Repair work starting on Lincoln’s Glory Hole… a year on

A year on from the closure of the Glory Hole in Lincoln, repair work now appears to be starting on the collapsed footway.

Situated between Wigford Way and the High Street, the Glory Hole has been closed since February 2023 after a partial collapse of the path proved the tip of an iceberg of damage.

The underside of the footpath was found to be crumbling after underwater divers investigated the Glory Hole last year, with wooden beams fractured and slabs beginning to lift.

Cost estimates of around £80,000 were made during Lincolnshire County Council’s reconstruction plan submission, which was granted planning permission in December.

A jetty will be installed to reinstate the collapsed footway, but this project has taken over a year now after spates of bad weather, and a series of ongoing dealings with agencies such as the Environment Agency and the River and Canals Trust.

The council initially hoped to have this project complete in early 2024, but as we approach the third month of the year, barriers are still up and the footway is still inaccessible.

However, there appears to be light at the end of the Glory Hole tunnel now, with workers spotted at the site on Thursday, February 29 and Friday, March 1.

It comes mere days after previous coverage of the delays to works, in which a business owner along the Glory Hole footway said he was “fed up” of waiting for updates.

Roger Baldam-Lucas, owner of the Now Hair salon, has been left with “absolutely no doubt” that the wait for these works has impacted his business, and said he would “just have to keep biting the bullet” as the time continues to pass.

It has been suggested that earlier months of year would be the best time to complete this project, given that colder months will see less boating traffic along the river.

The scope of works since the last coverage of the Glory Hole shows the removal of the uneven footway and clearance of clutter to make way for construction repairs.

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The council has consistently maintained that this is a safety issue, and accusations of “dragging their feet” over the timing of the project are incorrect.

Coun Richard Davies, executive member for Highways, said: “The truth of the matter is that this is a historic public right of way attached to a Grade II listed building, which is hard to reach and sits on the bank of a live, and very active, riverway in constant use by boating traffic.

“As such, we are having to deal with several external agencies, and dealing with each takes time.”