Resident hits out at Lincolnshire County Council for ‘flytipping’ after signs and cones left on A1 slip road near Grantham

A resident has hit out at highways authorities after clearing up abandoned road signs, sandbags, and cones left in hedgerows along main roads.

Alan Parker raised concerns about equipment left behind, arguing that highways authorities should be fined for not clearing up after roadworks.

He shared photos on Facebook showing signs and cones he had pulled out of bushes and hedges between Wyville Road and the A1, and near the Harlaxton Road Interchange, in Grantham.

“No wonder council tax is going up,” he commented, accusing the council of being one of the “biggest flytippers”.

“Councils go on about the issue of flytipping, but they need to get their own ship in order before spouting off to others,” he said.

He said highways departments should be fined for leaving signage behind and felt more effort should be made to check on work after it was completed.

Lincolnshire County Council said initially that it was unaware of the complaint and urged residents to report issues on the Fix My Street website.

Councillor Richard Davies (Con), executive member for highways, confirmed routine inspections of hedgerows aren't carried out, but added the council would clear debris when it was reported to them.

“This is the first we’re hearing of these, and we thank Mr Parker for letting us know, but when items are reported, we will go out to them if it’s not already cleared up,” they said.

The council confirmed that officers would be able to pick up what Mr Parker had cleared from the locations it had been collected.

They confirmed fines are issued to contractors who fail to remove signage.

When Lincolnshire County Council hires contractors for roadworks, the cost of traffic management (TM), including signs and cones, is included in the overall payment to the contractor.

If the contractors fail to collect the signs and cones after the work is finished, they have to replace them at their own expense.

“Our streetworks and permitting team inspects as many of the roadworks as they can, although with the sheer volume of them, we can't inspect every traffic management setup in the county,” said Councillor Davies.

“We fine companies (including our own contractors) if they leave signage behind or any mess.

“But it helps if the public can report anything they see, as we'll catch more of the sites we can't inspect.”

Their performance and inspections have improved over the past 10 years, he said.

The council explained that some signs may have been left by utility companies or National Highways, which works on the A1 outside their remit.

Coun Davies added that newer AI technology is helping to identify abandoned road signs more effectively.