Doubts over mayor's plans for thousands of homes in 'new town’
The Greater Lincolnshire Mayor’s office has insisted a new town for the county will go ahead, despite others casting doubt upon it.
Reform’s Dame Andrea Jenkyns promised in her manifesto a bid to bring thousands of new homes and their necessary infrastructure to the county.
No size or location for the proposed town has been revealed yet.
The deputy mayor says it’s a long-term project which could be handed over to the next mayor.
However, one senior leader has warned that there is no appetite from the government for a new town in Lincolnshire, and said it shouldn’t jeopardise more realistic plans.
The plans were discussed at a meeting of the Combined County Authority on Wednesday (April 30).
Councillor Richard Wright, leader of North Kesteven District Council, said: “There’s no Homes England money for a new town in Lincolnshire, it doesn’t exist.
“They’ve drawn up lists for new towns, and they’re not interested in investing in Lincolnshire.
“If it becomes clear that there isn’t funding, I don’t want to see the housing pipeline jeopardised because we’re trying to deliver something we can’t.
“There’s not enough private investment, [new towns] always need the infrastructure provided by the government.
“It’s a fantastic aspiration but if we start to stutter because we’ve put something in that the government doesn’t agree with, we need to think about removing it and making the rest of the pipeline secure.”
Deputy Mayor Ingrid Sheard, who was substituting for Dame Andrea Jenkyns at the meeting, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service she was confident in the plans.
“Whatever is going to happen will take an awfully long time, and lots of conversations and surveys. It’s not something we’re going to rush through,” she said.
“Dame Andrea would love to have a new town in place by the end of the term, and we will do our best.
“We will do a lot of work and will leave it in a place where the next mayor can move forward.
“If we’re lucky enough to have investors come forward, that’s great but really all of this takes time for collaboration and communication.”
The mayoral authority is also focusing on investment which could help revive stalled housing projects across the county.