All-green traffic lights bring freedom and safety to Heacham

Added: 23/04/2008
Category: Norfolk County Council

Completion of a £750,000 junction improvement that has brought freedom and safety to the people of Heacham will be celebrated tomorrow (Tuesday 22 April, 11.00am) at Lavender Corner on the A149.

The new traffic lights and other improvements have removed an accident site that has seen nine personal injury accidents over five years. The project has also given Heacham residents relief from the struggle to get in and out of the village during the summer holiday season when up to 17,000 vehicles a day pass on the A149.

The new traffic lights are also greener than almost any others in the country - thanks to a ground-breaking 'Waste Neutral' approach adopted during the 15-week construction, which also included drainage improvements and resurfacing.

Completion of the scheme in time for the 2008 summer season will be marked tomorrow (Tuesday 22 April) when representatives of Heacham Parish Council will join the Chairman of Norfolk County Council, Michael Carttiss, and Adrian Gunson, Cabinet member for Planning & Transportation, on a tour of the site.

Representatives of the design and construction teams from Norfolk County Council, Mott MacDonald and May Gurney** will be on hand to explain the features of the scheme, and the way in which the 'Waste Neutral' approach helped to reduce waste and control costs, as well as reducing the project's carbon footprint.

Special features of the junction improvement include:

~ Pedestrian crossing facilities

~ Controlled access to a private coach parking area.

~ The latest 'MOVA' technology to ensure optimum signal timings

~ CCTV so that the junction can be monitored from the County Council's traffic control centre.


The work was carried out during the winter to minimise disruption to holiday traffic. The traffic lights were switched on just before Easter.

Adrian Gunson, Cabinet Member for Planning & Transportation, said

"The new traffic lights will make life much easier and safer for local people during the summer season, and also for visitors to Norfolk Lavender. There was considerable discussion about whether traffic lights or a roundabout would be better. In the end it was considered that traffic lights would be better for people trying to get on to or across the A149 from Heacham.

"I am delighted that the scheme has been used to trial the 'Waste Neutral' approach to construction. This means that as much material as possible has been re-used without ever leaving the site, cutting down on transport and waste disposal costs, and reducing the impact on the environment.

"This approach is a natural extension of what has been happening on road schemes all over Norfolk, where great strides have been made in the re-use and recycling of materials, and the reduction of waste."