A47 DUALLING - Wansford to Sutton
Highways England have published their update to the A47 Dualling between Wansford and Sutton after a review of their initial proposal which was put forward in 2017.
We campaigned back in 2018 for a northern route, as opposed to the initial proposal of a southern route between Sutton and Wansford, in order to protect environmental interests and avoid claims of archaeological findings adjacent to the route itself.
Highways England held a public consultation over four days in 2017 and received numerous responses, which they reviewed and developed a revised design which took the feedback from local residents and key stakeholders into consideration.
The new dual carriageway aims to reduce congestion and improve the reliability of journey times for drivers. The Wansford to Sutton section of the project includes converting 1.6 miles of single carriageway to dual carriageway and improving key junctions along the road. This is part of a program of £300 million-plus investment, which will see the A47 improved in six places between Peterborough and Great Yarmouth.
THE NEW ROUTE
This new route also provides a new safe access to Sacrewell Farm and the BP Garage and a new, safe, walking and cycling route East to West and Northwards under the new carriageway linking onto Sutton Heath Road.
We’ve shown from extensive research that the northern route is the best one for the environment and for the traffic flow, and even the eventual cost of the project.
Moving the roundabout will have a massive reduction in construction impact as the majority of the eastern section will be built ‘off-line’, with a large portion of the existing A47 to become a walking, cycling and horse-riding route.
The south facing spur off the newly located roundabout will create the link from the old A47 for local traffic, roughly at the end of the drift so that this is not closer to Sutton; while the North spur creates a new much shorter link to the roundabout and Sutton Heath road.
Preserving the old A47 over the old rail bridge provides space for a safe non-motorised route under the new dualled road, linking to the remainder of the old Sutton Heath road, thereby allowing cyclists and horse riders to travel towards Southorpe and within 250m of the existing bridleway crossing over to Sacrewell. Both Sutton and Wansford parish councils have submitted proposals using Designated Funds to improve that link for all users.
Overall, this route saves a significant amount of environmental damage. It takes the road further away from Sutton, improves non-motorised routes and significantly reduces construction disruption.
It would seem that the public consultation, actions taken to inform locals in the area through our campaigning and the use of our ‘A47 Battle Bus’ and all the hard work done by so many has achieved a very good result.
Thank you to everyone who supported us through the campaigning process.
FUTURE CAMPAIGINING
There are still challenges that remain with no in-boundary changes allowed for the carriageway to be pushed south nearer to the river at Sacrewell, and into the county wildlife site, even for a short distance. This is due to the unproven archaeological interest and scheduled monuments on the field at Sacrewell Farm and we are still awaiting factual information on these.
Campaigners are also still continuing discussions for further environmental improvements and enhancements for wildlife corridors and extra walking, cycleway and horse-riding routes linking through to Sacrewell Farm and the surrounding areas.
A local campaign group will shortly be launched to help support the ongoing challenges to ensure the rural communities in the Sutton area are safe, preserved and protected.
THE NEXT STEPS
Work on the project is expected to begin in Winter 2022, and be open for traffic by Summer 2024.
For more information from Highways England on the A47 Dualling between Wansford and Sutton please click here.
Please click here to view the results of the statutory consultation.
And please click here to view the new report: