Public referendum set for planned changes to A16 Kirton roundabout

Planned changes to the A16 roundabout entrance to Kirton, near Boston, will go to public referendum next week.

County council bosses however, have said the move is a waste of time and money.

Lincolnshire County Council is planning to turn the highway into a fully-signalised crossroads, along with widening the length of both A16 approaches.

They say the build, one of several A16 schemes funded by £20million in Levelling Up Funding, will allow for future improvements along the road, including expanding a dual carriageway section.

However, locals are worried the changes will actually make it more hazardous and increase speeding at the proposed junction, standing traffic and air pollution.

Earlier this year, more than 300 people attended a public meeting at St Peter and St Paul’s Church in Kirton, where the county council was told by the local priest to take the plans “to the shredder”.

Now Parish Councillors have sparked referendums to be held in Kirton, Frampton and Wyberton next Thursday between 4-9pm.

Kirton Parish Councillor Peter Watson said: “LCC has still not formally advised that they will abandon these plans and that is the prime reason to hold the referendum, so the public can mark the record that the roundabout must remain.

He believed the plans were a precursor to funding to dual the A16 but said that it would be “pointless” until Boston had a bypass to cope with the increased flow and capacity.

Wyberton Parish Councillor Jason Stevenson said: “The plans that have been drawn up, having failed to consult the public, will not achieve the goal of ‘levelling up’ delivering traffic to a bottleneck faster is not the idea.”

Kirton Parish Councillor Ralph Pryke, who called for the Frampton referendum, said organisers of the July public meeting continued to be “frustrated” by the county council’s response to concerns.

“All of this could have been avoided if the county council didn’t behave like a dictator.”

However, Cllr Richard Davies, Executive Portfolio Holder for Highways, said: “The referendum is a waste of time and money and it’s a shame.

“You would have thought in these austere times that parish communities would have better things to spend the money on that benefit their local communities.”

He said the authority was in “very close communication” with county ward councillors “on an almost daily basis” and was exploring all manner of options.

“It’s just disappointing they’re wasting taxpayers money like this.”

Boston South Councillor Alison Austin agreed adding that she did not believe a referendum like that would be binding.

However, she refused to pass judgement on the plans themselves.

“It costs a lot of money that is coming out of parishes. Can they afford it? It’s taking it from things for everybody.”

The referendum public notices, including a list of polling stations, can be found here.