Relief Road route vote next week

The updated route for the Spalding Western Relief Road has been recommended by officers for approval.

In December, residents of Bourne Road breathed a sign of relief when they were told that Lincolnshire County Council planned to change the route of the Relief Road.

They had been told their houses were due to be demolished to make way for the road.

Now, however, a second option has been recommended.

The ‘Trojan Wood’ route is the latest recommendation.

A report ahead of the executive meeting on Tuesday said: “This route passes to the west of Neame Lea Nursery and does not require the demolition of residential dwellings on Bourne Road.

“Although the route does not require the construction of a junction within the Vernatt’s SUE boundary, it does require the extension of Section 4 of the Relief Road.

“Moreover, the existing water course will require diversion to facilitate this route. The route also requires the construction of several junctions, a bridge and a stopping up order along Horseshoe Road.”

The report puts the cost of the option at £42.99m, £2.24m more expensive than the previously recommended option of demolishing the homes (£40.75m).

The report adds: “The values are expressed as 2026 build costs and if the route was not completed until 2036, it would be expected that these costs, across all alternatives, would rise possibly by 30 per cent.”

The report says that this option could impact “possible frontages” to residential properties and “up to two” commercial properties.

One of those is Trojan Wood, a furniture manufacturing base.

The ‘Trojan Wood’ route is also the longest of the four options given, at 5.2km.

After months of protests, the report concludes: “Route Option 4 is likely to be the least contentious route providing that commercial engagement is successfully progressed, following the early provisional route options discussions with the Trojan Wood owners.”

The report states however that this route is not within the safeguarded corridor, which “means it carries planning risk which may be capable of being mitigated in future versions of the South East Lincolnshire Local Plan although this cannot be guaranteed.

“This option may, as a result, pose difficulties in justifying this route over route option 3 (Bourne Road) through the legal orders process.”

The decision to change the recommendation took place when The Highways and Transport Scrutiny Committee met on December 9. To push through Route Option 4 as the recommendation, eight members voted in favour and three abstained.