The Department for Transport (DfT) has confirmed it is revoking the consent it gave in 2023 to dual a section of the A47 from Wansford to Sutton, in Cambridgeshire.

The government had announced, following its spending review last autumn, that the project would not be funded and the removal of planning consent will be the final nail in the coffin for the scheme.

While dualling of the A47 in Norfolk - between North Burlingham and Blofield and from Easton to North Tuddenham - continues, campaigners in the region have long called for the whole of the road to be dualled.

The A47 Alliance, made up of organisations such as council leaders and business representatives, have been trying to convince the government to pump more money into the arterial road - to dual it between Lowestoft and Peterborough - including the notorious Acle Straight near Great Yarmouth.

Their hopes had already been dealt a blow after a revamp of Vauxhall Roundabout, on the edge of Yarmouth was scrapped.

Graham Plant, Norfolk County Council cabinet member for highways, infrastructure and transport (Image: Sonya Duncan)

And Graham Plant, A47 Alliance vice-chairman and Norfolk County Council cabinet member for highways, infrastructure and transport, said: "This is a highly disappointing decision from government.

"Delivery of Wansford to Sutton dualling is vital for people and businesses across the whole A47 route, as well as the regional and national economy.

"This dualling scheme is key to achieving the A47 Alliance’s ambition of a fully dualled A47 from Peterborough to Lowestoft which will help unlock huge benefits across the region by improving safety, journey times and reliability, and enabling growth.

“An enormous amount of work has been completed to get the Wansford to Sutton dualling project to a point where it is shovel ready, and its cancellation and revocation of the development consent order will see this work largely wasted and the problems on the road remaining.

"The A47 Alliance will continue to lobby government for investment in this vital east-west strategic road and has, and will continue to, challenge government on the decisions to cancel previously funded A47 projects, including Vauxhall Roundabout improvements."

The DfT said it had been forced to make "difficult decisions" on unfunded road projects the Labour government had inherited from the Conservatives.

In a further blow for people in the region, work to improve capacity at the A11/A1065 Fiveways roundabout at Barton Mills in Suffolk, has been deferred.

© Eastern Daily Press