Norwich CC reject the NWL road! (and see you on the 29th ...)

Published: Thu, 01/06/22

Norwich City Council have now come out firmly against the NWL! Previously they had said they would support the road if certain conditions were met, such as minimal environmental damage and support of active transport. It was always clear to SWL that these conditions were impossible to meet. Norwich CC now acknowledge that because road building perpetuates car dependency, building the NWL will ultimately cause more traffic issues for Norwich rather than alleviating them.

Norwich doesn't make the decision to build, but the support or not of 55% of the county's population does matter, and this kind of change of support from other local authorities has tipped the decision against roads before.

Witness the Wensum on 29th January 10.30 Ringland (outdoor event)

This will be a great visual representation of how destructive the NWL would be. BIG NUMBERS NEEDED, so please come and join us! (details below). All welcome, we look forward to meeting you.

The Stop the Wensum Link Team

photo - Paul Williamson (please share your photos of the Valley with us!)

What can I do?

There are many actions: from a one off 2 minutes to joining us in organising. We are a small team, and are always in need of help to share the load!

1. Turn up to our events - BIG ONE on 29th Jan (see below)

2. Get friends and family to sign up for this newsletter.

(public consultation soon and we need LOTS of people to respond to it, so get everyone you can on board!). Make sure they check spam if they don't receive a confirmation email.

3. Sign and share the petition

4.Comment and share our social media posts (if you make a comment Facebook will show posts to more people and that increases the range of people who see them and find out about SWL). You can join our active Facebook Group

5. Have your say on Transport East'sstrategy consultation.

6. Help to organise the river rights event in April and reach out to other people to join us. We need lots more help! Next meeting on 17th.

7. Norwich residents - ask your city councillor to lodge an objection to the NWL with the Department of Transport (they are currently considering whether to fund the road). You can also ask them to support any future legal challenge (the one we are working on).

8. Get yourself a SWL T shirt and get some conversations started- sold at cost price £12. stopthewensumlink@protonmail.com

9. Put up posters or leave leaflets in a cafe or pub etc (with permission of course!). Available at Ernies in Norwich or ask us for some.

10....there is lots more, from surveying the Valley to looking into the alternatives to road building: see here

Events

WITNESS THE WENSUM 29th January 10.30 -2

Join us on Saturday 29 January as we and other movements and individuals visit the proposed route for the Wensum Link Road, to view the devastation it will cause to the Norfolk countryside.
Stay tuned for more details and where exactly where we'll be meeting, for the time being...
...meet 10.30am in Ringland, wearing bright clothing. Bring banners and placards representing your organisation or why you're opposed the the Link Road. We will be taking photos and getting an aerial view of the route, marked out by lines of people, to give an idea of its impact.

Please be covid safe - lateral flow before you go, and wear masks.

Don't let lack of transport or bad weather stop you - car shares, ebike hire,... let us know if you need help.

Rights of the River Wensum April the 30th (put it in your diary!)

We are planning a spectacular event to highlight the danger the river Wensum is in. We have Robert McFarlane confirmed as a speaker!

Please come along if you can help us create something amazing and if you can help us build contacts with other groups that care about the river - anglers, landowners, local businesses canoeists, wild swimmers, walkers.

Next planning meeting 17th January 7pm: join online here