They have identified the unnamed official in a stinging letter to Steve Barclay, the environment secretary, urging him to intervene to ensure the project is not scuppered by renewed concerns from the advisory body about the presence of bats on the proposed route.
The letter, signed by all eight of county's Conservative MPs and three Tory prospective parliamentary candidates, calls on the minister to "bring sanity to the stance taken by Natural England".
Environment secretary Steve Barclay
They warn of the "catastrophic consequences to infrastructure projects in Norfolk" as a result of what they say is the "arbitrary decision" to revise existing guidance on bats, meaning the £274m road is effectively blocked "by the opinion of an unelected individual within Natural England, despite it having the overwhelming support of the people of Norfolk".
WHAT IS THE NEW GUIDANCE?
Natural England's revised guidance relates to the organisation's view on whether barbastelle bats, which live on the route of the proposed route and would be disturbed by its construction, have "favourable conservation status".
This is the minimum threshold at which the species is thriving in England and is expected to continue to thrive.
Norfolk County Council leader Kay Mason Billig (Image: Norfolk County Council)
The organisation says there are not enough bats to grant favourable conservation status and states there is "no known mitigation or compensation" for loss of barbastelle roosting habitat in the short to medium term.
Council leader Kay Mason Billig last month announced the new guidance meant the 3.9 mile road, which would connect the Norwich Northern Distributor Road to the A47 west of Norwich, was at risk of not getting an environmental licence, which is needed to allow work to take place given the presence of bats.
In response, she has enlisted the help of MPs to make help make her case.
A barbastelle bat (Image: C. Packman)
STINGING LETTER
Those MPs have now written to Mr Barclay stating: "We are writing collectively, as the Conservative MPs representing Norfolk, to express our deep concern over this seemingly arbitrary decision and to seek its immediate review.
"We say 'arbitrary' since the Natural England report expressly states that the assessment is not based on any published data set, but is rather the result of internal 'modelling' and reference to an unpublished report."
The MPs said it would have "catastrophic consequences to infrastructure projects in Norfolk" if that guidance is allowed to stand.
An artists' visualisation of the Norwich Western Link (Image: Norfolk County Council)
They said: "Locally, this arbitrary decision will have the immediate effect of stopping the much-needed completion of the orbital route around Norwich - the Western Link road.
"This is in excess of £231m investment in our region brought to a stop by the opinion of an unelected individual within Natural England, despite it having the overwhelming support of the people of Norfolk.
"We fear this impact will be repeated right across the whole of Southern England and the South of Wales unless you act to bring sanity to the stance taken by Natural England."
Norfolk's Conservative MPs - Chloe Smith, Richard Bacon, Liz Truss, George Freeman, Duncan Baker, James Wild, Sir Brandon Lewis and Jerome Mayhew (Image: Norfolk Conservatives)
The letter has been signed by Jerome Mayhew (Broadland), Richard Bacon (South Norfolk), Duncan Baker (North Norfolk), Chloe Smith (Norwich North), Liz Truss (South West Norfolk), George Freeman (Mid Norfolk), Sir Brandon Lewis (Great Yarmouth) and James Wild (North West Norfolk).
Conservative prospective parliamentary candidates Poppy Simister-Thomas (South Norfolk), David Thomas (Norwich South) and Charlotte Salomon (Norwich North) have also added their signatures.
GUIDANCE DEFENDED
James Marshall, Natural England area manager, previously said preliminary advice had been given to the council and there had been no change in how information was assessed.
He said: "As the developer of the proposed Norwich Western Link, the council will need to demonstrate there is no satisfactory alternative to the scheme and that the conservation status of the bats would not be negatively affected by the road."
READ MORE: Call for plan B over Norwich Western Link amid bat concerns
The council has said it will press ahead with lodging a planning application for the road to its own planning committee.
The call from MPs has come in for criticism from opponents of the scheme, who say it is an attack on science and the independence of civil servants.
Prof Catherine Rowett
Prof Catherine Rowett, Green county councillor and prospective parliamentary candidate for South Norfolk, said: "What a surprise, to see all these has-been and discredited ex-MPs, soon-to-be ex-MPs and never-to-be-MPs ganging up against the Norfolk countryside, its wild creatures, its wildlife trust, Natural England and other guardians of our beautiful world."
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