Excel Services | Disruption

Due to roadworks associated with the construction of Long Stratton Bypass, there will be road closures in Long Stratton on the evenings of Thursday 3rd, Friday 4th and Friday 25th July 2025, and on Saturday 6th, Sunday 7th, Saturday 26th and Sunday 27th July 2025. First, Konectbus and Simonds bus services will be heavily disrupted.

All affected bus operators, and Norfolk County Council, are working in partnership to minimise the impact of these roadworks on passengers. As such, tickets issued by First, Konectbus and Simonds will be accepted on each other’s services during this disruption. This applies to the full length of Konectbus routes 1 and 1A and Simonds routes 81 and 82, and First routes 36, 36A and 36B between Norwich (Anglia Square) and Long Stratton (Tasburgh) / Harleston.

In addition, free travel will be permitted for all passengers on the shuttle bus between Pulham Market, Pulham St Mary, Starston and Harleston and on Simonds route 82 between Long Stratton and Tasburgh. Passengers wishing to remain on route 82 to Norwich / Diss will need to pay as normal (unless they already have a valid Konectbus or First ticket).

Thursday 3rd July, Friday 4th July & Friday 25th July 2025:

The A140 north of Long Stratton will be closed from 20:00 on this evening.
The final FirstBus service from Norwich to Long Stratton will be at 18:23 from Castle Meadow and from Long Stratton to Norwich at 19:05 from Long Stratton, The Plain.

The 19:30 journey on First route 36B from Castle Meadow will terminate at Tasburgh, The Countryman, and will not serve Long Stratton.

The 21:00 and 23:00 journeys on First route 36B from Castle Meadow will divert between Tasburgh and Harleston, and will not serve Long Stratton, Pulham Market, Pulham St Mary or Starston.

The 20:01 journey on First route 36B from Long Stratton will start from Tasburgh, The Countryman at 20:10.

The 20:17 and 22:17 journeys on Simonds route 82 from Norwich, and the 21:10 journey on Simonds route 82 from Roydon, will divert via Tharston between Long Stratton and Tasburgh.

The following bus stops will not be served by these journeys as a result:

• Long Stratton, The Plain
• Long Stratton, Hill Farm Road
• Long Stratton, St Michaels Road
• Stratton St Michael, Brands Lane

Guidance for passengers:

Passengers wishing to travel back to Long Stratton from Norwich on the evening of Fridays 4th and 25th July 2025 should travel on Simonds route 82. First and Konectbus tickets will be accepted. Additional capacity will be provided on these journeys to ensure that there is sufficient capacity for all intending passengers.

Saturday 5th July & Saturday 26th July 2025:

The A140 north of Long Stratton will be closed for the whole day.

All journeys on First route 36 from Horsford and Norwich will terminate at Tasburgh, The Countryman and will not continue to Long Stratton.

All journeys on First route 36A from Horsford and Norwich will divert between Tasburgh and Harleston, and will not serve Long Stratton, Pulham Market, Pulham St Mary or Starston.

All journeys on Konectbus routes 1 and 1A will divert between Forncett and Tasburgh, and will not serve Long Stratton. Bus stops between Forncett (Old Rail Station) and Stratton St Micheal (Brands Lane) will not be served.

Journeys on Konectbus route 84 which usually start from / terminate in Wacton will instead start from / terminate in Hempnall. Bus stops in Wacton and Long Stratton will not be served.

All Simonds route 82 services will divert via Tharston between Long Stratton and Tasburgh. The following bus stops will not be served:

• Long Stratton, The Plain
• Long Stratton, Hill Farm Road
• Long Stratton, St Michaels Road
• Stratton St Michael, Brands Lane

A free shuttle bus (also operated by Simonds) will operate between Pulham Market, Pulham St Mary, Starston and Harleston, where connections can be made with First route 36A to Norwich and Simonds route 81 to Diss.

Buses will depart from Pulham Market at 06:53 and then every hour at 53 minutes past the hour until 17:53. This service will also pick up in Pulham St Mary approximately three minutes later and then in Starston. The shuttle bus will return from Harleston, Broad Street at 07:30 and then every hour at 30 minutes past the hour until 17:30.

Passengers will be dropped at the Harleston, Broad Street bus stop where connections can be made as above.

The shuttle bus will be operated by a silver 8 seat minibus. It will have signage indicating that it is the shuttle bus.

Guidance for passengers:

Passengers wishing to travel between Long Stratton and Norwich should use Simonds route 82. Free travel will be available on this service between Long Stratton and Tasburgh. Passengers wishing to remain on route 82 beyond Tasburgh, to get to Norwich, will need to pay as normal (unless they already have a valid Konectbus or First ticket).

Passengers wishing to travel from the Pulhams or Starston will need to make use of the free Simonds shuttle bus between the Pulhams, Starston & Harleston as described above, with options available to connect onto services 36A & 81 to complete their journeys from Harleston.

Sunday 6th July & Sunday 27th July 2025:

The A140 north of Long Stratton will be closed for the whole day.

Konectbus route 1 and Simonds route 82 will divert via Tharston between Long Stratton and Tasburgh. The following bus stops will not be served:

• Long Stratton, The Plain
• Long Stratton, Hill Farm Road
• Long Stratton, St Michaels Road
• Stratton St Michael, Brands Lane

For any specific travel queries & timetable information during this closure, please reach out to the respective operator's customer services team who will be happy to assist you. Information provided on other operator's services are subject to change and we would advise you to check their website for up-to-date information before travelling.

A printable copy of this document is available at the bottom of this page, and will also be available from our Travel Shop on Castle Meadow in Norwich City Centre.