December 9, 2021 3.00 pm This story is over 27 months old

Urgent roof repairs at Grantham school will shut road for months

The 17th century historic building is at risk of dilapidation
Castlegate in Grantham will close on January 8, 2022. | Photo: Lindum Group
By Local Democracy Reporter

Castlegate in Grantham will close for at least three months at the start of next year to allow for repair works to a leaking roof at a school.

The road will close from January 8, 2022 until at least April, as Lindum Group prepare to undertake repair work at The King’s School in Grantham.

The work will see several roof elevations at the school stripped and replaced, after the Grade II listed 17th century building was found to be at risk of dilapidation from a leaking roof.

Castlegate will be closed while scaffolding is installed, to allow safe access to the roof on Church Street, with a mile long diversion in place.

Lindum will be working with heritage experts to salvage and reuse as much original material as possible, with specialists assessing the condition of the wooden frame underneath to either restore or replace it.

Contracts manager at Lindum Group Neil McDonnell said: “This is a significant building in Grantham and is currently unusable because water is getting in through the roof​ causing damage to the first-floor rooms.

“The only way we can safely access one area of the building is by installing scaffolding on the highway in Castlegate. We will keep pedestrian access open and people will still be able to access the National Trust’s Grantham House property, but we will need to temporarily divert cars.

“The diversion will be about a mile long but it will obviously impact on journey times as it will be through the town centre.”

Simon Pickett, headteacher of The King’s School, added: “This beautiful historic building is desperately in need of this roof restoration which has been delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We hope the local community will understand the necessity of closing Castlegate for this period to enable this overdue maintenance.

“The King’s School are committed to maintaining and preserving the historic buildings which form part of our school estate to ensure their future use.”