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Daily Mail
4 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Residents hit out at £50million bridge 'to nowhere' after local council ran out of MONEY while building it
Residents have blasted a council for building a £50 million 'bridge to nowhere' after it ran out of money while building it. The bridge over the planned Spalding Western Relief Road in Lincolnshire was constructed between 2022 and 2024. However it will not be finished until at least 2030 because the county council cannot afford to complete the project. The bridge was built as part of a £110 million project to provide a new route around the west side of Spalding to ease traffic on the A16, which sees lots of lorries driving between Peterborough, Boston and Grimsby. One section of the road, consisting of 0.6 miles of road, a T-junction where the road will later be extended, and the bridge, was finished last year. The aim of the bridge was to carry the road over a busy railway which runs from Peterborough to Doncaster, but for now new aerial pictures show the route comes to an abrupt stop. Lincolnshire County Council aimed to secure the rest of the funding while this section was being built and raised £28 million - but in 2023 they announced they had re-allocated this to other roads and the project wouldn't now be finished until at least 2030. Cllr Richard Davies, executive member for highways, said in 2023: 'The past three years have been a turbulent time within the highways sector, including costs increases due to Covid; growing inflation rates; and the country entering into the recession we're currently in. 'Unfortunately, because of these and other issues, we announced during our annual budget meeting in February that we've had to re-allocate the £27.8 million of county council funding dedicated to the Spalding Western Relief Road's southern section to help offset increased costs for other major road projects. 'That means it's unlikely that we start work before 2030 since that's the earliest we expect to be able to allocate funding towards this phase of the project. 'However, we'll look at bringing that date closer if external funding can be identified.' A Highways spokesperson for Lincolnshire County Council said: 'Construction of the north section of the Spalding Western Relief Road was completed in October 2024. 'In the approved 2025/26 council budget, there is currently £27.7 million earmarked towards building the southern section of the Spalding Western Relief Road in the future. 'However, the current estimated cost of building this section is between £50-60 million, which means external funding will be needed. 'That is why we are continuing to work closely with South Holland District Council to identify funding opportunities, including remaining in touch with Homes England. 'In addition, no funding has yet been allocated or secured for the middle sections of the relief road as these are intended to be built in the long-term, as outlined in the South East Lincolnshire Local Plan.' The council said the northern section of the Spalding Western Relief Road had opened up land allocated for housing in the South East Lincolnshire Local Plan (an initial 1,100 dwellings). It also said the new SWRR roundabout on Enterprise Way had already unlocked land for housing on either side of the railway and a significant start had been made on-site, with these houses soon to be added to the available housing stock.
BBC News
29-05-2025
- General
- BBC News
Lincolnshire councillors move to end nuclear waste talks
Councillors have moved to end talks to bury nuclear waste close to the Lincolnshire Waste Services (NWS), a government body, had earmarked an area near Louth, in East Lindsey, as a possible site for a Geological Disposal Facility (GDF).At a meeting earlier, members of Lincolnshire County Council's overview and scrutiny management board recommended the authority's executive withdraws its involvement in the process.A final decision is due to be made at the next executive meeting on 3 June. Speaking at the meeting, Councillor Richard Davies, leader of the Conservative opposition proposed recommending the immediate withdrawal from the community partnership, following in the footsteps of East Lindsey District Council, which pulled out in said this would end ongoing uncertainty for residents."We've had five years and we still aren't informing people. We're still in this realm of probably, possibly, it may happen," he search had previously been focused on a former gas terminal in NWS later announced it had moved the proposed location of the facility to land between Gayton le Marsh and Great Conservative Councillor Lindsey Cawrey told the meeting: "Our communities have made their feelings clear and the proposal has changed significantly from what was previously suggested."David Fannin, chair of the community partnership, added: "If it had been possible to remove uncertainty, or to exercise a duty of care that mitigated the impact on the local community, I would have been more reassured about staying in the process."But, the council has spoken, local people have spoken up loudly and clearly, and we have to respect that." In a statement, Simon Hughes, siting and communities director at NWS, said: "The entire GDF siting process is based on community consent and there is an absolute requirement for any potential host community to have given its consent prior to any development being agreed."This conversation can carry on without commitment, but we will fully respect and understand any decision made by the council's executive on 3 June."The GDF would see nuclear waste being stored beneath up to 1,000m (3,300ft) of solid rock until its radioactivity had naturally areas had previously been shortlisted by NWS - Mid Copeland and South Copeland in Cumbria and Lincolnshire, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service. Listen to highlights from Lincolnshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here.
ABC News
23-05-2025
- General
- ABC News
ABC News SA: A disaster has been unfolding on Australia's coast
ABC News SA ABC NEWS News Bulletin Informative Watch Article share options Share this on Facebook Twitter Send this by Email Copy link WhatsApp Messenger News from where we live. ABC News SA brings you the day's top stories, exclusive investigations and original reporting on issues that matter to you. Presented by Jessica Harmsen, plus Richard Davies, Candice Prosser, Bethanie Alderson, Isabel Dayman and the team.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Welsh football team named worst in UK ends 74-year wait for trophy
A football team once dubbed the worst in the UK has won its first trophy in 74 years. Cwm Albion rose to prominence by losing all their games and racking up an astonishingly bad -191 goal difference in the Swansea Senior League Division 4 just two seasons ago. However, the team has since enjoyed a remarkable turnaround in fortunes, culminating in winning the Maes-Y-Gollen Cup last weekend in what was their first final since 1999. READ MORE: Paul Scholes' heartbreaking admission about son as daughter dated famous rugby star READ MORE: Cardiff City manager favourite confirms offers on the table and is 'ready to go' Albion saw off Talycoppa AFC in a tense 2-1 victory, with goals coming from Richard Davies and Gary Halligan, who struck either side of Lee Jones' equaliser. The result caps a hugely impressive rise for the club, who once drafted in former Premier League manager Harry Redknapp in December 2023 in a bid to turn around their staggeringly bad run of form. Redknapp was on hand to offer support and face-to-face training as part of a campaign by Specsavers to find a team in need of help. Now the club are toasting one of their finest moments of their 113-year history. Manager Dan Gill said: 'It's a fantastic result, I can't quite believe it. To think where we were a couple of seasons ago – winning zero games, getting battered every week, finishing bottom of the table by a country mile – to now being in the top half of the table and winning the cup… we're just unrecognisable. 'I'm so proud of the team and the club, at the very start of our last season we were at our lowest point that I can remember. Then the Specsavers Best Worst Team campaign gave us that push that we needed, helped us get more players wanting to join, and we're winning more, scoring more and conceding less.' Last week, the reserve team also made it through to the final of the Swansea Reserve Cup, with Colin Gill, Dan's father among those in the starting line-up. Colin said: 'It's a huge achievement and the turnaround has been massive. We couldn't get a full team on the pitch two seasons ago, and now we're reaching finals and winning trophies. 'We've certainly been enjoying the celebrations. It's great to see so much hard work pay off. We have other clubs coming over to us after games asking how we managed to keep the club going when we were conceding ten goals a game – it's such a huge moment to get to this point.'
ABC News
22-05-2025
- General
- ABC News
ABC News SA: Vet bill nearly cost Frankie the cat his life
ABC News SA ABC NEWS News Bulletin Informative Watch Article share options Share this on Facebook Twitter Send this by Email Copy link WhatsApp Messenger News from where we live. ABC News SA brings you the day's top stories, exclusive investigations and original reporting on issues that matter to you. Presented by Jessica Harmsen, plus Richard Davies, Candice Prosser, Bethanie Alderson, Isabel Dayman and the team.
