Work on the next stage of Spalding’s relief road could start sooner than the 2030 date predicted by Lincolnshire County Council.
Last week it was revealed that the £28m allocated for the second section had been moved by the county council to another project.
The result means the council would not be able to fund the next stage until 2030 – but the leader of South Holland District Council said alternative funding may be found.
Enough work was started on the southern section in September to mean planning permission wouldn’t expire after five years.
But the majority of the project will not be funded by the county council until 2030.
Leader of South Holland District Council Nick Worth said he understood people’s frustration, but said other funding pots would be looked at to finance the £28m cost of the southern section.
“When the current section is completed, there could well be external funding from Homes England.
“Developers will benefit so they could also be asked for a significant amount of funding, It’s a very expensive part of the road because it goes over the railway,” said Coun Worth.
He said that applications for external funds were unlikely to be made until work is completed on the northern section, which was due to be finished this summer.
The county council’s executive member for highways, RIchard Davies, said the start-date could be brought forward “if external funding can be identified.”
As it stands, there is also no funding earmarked for the two central sections of the road, but Coun Worth said while they would be part of the long-term scheme, the engineering of those sections would be ‘easier’.
News that the southern section was likely to be delayed, caused an outcry on social media.
The project was branded a ‘shameful waste of money’ by Nicholas Draper.
“The whole project was doomed from the start,” said Gary Trueman.
“Watch it get pushed back or dropped altogether,” he added and he called for a public enquiring into the ‘utter shambles’.
“The only people who have gained from this are the developers,” he added.
The road was labelled as “Europe’s biggest cul-de-sac,” by Rob Cook.
“I can’t believe it has taken so long and costs so much to build a road to nowhere,” said Simon Redden.
Coun Worth said he remained confident the scheme would be completed, but it was always a ‘very long-term project.’
