October 15, 2019 10.38 am This story is over 53 months old

Homes still under threat as Spalding Relief Road route revealed

The council has recommended a route following outcry
Visuals for the road design.

Lincolnshire County Council has recommended a route for the Spalding Relief Road which would see five homes demolished.

The preferred route would see the scheme cut through Bourne Road and sit in in close proximity to four other properties.

Council officers will recommend the plan, which was one of eight options considered as part of a feasibility study.

Councillor Richard Davies, executive councillor for highways, said the process of picking a preferred route was not easy.

Councillor Richard Davies, executive member for highways at the county council, addresses residents affected by the Spalding Relief Road at a meeting at Bromley Hall in Pode Hole, near Spalding, in February 2019. Picture: Daniel Jaines.

“I know that identifying a recommended route hasn’t been an easy process and that officers have worked hard to technically assess the options,” he said.

“We also realise that, even though it is only an officer recommendation at this stage, the report’s outcome will be difficult news for the residents potentially affected to hear.

“We’ve written to residents on Bourne Road and Horseshoe Road within the ‘safeguarded corridor’ about the outcome of the study and will continue to stay in contact with them as things progress towards a final decision.”

The route recommended by Lincolnshire County Council for the central section of the Spalding Relief Road.

County councillors will discuss the proposed route at a Highways Scrutiny meeting on December 9 before a decision is made in January 2020.

The project will provide a new route around the west side of the town, linking Spalding Common in the south to Spalding Road/Pinchbeck Road in the north.

The authority was forced to reconsider the route after public outcry over the relief road back in February.

Catherine and Frank Roberts outside their forever home on Bourne Road. Photo: Daniel Jaines

Homeowners on Bourne Road, along with South Drove, Horseshoe Road and Pinchbeck Road, said no contact had had been made with them by the council on the highway scheme.

Catherine Roberts, one of the residents on Bourne Road affected by the original route, said residents had been through the “summer from hell” due to the plans.

Councillor Davies apologised to local people at a public meeting held in Spalding following the outcry.

Lincolnshire County Council hopes to begin work on the road in Spring 2020.

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