The A146

The A146 is a road loathed by residents and motorists alike. The village lies in a valley between two steep (for Norfolk) hills. In the 1960s the road, which formerly had run through the south side of the village, was driven through the marsh in the centre. Straight and fast, this improvement led to passing motorists using the village as a speed track. They would accelerate as fast as possible down the hill and reach maximum velocity, seventy or eighty miles an hour, in the stretch between the Primary School and the bus stop.

Soon car drivers were demonstrating their driving skills by careering off-tarmac and using concrete bollards to propel themselves into alarmed villagers' gardens. By the time something was done about it, five people had lost their lives.

Much of the fun and games was ended with the imposition of a forty mph speed limit and accompanying speed camera. However, plenty of road-users still find our village irresistably tempting. The road remains an unpleasant and perilous obstruction to village life, dangerous for both drivers and pedestrians, but especially so for small children.