Eyebrows have been raised in a Norfolk village after a council directed motorists to take an hour-long 40-mile detour around roadworks... even though they can be avoided by a 1.6-mile route.
Norfolk County Council closed Church Road in Woodton this week to allow resurfacing work to go ahead.
It sent villagers a letter outlining an alternative route it suggested drivers take if they wanted to get around the closure.
This took motorists onto the B1332 to Ditchingham and along the A134, past Harleston to Scole, then north on the A140 to Long Stratton and along the B1527.
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It caused some surprise in the village, as locals say there is a much simpler route, just a short distance down the B1332 and back into Woodton on the Hempnall Road, a distance of less than two miles.
One villager, who works in Norwich and usually commutes through the closed road, said: "How can they propose such a ridiculous alternative route?
"It just seems so daft and incompetent, and such a waste of money in terms of the useless letters they have sent out.
"It is so obvious to everyone that there are easier ways around the roadworks. And it is not like you are necessarily diverting people onto smaller roads this way.
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"I accept this means more traffic through the village but I suspect not a significant amount. It is a pretty quiet road they have closed so you're not going to get lots of HGVs.
"Councils are always badgering us about climate change and carbon footprints. So why are they suggesting people travel all that way for no reason? It is absolutely laughable."
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The county council defended their proposed route saying it met the "necessary criteria".
A spokeswoman said: "An official diversion route must take a vehicle from one end of the road closure to the other, must be suitable for all traffic that could use the closed road in normal circumstances, and wherever possible should use a like-for-like category of road for the diversion route – so, in this case, a B road is closed, and we aim for the official diversion to likewise travel along another B road or larger.
"That’s what has led to this long official diversion – it’s not to advise residents of, for example, Shotesham Road to take the full diversion route to get to Norwich via the B1332, or to suggest drivers of two-door hatchbacks that no alternative route would be suitable, but rather to provide a reliable, signposted route for any type of traffic that may use Church Road to travel from one end of Church Road to the other."
If you have been affected by roadworks then please email: bruno.brown@newsquest.co.uk
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