Improvements to ‘difficult’ junction of Belton Lane and B1174 near 480-home Grantham development could take ‘many years’

Improvements to a ‘difficult’ Grantham junction near a new development of up to 480 homes could now take ‘many years’.

Allison Homes, the developer of up to 480 homes approved for land north of Longcliffe Road, will no longer have to carry out improvement works to the junction of Belton Lane and Newark Hill (B1174).

Lincolnshire County Council requested to take control of the improvements, with Allison Homes paying £412,635 towards the works, after a condition of the original permission for the new development was removed.

The condition was removed yesterday (Thursday) at a meeting of South Kesteven District Council’s Planning Committee, although councillors expressed serious concerns that the improvements to the junction could now take “many years” to be implemented and said the decision was made “with regret”.

Permission to build up to 480 homes on the 38 hectare site north of Longcliffe Road was granted in 2018 with several conditions including £3 million towards a new primary school and improvements to the junction of Belton Lane and Newark Hill. Under the previous agreement, no homes in the development could be occupied until the upgrades to the junction were completed.

However, since those conditions were agreed, Allison Homes has engaged in ongoing dialogue with LCC to identify an appropriate junction improvement scheme.

These discussions concluded that a much wider scheme, including additional land, would be needed, and that LCC would be best placed to take responsibility for the improvements, with Allison Homes contributing the amount of the original scheme’s costs.

Councillor Ian Stokes (Con, Peascliffe and Ridgeway) spoke at the meeting, describing the junction as “difficult” and suggested that money should also be spent on improving the junction between Belton Lane and the A607.

Mark Bassett, of Freeths LLP, speaking on behalf of Allison Homes, said: “[The applicant] has done all it can to comply with the condition and met with the parish council to discuss this issue in depth and this has resulted in them removing their objection to the application.

“The requirement for junction improvements were largely driven by projections that it would be over capacity by 2024 regardless of development, but LCC has advised that this is not likely to materialise.

“Notwithstanding this, Allison Homes remains committed and invested to improving the junction. However, it is evident that this will require a wider scheme than envisaged at the granting of outline permission.”

LCC has commissioned a feasibility study of the project, which is ongoing. A final timescale of the work has not been confirmed.

Emma Whittaker, SKDC’s assistant director of planning, said: “There’s reasonable expectation that LCC are committed to the scheme. We don’t yet know the final timetable for delivery.

“It could be a number of years because there’s a number of schemes that will need to contribute, because this is not the only scheme that will have a bit of an impact on that junction.

“It is not Allison Homes trying to wiggle out of making a highways junction, you’ve got a scheme which is technically not feasible, it would create an unsafe development and LCC cannot allow that.

“There is an impact, there is a need for this improvement, but it should not stop the developer from being able to construct those houses.”

Councillors expressed concerns over the removal of the condition, including Coun Penny Milnes (Ind), who said: “We’ve got no assurances over the critical infrastructure delivery in an orderly and timely manner.

“It’s going to be I’d imagine many years before this goes forward, even if they can acquire the third party land which I would say is quite a big question mark as well.”

Councillor Tim Harrison (Ind, St Wulfram’s), echoed these concerns. He said: “What happens when we find that we’ve had 480 houses built, which is over 600 cars, and still nothing’s been done to the junction?

“This is the sort of thing that happens a lot in this town. We get promised the earth and get given the mud.”

Councillor Helen Crawford (Con, Bourne West) added: “I think LCC highways have got a lot to answer for. They’ve put us between a rock and a hard place.”