Object

Representation ID: 22753

Received: 16/03/2020

Respondent: Mr Bryan Robinson

The layout of the City of Norwich has evolved over the centuries as the hub for commerce and socialisation of the county with access still based on the historic radial arterial roads drawing in the population from the surrounding countryside.

The past evolution of Norwich providing major employment opportunities resulted in the expansion of the residential areas on the outskirts of the city grouped around these radial routes. Until the 1960’s this urban population was able to access the employment areas via walking, cycling or public transport within a relatively confined geographical area.

At the same time the outlying towns and villages were able to continue a self contained environment with local shops and other facilities.

The global, regional and local economy has changed in the last 50 years and the speed of change is accelerating. The GNLP recognises that the county’s employment sectors are still predominantly based around agriculture and tourism with the city changing from the largely engineering base to science, technology, advanced manufacturing and service industries such as finance and research and development.

During this period of change the population has moved further out of the city relying on the car for accessing employment and leisure. The employment and retail locations have also migrated from the city to business and retail parks initially to the outer ring road and latterly to the edges near the southern bypass and the Northern Distributor Road and the Southern Bypass.

The distances between housing and employment/leisure are now such that without public transport the majority of the population is forced to be reliant on their cars.

The city has and continues to change as a result of this new demographic, encouraged by past Transport for Norwich actions and the polices of redirecting through traffic around the perimeter and removing cars from the centre.