A brand new link road aiming to reduce town centre traffic in Attleborough will be built as part of proposals for 4,000 homes.

However, the scheme, with an estimated cost of £18m, will be built concurrently with the first 1,200 homes of the development, which will ultimately double the size of the town.

It will follow the ongoing work, costing £4.5m, to help alleviate congestion through the town centre which has seen confusion after changes to the one way systems on Surrogate Street and Connaught Road.

READ MORE: 4,000 new homes and two new schools recommended for approval

The link road is an integral part of the outline planning permission and must be built and operational before the third phase of development starts.

With more than 9,000 people likely to move to Attleborough thanks to the new houses, NHS England has warned the current healthcare provision in the town will not cope.

In its response to Breckland District Council, it states: 'The existing GP practice does not have capacity to accommodate the additional growth resulting from the proposed development and cumulative growth in the area.

'The development could generate approximately 9,200 residents and subsequently increase demand upon existing constrained services.'

It is likely the developers, Attleborough Land Ltd, will be asked to pay NHS England money, described as 'appropriate mitigation' in the planning officer's report, to help fund new healthcare provision.

The town could see an expanded secondary school built in the future as well, with Norfolk County Council's economic and strategy officer stating Attleborough High School 'must be considered as being over capacity'.

In the committee report they write: 'It is likely, with the level of housing proposed and including existing pupil numbers, a 1,700 place 11-19 high school will be required for Attleborough for the future.

'The high school can be expanded to accommodate these additional children once the infant school has been relocated to a new site.'

The expected cost to pay for the increased education provision could be as much as £20.1m.

The plans are recommended for approval despite the objections of Historic England, mainly focusing on the Bunn's Bank monument which is believed to date back to the Saxon era.

Historic England states: 'The application as its stands would have a harmful impact upon the significance of a number of designated heritage and non-designated heritage assets.'