THE widening of the A11 can bring big benefits to Great Yarmouth, according to the region’s MP.

News that the A11 is to be widened following a long fought campaign has been met with celebrations around Norfolk.

Road Minister, Mike Penning, announced this morning that proposals for the route between Norwich and the M11 scheme have just been passed through the final stage of planning and can now proceed to construction.

Great Yarmouth MP Brandon Lewis said: “This is great news! We are now one step closer to getting work started on this road improvement and see some real change in the region.”

He added: “Despite being a significant distance from the area where the immediate work is to be carried out, the knock-on effect this has for Great Yarmouth is huge. With a top quality road network companies are much more inclined to relocate to the town.

“Improved accessibility through this and the outer harbour could act as real incentives for expanding companies and result in some huge economic benefits for Great Yarmouth.”

The scheme will see the widening of a nine mile stretch of the A11 to complete the missing link of dual carriageway between Norwich and the M11.

Norwich is currently the largest city in the UK not to be linked to the rest of the country by a dual carriageway, with research showing that theroad enhancement could potentially generate increased economic prosperity for the region.