1996 was a memorable year for the residents of Needham with a celebration of the long awaited coming of peace!
traffic issues had been brewing for many years with the increasing popularity of the East Coast which was exacerbated by the extra freight bound between the ports of Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft to the Midlands. With the County Council refusing even to grant Needham a 40mph speed limit, the battle commenced in earnest in 1983. Plans were unveiled to resurrect the proposal for a Brockdish bypass first proposed in the 1930s with traffic returning to the old A143 through Needham.
Although the original 1967 Brockdish plans, hidden by the County Council for many years, which proposed a route through the water meadows to the south of the village were due to be scrapped, it was obvious to the residents of Needham that they would be left exposed to high speed traffic in both directions coming off the Thorpe Abbotts/Brockdish and the Harleston bypasses.
A strong campaign was mounted with support from the District Councillor Mrs Vera Alexander, that there should be a combined Brockdish/Needham alternative. At that time there were some 10,000 vehicles passing through the village, 1000 of them HGVs. The chance of crossing the road on a summer Saturday was close to zero!
With a well organised campaign, led in great part by David Simmonds, culminating in a mass petition being delivered by villagers on 28 Sept 1989 to County Hall, schemes were considered for a joint solution with planning permission being granted in 1991.
It was our local MP, the then Minister of Transport, John McGregor who announced the approval of funds for the scheme and work began by the Norwich contractors May-Gurney in Jan 1995. Their task was to excavate 320,000 cubic metres of soil, use 9,500 metres of drainage pipes and lay 65,000 sq m of road surface to complete the three and a quarter mile bypass. Prior to the construction, an archaeological survey was undertaken with some 26 coins being found dating from AD63-64.
Although 18 months has been allocated for the construction, good weather during the summer of 1995 allowed the Cahrman of Norfolk CC, Peter Baldwin, to cut the opening tape in time for the villagers to enjoy a peaceful Christmas. The official opening celebrations and street party were held at Needham Coronation Village Hall in Spring 1996 to coincide with the completion of the landscaping operations.
JW
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