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Rutland and Stamford MP Alicia Kearns promises to continue fighting for A1 improvements after public meeting attracts 100 concerned residents




An MP will take new suggestions on how to improve the A1 to top highways bosses as she vows to continue her fight to make the stretch of road safer.

Closing crossing points, reducing speed limits and upgrading the main road to a motorway standard were among the points raised at a meeting held by Rutland and Stamford MP Alicia Kearns (Con) at South Witham Village on Friday night (November 15). This was the same night as a two-vehicle crash blocked the A1 at Great Ponton.

About 100 residents attended the meeting to put forward their suggestions on how to make the stretch of road between Great Ponton and Wittering safer.

Rutland and Stamford MP Alicia Kearns held a meeting to discuss the A1
Rutland and Stamford MP Alicia Kearns held a meeting to discuss the A1

“I am frustrated we have to be here and it’s brought home why I’ve been fighting and how much more I have to fight for,” said Mrs Kearns, speaking after the meeting.

“It’s overwhelming how much I need to get done.

“I have action in my blood - I know it’s a big journey and we’ve got to get work.

Rutland and Stamford MP Alicia Kearns held a meeting to discuss the A1
Rutland and Stamford MP Alicia Kearns held a meeting to discuss the A1

“I am determined to do that and get improvements.”

Recent figures obtained by LincsOnline, which Mrs Kearns read out at the meeting, revealed that there have been more than 230 crashes on the Lincolnshire section of the key road in the past year alone.

In that time there were three fatal crashes on the 21-mile stretch of road.

A further eight incidents involved serious injuries and 50 resulted in minor injuries, as well as 171 prangs which were recorded as damage only.

“It is clear the A1 up to Peterborough is not fit for purpose - we need to recognise that as fact and it has got to be upgraded,” one resident said.

“It is a trunk road and a lifeline to grow the economy.”

Following a campaign by the MP National Highways committed to and started a review of 57 of the crossing points on the A1 between Stamford and Blyth.

Consensus at the meeting was that closing crossing points would make the A1 safer.

At least two lorries have been involved in the crash on the A1. Photo: RSM Photography
At least two lorries have been involved in the crash on the A1. Photo: RSM Photography

A Great Ponton resident said: “Everyone I have spoken to in the village would trade the convenience of them in a heartbeat for the safety of road users on the A1 and people in the village.

“A1 crashes aren’t just a misery for those involved. The village gets gridlocked with traffic trying to avoid the accident.”

Another added: “There is no reason for them at all.

A crossing point at Great Ponton. Photo: Google
A crossing point at Great Ponton. Photo: Google

“They could be shut very quickly and some of these accidents like the one at Ponton tonight could be eliminated.”

An alternative suggestion was that ‘doesn’t have to be all or nothing’ and that some could be used effectively.

Among those who spoke about their experiences was Lisa Lord from Collyweston, who was involved in a three-vehicle crash earlier this month.

Lisa, who was driving home from Lincoln, described how a driver attempted to cross the southbound carriageway into the central reservation crossing point near Great Ponton, which was identified as an accident hotspot along with Wittering and Colsterworth.

Lisa Lord's car after the crash
Lisa Lord's car after the crash

She slammed on her brakes but collided with the vehicle and was ‘catapulted’ into the northbound carriageway where a minibus crashed into her orange Land Rover, pushing it 50ft down the slip road.

Lisa, a therapist, said: “I could have died. It shouldn’t take a death.

“I have lives to save but if mine was taken away I wouldn’t be able to do that.

Lisa Lord from Collyweston
Lisa Lord from Collyweston

“The central reservations have got to be shut.”

In an emotional response, a teary Mrs Kearns said: “[It shouldn’t take a death} is a sentence we hear too often.

“I spoke with the parents of a nine-year-old who died in a crash on a sliproad. This is why we have to fight.

The cleaning company started in West Norfolk.
The cleaning company started in West Norfolk.

“People shouldn’t be hurt, traumatised or dying.”

It was noted that views on crossing points will likely differ depending on where people live as shutting them off could affect property prices.

Many of the suggestions put forward at the meeting garnered overwhelming support but a long-term plan to turn the A1 into a motorway was the most divisive, with a mixture of agreement and objections.

“A three-lane motorway standard on the A1 is not something we can deliver in the next five years, it’s something to work on as a community for the next few decades,” Mrs Kearns explained.

A collision on the A1 at Colsterworth brought traffic to a standstill. Photo: R. S. Mortiss
A collision on the A1 at Colsterworth brought traffic to a standstill. Photo: R. S. Mortiss

Adding in motorway restrictions but keeping the road as two-lanes was floated as an alternative by a resident, who recognised transforming a 40-mile stretch of road would be a mammoth task.

Other ideas put forward included introducing average speed cameras, painting chevrons on the road and banning HGVs from overtaking.

Extending sliproads was also deemed important, with Mrs Kearns relaying that National Highways officers told her that the short slip roads in the area would never get permission today.

The suggestions raised at the meeting will be fed back to National Highways when officers join Mrs Kearns at the beginning of December on a drive up and down the A1 where she will highlight the issues between Grantham and Wittering.

She said: “I can’t promise that this time next year we will have diggers in the ground building big sliproads but I can promise I will never give up and will fight for change.”




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