Norfolk County Council is to call a special full council meeting ahead of rising construction costs on Norwich's Northern Distributor Road (NDR) project.

The Extraordinary Council Meeting on 2 September will discuss closing the funding gap, which has now risen to nearly £30m.

Council Leader George Nobbs will propose that the council contributes £15m to cover half of the £29.9m shortfall.

Until recently, the NDR cost estimates, developed with the main contractors Birse Civils (now Balfour Beatty Civils), have been based on 2013 prices.

However, construction cost inflation and unavoidable design changes, largely higher standard environmental protection measures, has accounted for most of the increase.

The NDR is now set to cost over £178m and the council is pressing the Government to meet half the £29.9m extra cost.

Council Leader George Nobbs said: "This is a vital infrastructure project for Norwich and Norfolk. It brings real jobs and economic growth, with travel and transport improvement that will benefit thousands of people every day, and a £1bn-plus boost to the Norfolk and national economy.

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"It's hugely disappointing that delays beyond our control have caused increased costs and I think it's right that we press Government to do what’s right by Norfolk and meet us half way.

"Norfolk has been particularly disadvantaged by recent Government decisions, so I very much hope that our proposal to meet the Government half way and to put up a further £15m ourselves will be met by an equally generous contribution from them. After all, this is one of the best value for money schemes in the country."

The council meeting will present Members with a report on the final target costs for the NDR, and to consider how the NDR budget gap should be handled.

Development Consent for the project was obtained in June for a 20km dual carriageway to run from the A47 at Postwick to the A1067 Fakeham Road at Attlebridge.

The council has already submitted a request to the Department for Transport (DfT) for an additional contribution from national funds.

The DfT has allocated £67.5m for the Postwick to A140 (Norwich Airport) stretch, on top of £19m that has already been released for the Postwick Hub A47 junction improvement.

The £29.9m overall increase on previous estimates has been partially offset by a £5m contingency and smaller savings elsewhere and includes:

• Total construction cost increase £26.4m (from £77.8m to £104.2m). These include construction inflation, higher environmental specifications and additions to the design resulting from the Development Approval process.

• Land costs up £1m (from £16.2m to £17.2m), reflecting increased land values.

• A £1.95m increase in costs associated with obtaining development consent,  supervision, and contingency allowances.

(LM)