are also to:

Integrate a large number of new homes and associated facilities with the existing village community
Create a range of major improvements
Shape a place that promotes a sense of community among its residents - existing and new

The delivery of the site will bring economic benefits for the whole district, and will allow the site to maximise its extensive potential.

In the summer of 2022, the Borough Council of King's Lynn & West Norfolk conducted a consultation on the South East King's Lynn Growth Area (also known as the West Winch Growth Area) Framework Masterplan Supplementary Planning Document (SPD).

For more information about the South East King's Lynn Growth Area, visit the Borough council's website.