Revised plans for Belton House car park amid traffic concerns

Plans to upgrade Belton House’s car park have been changed amid concerns about traffic and potential accidents.

Initial blueprints from the National Trust directed visitors through the historic Lion Gate near Grantham, rather than Belton village, and through a one-way system around the popular tourist attraction.

These changes have now been omitted in revised plans submitted to South Kesteven District Council, following complaints from local residents over the amount of traffic it would bring to the town.

The proposed site plan | Image: South Kesteven District Council

The proposal also includes improvements of surface water drainage around the site in a bid to create an all-weather car park, to replace the current one which gets water-logged, as well as two new ticket kiosks.

The planning documents read: “All vehicles will arrive via the existing vehicle access point from Belton village, north of the House and stables.

“Once south of the House, all vehicles will take the western road through the site. This will be widened to enable coaches to reverse into the parking bays and leave in a forward gear via the same access route.

“Visitors arriving by car will be greeted at one of the two new ticket kiosks, located north of the existing visitor reception building.

“Tickets will be checked and sold at the kiosks whilst visitors are still in their cars. This will allow visitors to explore the park and House at their leisure once parked, without the need to make their way to the visitor reception building to purchase tickets.”

To encourage the use of more sustainable transport, the plans also include the installation of four electric vehicle charging points. Each column comes fitted with two outlets to allow a total of eight vehicles to charge at any given time.

The proposed floor plan for the new Access Hub | Image: South Kesteven District Council

The new ticketing procedure will also enable the visitor reception to be re-purposed as a new Access Hub, which will provide toilets in close proximity to the car park.

The layout also includes an area for membership recruitment and a kitchenette for staff to use throughout the day.

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