Lincolnshire County Council remains fully committed to delivering the Spalding Western Relief Road and is continuing work to progress the project.
Cllr Rob Gibson, deputy leader for Lincolnshire Council and the county councillor for Spalding East, said: “The Spalding Western Relief Road has been many years in the making, with many locals – including myself – looking forward to it being built.
“To date, the north section of the road is fully built. However, opening the new carriageway and bridge is completely contingent on new houses to the west being built.
“I want to reassure the people of Spalding, Pinchbeck and the surrounding area that we are absolutely committed to doing all we can to finish the job and to explore every possible opportunity unlock future sections of the scheme.”
Funding overview and future sections
The total cost of building the north section was £50 million.
Indicative costs for the remaining sections are currently estimated at:
• Section 1 / between Spalding Common to Holland Park: ≈ £60 million
• Section 2 / Holland Park to Bourne Road: ≈ £30 million
• Section 3 / Bourne Road to North of Vernatt’s Drain: ≈ £30 million
• Section 4 / North of Vernatt’s Drain: ≈ £30 million
Section 4 is expected to be developer-built, with developer’s also contributing funding to all of the remaining sections.
Cllr Rob Gibson continued: “We are continuing to pursue multiple funding routes to get the rest of the relief road built. I’ve recently written to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, as well as the Department for Transport, to plead our case.
“We are also continuing to work closely with South Holland District Council and are having regular conversations with Homes England in relation to any money available for us to put towards the project, as well as working with the mayor’s office to see if they can help move this scheme along faster.”
Paul Jackson, Executive Programme Manager at South Holland District Council, said: “In addition to working closely with the county council and other potential funding partners, we are continuing to constructively engage with both developers and housing providers. There remains a clear need to ensure that new housing development continues to contribute financially towards the delivery of Spalding’s western relief road. This is best achieved by delivering phased housing growth in tandem with significant improvements to Spalding's road network.”
The councils are also looking into utilising Section 106 funding towards continuing the design of the south section so it is ready for construction when funding is identified, as well as exploring whether Section 106 money could be used towards completing the actions necessary for submitting a planning application for the section of relief road between Holland Park and Bourne Road.
Status of north section
Construction of the north section of the Spalding Western Relief came to a successful end in October 2024. However, the new section of road is currently closed until housing development to the west begins.
Planning applications for these new developments are expected to be submitted to South Holland District Council in early 2026.
Cllr Gibson said: “Although we’ve successfully built the northern section of the relief road, it hasn’t been adopted as highway yet. This is because, without houses built and people living in them to use the new road, there is nowhere for vehicles to go.
“I can, however, confirm that we will start the process of adopting the road once we’ve received confirmation of when the first new houses will be built”
Two Plank bridge footpath
As per the scheme designs and planning application, the old footway connecting Blue Gowt Lane to Two Plank Bridge will remain closed. Alternative provisions that tie into the new road layout have been built for people to use. In addition, a further footway connecting Blue Gowt Lane to Two Plank Bridge will open to the public when the road becomes adopted.
Sam Edwards, Head of Highways Infrastructure, said: “The old footway between Two Plank Bridge and Blue Gowt Lane now crosses embankments and drainage ditches that are a major safety risk for anyone passing. Because of that, we’ve applied for and implemented a temporary closure of this dangerous section of the old route until it is formally stopped up when the nearby housing developments progress and the road is adopted.
“To offset closing the old footpath, we’ve built and legally adopted an alternative path that runs under the west pier of the new SWRR bridge. This provides a safe connection to Blue Gowt Lane further north and serves a suitable replacement for accessing Two Plank footbridge until the adjacent housing development is built and we adopt the new road in full. At that stage, people will also be able to access Blue Gowt Lane by crossing the new carriageway slightly further to the west of the old route.”
Update on south section
Planning permission for the south section was granted in July 2019, and a material start was made on site in September 2022. This means planning permission is extant and that there is no time constraint on when full construction must begin from a planning perspective.
Construction of the south section of the relief road is currently not expected to start until at least 2030, unless external funding can be found.
Cllr Gibson said: “Getting the section of relief road between Spalding Common and Holland Park built is our top priority because of how complex and expensive it’s going to be due to the bridge that would span over top the Lincoln to Peterborough rail line.
“The longer we wait to build the southern section, the more expensive it will be. That’s why we are working so hard to find funding to build it. The original completion date of all five sections was 2040, which is a not the situation we want to be in. Spalding desperately needs a relief road on the west side of town and I will do everything I can to move this along at a better pace”
Middle sections
No funding has yet been allocated or secured for the middle sections of the relief road (Holland Park to Vernatts Drain) as these are intended to be built in the long-term, as outlined in the South East Lincolnshire Local Plan.
Cllr Gibson said: “Although actual construction of the Holland Park to Bourne Road section couldn’t start until after we’ve built the south section, we are already looking into using Section 106 money towards submitting a planning application, that way we are one step closer to making a complete relief road a reality as more new housing is built.
“When this section is eventually complete, people would most definitely start seeing the benefits of the relief road since it would provide traffic relief to the southern part of Spalding.”
For more information about the Spalding Western Relief Road, visit www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/swrr.