Council welcomes news on road bid

And the town’s MP Matt Warman has pledged to do all he can to ensure the scheme happens, and says it is no coincidence that the Transport Secretary Chris Grayling mentioned the proposal when announcing his new bypass fund.

The Distributor Road moved a step closer after Lincolnshire County Council Highways made a bid for the £1 million to draw up design work with the support of Mr Warman.

The latest news follows a petition signed by hundreds of borough residents and supported by Lincolnshire Chamber of Commerce, the Road Haulage Association and the Freight Transport Association, calling for a share of Government cash for Boston road improvements.

Cllr Michael Cooper, Leader of Boston Borough Council, said: “We tick so many boxes - an opportunity to deal with traffic congestion, a plan for that already at an advanced stage, better transportation in an area vital to the nation’s food security, a boost to economic development and job creation, more much-needed housing and a chance to address long-standing air quality issues.”

Boston Distributor Road would provide a new route around the west side of the town, linking the A16 to the north, the A1121 Boardsides and A52 to the west, and the A16 to the south. A safeguarded corridor for the route has been identified in the draft South East Lincolnshire Local Plan.

Mr Warman said he was “delighted” to help Lincolnshire County Council in preparing a case for the distributor road to submit to the Department for Transport.

“This preliminary work will help to put us in a position to bid for meaningful funding for the bypass when Government funding streams become available,” he said.

“I know that Ministers at the highest levels of government are aware of the growth that could be unlocked by central funding towards a distributor road for Boston, and it is no coincidence that when the Transport Secretary Chris Grayling announced his new ‘bypass fund’, Boston was specifically singled out as an example of a town seized up by congestion and desperately in need of a bypass. I look forward to supporting the ongoing work, both in Lincolnshire and in Parliament.”