The preferred development is situated approximately 12.5 km to the north east of Norwich, immediately to the north of Coltishall. The main connecting route between Coltishall and Norwich is the B1150. The site is also approximately 6 km to the west of the Norwich to Sheringham railway line. This line currently has a service between Norwich and the coastal towns of Cromer and Sheringham. At Norwich, the service connects with Intercity links to London (Liverpool Street), Liverpool (Lime Street) and Cambridge.

It is intended that as part of the development there will be a mix of commercial and residential development which will provide opportunities for residents to both walk and cycle to work. It is proposed that a wide range of social infrastructure is to be provided on the site, including primary and secondary school provision, healthcare facilities, library provision, banking and financial facilities. The development will also include a neighbourhood centre providing essential shopping and retail facilities along with an on site leisure development. The provision of these facilities on site, all within easy walking and cycling distance of the residential development, will greatly reduce the need to travel by private car.

Highways Access

It is recognised that even though a large range of services are provided on site, residents and visitors to the site may still want to travel to Norwich city centre for the wider range of employment, retail, social and leisure facilities. It is therefore proposed that the B1150 will be improved to Coltishall from the proposed Northern Distributor Road (NDR), providing a series of junction improvements and localised widening to provide a high quality vehicular link between Coltishall and the proposed NDR and the suburbs of Norwich.

A further new western link road is proposed to effectively act as a bypass to the village of Coltishall. This will assist in removing a large amount of the north/south through traffic from the village and provide a high quality link into the internal estate road network proposed as part of the development.

Rail Access

It is considered essential to the success of the development that an improved rail link is provided between the site and the proposed development. At present the Norwich to Sheringham (Bittern Line) runs approximately 3km to the east of the site, with stations at Wroxham and Worstead. The Bure Valley Narrow Gauge Railway, which runs between Wroxham and Aylsham, passes close to the southern boundary of the site. This narrow gauge line was a former branch line and is now used for leisure trips.

At present there are restrictions in being able to increase the frequency of services along the Bittern Line due to a single track section at North Walsham which severely restricts the headway along this route.
It is therefore proposed that the section of the existing Bure Valley Railway between the site and Wroxham will be upgraded to full mainline standard gauge requirements. A new station will be constructed at the site along with improvements at Coltishall and Wroxham.
The improvements at Wroxham station will allow a new platform to be provided and a waiting area to enable the mainline trains to pass. The newly improved Bure Valley section of track will then connect to the main Bittern Line at Wroxham station. It is then proposed to run a new lite EcoTrain service between the site and Norwich City Station. This service would also stop at Broadland Park linking the site with this strategically important employment site, providing a regular service without affecting the main line services.

Buses

Due to the important restriction in rail access, it is also proposed to provide a new regular bus service from the site to the city centre, linking the development with the retail and employment developments in the northern suburbs, Norwich International Airport, the Park and Ride and the city centre. It is proposed that this route will utilise the A140 Cromer Road route into the city. A series of bus priority measures will be introduced along this route which will be developed in partnership with the Highway Authority and the public transport operators.

Footpath/Cycleway

An extensive network of high quality footpath/cycleway facilities will be provided within the development linking all of the key facilities. It is also proposed that, as part of the B1150/Link Road improvements, footway/cycleway facilities will be provided adjacent to carriageway where possible. These would also link to the long distance leisure routes in the area.

Travel Plan

As part of the sustainable overall transport strategy, a travel plan will be developed and operated for the scheme. This will include a wide range of travel incentives and awareness measures. It is proposed that all dwellings will be Broadband connected with a central collection and ordering point for the main supermarkets, such as Asda, Tesco's and Sainsbury's. Discounted bus/rail tickets will be provided to occupants as well as details on individual travel plans. It is proposed that a Car Club facility will also be provided on the site. The plan will be agreed with the Highway Authority and operated by a dedicated on site Travel Plan Coordinator.
It is also proposed to limit the availability of car parking on the site to try and encourage the use of the wider range of alternative modes that would be available at the site.

Summary

A comprehensive package of transport measures is proposed as part of the EcoTown proposed at RAF Coltishall. This includes a new lite EcoTrain rail service from the site to Norwich city centre linking the site to a number of key employment areas. High quality pedestrian and cycle routes would be provided for local journeys and a new regular bus service coupled with bus priority measures would link the site with the main facilities in the northern area of Norwich. A high quality vehicular link is to be provided to the site by an upgraded B1150 and the construction of a new Coltishall western relief road.