The development of a massive 100-acre business park just north of the city's airport is gathering steam as the first phase of its road network is approved. 

Broadway Enterprise Park, off the NDR and A140 Cromer Road, will be the largest site of its kind in the Norwich area once completed, able to accommodate buildings of up to 300,000sqft in 39 separate plots.

A recycling centre has already been built and a hotel and a park-and-ride are likely to follow, with offices, manufacturers, storage and distributors expected to fill the remaining units.

The land off the NDR has been earmarked for the park as early as 2019The land off the NDR has been earmarked for the park as early as 2019 (Image: Building Partnerships)

The initial framework for its roads has been approved by Broadland District Council, meaning construction can soon begin. 

The park's access road, Morse Road, is already in place, with two more laid out under the first phase in design documents. 

Morse Road (blue) has been completed, with the sections in green and yellow yet to come under the first phaseMorse Road (blue) has been completed, with the sections in green and yellow yet to come under the first phase (Image: Broadland District Council)

The plan shows Morse Road in blue, completed in 2021, and the next section in green.

The yellow section will be completed when work on the adjacent development phase is commenced, scheduled for spring 2025. 

Costa Coffee and American fast food chain Wendy's have already applied to Broadland District Council for permission to build drive-throughs on a plot near the recycling centre.

The entry road to the drive-thru site was built when Morse Road was first developedThe entry road to the drive-thru site was built when Morse Road was first developed (Image: Denise Bradley)

Norwich's rising star

Plans to develop the land off the NDR bordering Horsham St Faith have been in the pipeline since 2019, with a public exhibition held for members of the public to express their views.

An official bid for approval was made in 2021, receiving the green light a year later. 

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Once completed, Broadway Enterprise Park could bring in as many as 1,250 jobs and will be more than twice as large as Broadland Business Park in Thorpe St Andrew which occupies around 37 acres.

But Norwich City Council initially objected to the plan, arguing that having office space out of the city could undermine the centre as a local business hub.

Comments were also received from three locals who argued the development was not in keeping with the rural area.