Residents 'left in the dark' over five weeks of roadworks in Horncastle
BUSINESS owners and residents have claimed the people of Horncastle have not been consulted enough on the town’s five weeks of roadworks.
Strong views were aired by the public to Horncastle Town Council at their latest meeting ahead of the roadworks which were due to start on Monday.
Lincolnshire County Council Highways are carrying out essential roadworks at the junction of Jubilee Way and North Street which will include modernisation of the traffic lights and essential maintenance to the South Bridge.
Horncastle Neighbourhood Policing Team have also stated they will be putting on extra patrols and ticketing motorists who cause any extra obstruction and enforcing parking restrictions which could affect the flow of traffic at this time.
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But Horncastle resident Andrew Neal said people in the town have been failed to be kept adequately informed about the roadworks and diversion routes.
He said: “People are in the dark. I do not consider a few leaflets sent to a few people as consultation. Consultation is people getting together to discuss the issue. The routing will cause problems.
“The town council should be giving Lincolnshire County Council highways a far harder time. Had this been organised properly the town would be unaffected. We still have no knowledge at what exactly is going to happen.”
Mrs Kisby from West Street said nobody there has been consulted.
She raised concerns that cars parking on both sides of West Street and the extra traffic could course more problems and she called for the police to do as they promise and enforce the area.
But Councillor Bill Aron, who is also a Lincolnshire County Councillor, said officers have written to more businesses than they usually would do, including the town’s Federation for Trade, Commerce and Industry.
He said: “Officers are taking on board local concerns and have agreed to weekly meetings and updates on a daily basis if necessary. Highway’s main aim is to keep everything moving and keeping Horncastle open. They don’t want gridlock.
“We have to allow the situation to go ahead and allow the officers to do their job.”
Councillor Richard Barker, a business owner, said he has had no paperwork directly to his shop about the roadworks.
He said: “Consultation needed to be months before so that everybody can understand what is going on.”
Councillor Aron said he would be happy to deal with any concerns from the public during the roadworks.
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