December 12, 2022 6.30 pm This story is over 28 months old

Sooner rather than later: Call for Skegness bypass before 1,000 homes expansion

Transport strategies given go ahead by councillors
Plans have already been submitted for the Skegness Gateway development. Left to right - Sue Bowser, of Croftmarsh; MP Matt Warman; Councillor Tom Ashton; and Neil Sanderson, of Croftmarsh.

A councillor has called for a potential £100million Skegness bypass to be brought forward alongside a 1,000 home urban expansion to the town.

Lincolnshire County Council Councillor Tom Ashton said it would be better to look at building the road before the town expanded to save money.

Members at the meeting on Monday voted in favour of a series of transport strategies for Sleaford, Grantham, Skegness and Mablethorpe.

Councillor Ashton asked if the Skegness Western Relief Road might be picked up as part of the recently-applied for Skegness Gateway which includes more than 20 hectares of combined retail, business and industrial space alongside the new homes to the west of the town.

“If the gateway happens there will need to be a junction of some kind and it makes sense to do one junction, do it well and do it once rather than having to find alternative routes and alternative junctions which only increases the costs.”

Currently, anyone on the South East side of Skegness trying to get on to the A158 to the main road to Burgh le Marsh has to either go into Skegness or take a series of rat-run-style quiet lanes.

Skegness Gateway Masterplan.

Sam Edwards, Lincolnshire County Council’s Head of Highways Infrastructure, confirmed the road was currently going through feasability appraisals which were hoped to be completed early next year.

He said the evidence gathered through that would go towards putting together a business case for third-party funding which would be needed “for a scheme of this scale and value”.

“We’re talking well over £100 million, I would imagine, but I don’t know until the actual full feasibility is complete,” he said.

He added that the transport strategies had gone through local transport boards as part of the engagement process.

Councillor Ashton said he would be “alarmed if costs have got up , even with inflation, to £100million”.

However, he added: “[Skegness Gateway] is going to obviously extend the built bit of Skegness further out, and the further out we have to go for any Western Relief Road, the longer it will have to be, the more obstacles in the way, the more expensive it becomes.”

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