Plans for one-way High Street in Grantham shelved until relief road completed

A bid to encourage active travel and cycling in Grantham will not happen until after the town’s bypass is completed — because it proved to be “universally unpopular” with residents.

The Grantham Active Travel Scheme included outline proposals to make Grantham High Street a one-way street, allowing buses and cyclists to travel southbound but not other traffic.

However, a consultation of 2,750 residents, businesses and organisations found only 48% in favour of the scheme and 44% against, so earlier this year Lincolnshire County Council decided to put the scheme on the back burner.

During a meeting today (Friday), Councillor Mark Whittington asked the authority if a future or revised scheme would be coming forward.

Executive portfolio holder for highways Councillor Richard Davies said it was “fair to say it wasn’t universally popular”.

“I don’t think we have enough support to push forward with it at the moment,” he said.

However, he added: “The Grantham bypass is moving ahead, it’s going to be opening in the next year or so at the very latest, hopefully.

“It makes sense to put things on hold until we’ve moved the A52 out of Grantham, because the town centre will feel very different without that road going through the middle.”

He said that “absolutely” cycling and walking were “key” to the future of the town.

“One of the barriers to walking into a market town is those road barriers in the middle, which make it quite difficult to go that final third of the way into the town centre.”