Hi
Norfolk County Council now acknowledge the presence of protected barbastelle bats and they are looking to
reroute the road around the bat maternity colony. But as any minor change
to the route will make no difference to the amount of damage to the super-colony we wonder what this this slight change is supposed to achieve? Overlapping colonies are present in the whole area, and because they have a wide range (6km) the road would need to be moved a long way to protect the bats from harm.
They have provided this crude plan of 'one' of the possible route changes.
Both public and councillors are left very much in the dark.
It is clear there are other routes under consideration. We will be calling upon NCC to make sure these new route options are fully investigated and tested in the same way as the original options were. Options should be made the subject to consultation with all stakeholders. If this isn't done, the decision could be subject to a legal challenge.
This month there has also been
controversy over the fact there is no contingency fund should the NWL not receive funding from the DfT. Somewhere "in the mid to high teens" of millions of
NCCs has already been spent.
As NCC is responsible for any overspend on the project there is a strong chance that they could be line to pay out up to £130 million, rather than just the £30 million share of project costs that is currently projected.
Time to stop risking Norfolk's finances and solve traffic problems another way....
What Can I do?
1. Join us on the 7th! (see below)
2. Sign up as a steward,
or to man the SWL stall at the river rights event in April - full training will be given. Come along to an event planning meeting (next one on 2nd) or email stopthewensumlink@protonmail.com.
3. Interested in birds?
The Wensum is teeming with birdlife including some rare species. We need someone to take an interest in this area of the campaign and get the
Wensum birders and RSPB on board. There is data that needs to be mined already available, and we don't
trust the official surveyors to find and record all that is there (look at what happened with the bats). You don't have to be a bird expert, just willing to get in touch with people. Interested? Let us know.
We are now up to nearly 9000 signatures, lets get it well over 10,000 before the public consultation!
