Grantham footpaths in ‘dire’ condition despite Lincolnshire County Council announcing summer improvement scheme

Councillors have criticised the state of Grantham's footpaths, claiming much of the town's paving is in a "dire" condition.

Although they acknowledged there had been some high-profile projects in recent years—specifically the Market Place revitalisation—local members argued that large areas of paving across the town have been neglected.

It comes after Lincolnshire County Council, which is responsible for highways, announced a scheme over the summer to improve 77 miles of pavement across 177 sites in Lincolnshire. The work is being funded through the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities’ Future High Street Fund.

However, Journal readers were dismayed to learn the plan includes only one site in the town. One reader wrote on social media: "Wow, just one path in Grantham to be done."

Another highlighted ongoing accessibility issues, commenting: "Several pavements in Grantham town centre are dangerous/difficult for wheelchair users and disabled people to use."

South Kesteven District Councillor Charmaine Morgan (Independent) sympathised with those on social media, arguing: "The state of most of Grantham's paving is dire."

She added: "It’s not just the state of the paving slabs themselves, but the lack of dropped kerbs. Anyone who is disabled or has a pushchair—they are struggling to move around the town, which is unacceptable."

Pointing out that Lincolnshire County Council elections are due to be held on Thursday, May 1, the local member and Independent candidate for the Grantham South division questioned the timing of the county council's announcement.

"The timing of it to me is just really cynical," she said.

Labour district councillor and candidate for Grantham West division Rob Shorrock shared similar concerns, noting that in newer areas of his ward, such as the Brambles estate, cracks and holes in the paving are already appearing.

"There are often access problems anyway, particularly if people are in mobility scooters or wheelchairs, which intensifies the issue," he said.

"You get onto some of the older streets—they're in a dreadful state."

Coun Shorrock also said it is not clear how Lincolnshire County Council decided to prioritise the areas included in the summer footway scheme, or why only one site in Grantham was selected.

"I think they have a duty to share that decision-making process with people in the community to help them understand, and they haven’t done that."

Conservative county and district councillor Mark Whittington acknowledged that it "doesn't look good" for only one Grantham site to be included, but believed officers would be using a scoring system to determine which sites are prioritised.

"Officers don't just randomly pick streets to go and do," he said. "There is strict criteria that they have to go through."

Cllr Whittington accepted that the town's roads are not "100% perfect" and that some areas could benefit from "localised patching work."

He also encouraged residents to use the FixMyStreet app, which the council uses for reporting issues, or to contact him directly.

Councillor Richard Davies (Conservative), executive member for highways at Lincolnshire County Council, was also approached for comment.