No decision has been made on the last stage of Lincoln's £200m ring road
Council bosses are still in the dark about the future of the £200m North Hykeham Relief Road. It had been hoped that yesterday's Budget would shed light on whether it would be fully funded, but the Chancellor neither confirmed nor ruled out the spending.
The final stage of Lincoln's ring road was promised £110m by the Conservative government in 2019. However, the new Labour Secretary of State for Transport has ordered a review of all promised capital spending, saying many items were unfunded or unviable.
Lincolnshire County Council, which is carrying out design work on the relief road, say it will continue unless it hears otherwise. If funding is received, construction work will begin late 2025.
Councillor Richard Davies (Con), executive member for highways, said: "We'd hoped the autumn budget would include a decision about where the North Hykeham Relief Road sits as part of Government’s scrutinisation of its capital spending programme. Unfortunately, it didn't and we're still in the dark about this.
"However, the budget statement did include a list of some highway projects that would be scrapped, and North Hykeham Relief Road wasn’t one of them. From what we understand, Government is still deciding which other schemes to fund and which not to.
"No timeframes have been set for when we'll know where NHRR stands so, for now, we'll continue progressing ahead as planned while waiting for a positive outcome. Our focus now remains on completing detailed design, a full business case for the Department for Transport, and all the necessary legal paperwork for the scheme ahead of breaking ground late next year.”
The council says that for every £1 spent on the road, more than £2 would be saved through improved safety, reduced journey times and economic development. If the government withdraws its promised £110m, it's unlikely the authority would be able to make up the gap from other sources.
Louise Haigh (Lab) Secretary of State for Transport, previously said: “The financial inheritance this government has received is extremely challenging. The previous administration has left a £22 billion public spending gap this year alone – £2.9 billion of which is unfunded transport commitments.
“Communities up and down the country have been given hope for new transport infrastructure, with no plans or funds to deliver them. I am commissioning an internal review of DfT’s capital spend portfolio. We will bring in external expertise and move quickly to make recommendations about current and future schemes.”
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