Business leader and cycling group give their verdict on town centre plans being thrown out

Plans for proposed schemes that aimed to improve Spalding town centre for cyclists and pedestrians have been thrown out in their entirety due to a lack of public support.

As part of the government’s Active Travel fund, in March Lincolnshire County Council announced a consultation on plans to spend nearly £800,000 on measures aimed at boosting cycling in eight towns including in Spalding.

But following the consultation that concluded on May 16, only five schemes will now receive the money.

Money that would have been allocated to Spalding will instead go elsewhere, the county council says.

The proposed moves, which included removing some on-street parking for cycle lanes and 20mph speed limits, were particularly criticised by local business leaders.

Darren Sutton, chairman of the Spalding Retailers, said: “I think they listened to the feedback and it’s something like 79 per cent of the feedback that was submitted to the county council said people didn’t want it.

“It’s good that they’ve listened to what the people of Spalding want.

“It is a shame that they’ve taken the money away. It could have been used in a different way.

“We have issues with traffic around the town such as on Winsover Road, Pinchbeck Road and Woolram Wygate.

“Hopefully some money can be found to improve the traffic around there.”

PEDALS, a group set up to promote cycling in and around Spalding, said it was disappointed to lose the potential funding and all of the measures, having argued that some should be taken forward and others not.

The group’s Roger Smith said: “I am very disappointed by the county council’s decision and that it will not consider altering its original proposals; some parts were supported by Pedals.

“Further work and local consultation by the county council is needed to produce a scheme which is suitable for Spalding.

“I am disappointed that Spalding’s cyclists and pedestrians will not benefit from a share of this money which the government has made available to local authorities to encourage active travel.”

Coun Richard Davies, executive member for highways and transport at Lincolnshire County Council, said: “We were clear when we launched this consultation that only those schemes with public support would get the go ahead.

“We’ve listened to what residents have told us and made amendments to schemes based on your feedback.”