'We need relief road NOW!': villagers 'prisoners in their own homes'

The residents, waving banners demanding 'We want a relief road now', argue that during the summer season they are prisoners in their own homes as thousands of visitors head to seaside resorts six miles away.

It is a problem they have faced for almost 20 years since previous negotions with Lincolnshire County Council for a bypass broke down because no agreement could be reached with landowners - however, according to villagers, since lockdown restrictions were eased along the coast traffic has been worse than ever.

More than 20 villagers met outside Sunshine House care home on Friday to march along Gunby Road to raise awareness of the problem and give the motorists a taste of what it is like to be held up in their village.

"The traffic was delayed for around 20 minutes and passengers were not very happy," said local resident and parish councillor Sandy Spence, who said that in spite of the anger in the village she had encouraged protestors to deliver their message in a safe and peaceful way, adhering to Covid-19 restrictions.

"Some of the passengers threw the contents of their cars at us and one lorry took out two wheel chairs.

"People don't appreciate how badly the villagers are affected. One pointed out that over weekends and Bank Holidays, we become prisoners in our own homes.

"We have to tolerate rural crime, litter, speeding traffic and people using our property to go to the toilet.

"Many residents are retired and come here for a quiet life in the country.

"Many horse owners also move here as it close to the Lincolnshire Wolds' outstanding area of natural beauty, but I have a farm and horses and there is no way you can ride along the road."

The Orby/Skegness relief road that residents are pushing for would start at the Middlemarsh crossroads to Addlethorpe and Croft, go to the Addlethorpe Bypass and then on to Butlins, Fantasy Island, Ingoldmells and Chapel St Leonards.

"The advantage of this route would be that the existing infrastructure could be improved to incorporate existing roads," said Coun Spence. "The route is already halfway there and incorporates two bypasses and would free up most standing traffic on Roman Bank in Skegness.

"We invited district and county councillors to come along and listen to us on Friday but not one turned up. Now the residents are planning further marches."

Another resident, Kaf Barriball , said: "It's not safe to walk down the road in many places as the footpath doesn't run the length of the village.

"I've had a couple of very close encounters with cars when I've been walking my dog along a very short stretch to get to a field, and those of us with horses either don't ride on the road anymore, or put our lives in our hands when we do, to get to the quieter lanes.

"In addition to the extra traffic, the road through the village has been named as the main diversion route from September for eight months while roadworks are carried out on Roman Bank in Skegness.

"This is going to mean even more traffic coming through the village, and the likelihood of accidents will increase too."

Executive Coun Richard Davies for Lincolnshire County Council said: "During our vitally important improvement works on the A52 Roman Bank in Skegness, the diversion route will be through Orby.

"We recognise the issues that a temporary increase in traffic through the village will cause, and we're hoping to mitigate some of those by installing reactive flashing speed signs to focus driver attention and remind them of the 30mph speed limit in place.

"Once work on Roman Bank is finished and the road reopens, we can look at the traffic data for Orby and see what measures might improve the situation.

"Previous attempts almost 20 years ago to try and develop a bypass plan for the village failed because no agreement could be reached between the local landowners on a route."