Village gets a bypass after 70 years

The high street in Thorney sees heavy traffic - even on weekends

The Cambridgeshire village of Thorney will no longer be a through-route for travellers on the busy A47 between Norwich and Peterborough.

The village has received the official go-ahead for a bypass.

It is estimated that 16,000 vehicles pass through the village every day, with more than 2,000 of them heavy lorries.

Bypass campaigner Hugh Cave said: "The traffic will drop by about 75 to 80% - it will make for a better quality of life for everybody in the village."

But not everyone is sorry to see the traffic go.

Steve Schreeve, a pub landlord in Thorney, said: "Much of our trade at the moment is passing trade, especially at lunchtimes, and we're going to lose all of that when the bypass finally comes."

The £15m Highways Agency scheme includes three miles of dual carriageway to the north of Thorney on the A47.

Mr Cave said the cost of a bypass in the 1930's would have been just £150,000, but the original plans were set aside during World War II.

Other villages along the A47 have been told they could wait 20 to 30 years from the present day for a bypass.