Fines overs a closed road could be diverted to the community, a council says, after a petition calling for that gained more than 500 signatures.
And it comes as local businesses have highlighted how much the work is costing them.
Burmor was initially allowed nine weeks to close the road so the construction company could link a new development it’s building to the main sewers.
Lincolnshire County Council then allowed a two-week extension with the company blaming bad weather for the delay.
After workers damaged the sewer, the road remains closed with the authority saying it is fining Burmor £2,000 a day as a result of it not providing permits for any more closures.
All of the smaller roads around it are also closed due to drivers ignoring the signposted diversion along the A16.
Gary Slator, of Birchgrove Garden Centre, says his firm has been told the road won’t open until ‘around April 19’.
“The impact on local businesses – including us – has been devastating,” he said. “A drop in footfall like this doesn’t just bounce back overnight. It affects livelihoods, staff hours, and the future of businesses that have been part of the community for years.”
The Voice has approached Lincolnshire County Council for a comment and asked whether the April 19 date is correct, but it did not confirm it.
If correct it would mean it’s raised £64,000 in fines and Mr Smith’s petition has called for it to be given to the community.
He’s part of the Pinchbeck Community Land Trust which already gives out grants in the community and he says he’d like to work with the county council on getting the grants where they’re needed.
The petition is on www.change.org and entitled ‘Request Lincolnshire County Council allocate any fines to Pinchbeck Community’.
Mr Smith states on the petition he ‘believes Burmor is supportive of the fines going to the community’.
“Knowing that these fines are being reinvested locally will not only help mend the ill-feeling but also boost community spirit and morale,” the petition states.
“It is unreasonable for our community, which bore the brunt of the disruptions, to receive no direct compensation in the form of community enhancements.
“By ensuring the fines serve our immediate locality, Lincolnshire County Council will be showing a commitment to standing up for the needs of its citizens.
Ashley Behan, traffic manager at the county council said that while ‘usually the money collected would go straight back into improving the local road network’ it would ‘work with local county councillors to identify how we could reinvest the money back into the local community’.
