Members of Norfolk County Council's Audit and Governance Committee raised questions on 10 February about whether Cabinet should consider pausing further spending on the Norwich Western Link road project while outstanding planning and environmental issues are resolved.

The Norwich Western Link is a proposed new road intended to relieve traffic pressure on the west side of the city. The project has faced complications relating to planning and environmental requirements.

One committee member asked specifically whether the council was doing enough to engage with statutory bodies such as Natural England earlier in the process, to avoid late-stage objections that could add to costs. Officers responded that active engagement with Natural England was already ongoing and that there were no current indications of emerging concerns from the organisation about the project.

Chairman Cllr Ian Mackie reminded committee members that the committee's role was to scrutinise how the process was being managed rather than whether the project should proceed. The committee agreed that a written response to the question about pausing expenditure would be provided.

No figures on current or projected spending on the project were disclosed at the meeting.