Grantham residents angered as developers seek to drop long-promised bridge

Residents on a Grantham housing estate have voiced frustration after developers moved to scrap a long-standing commitment to build a bridge linking Poplar Farm with nearby Great Gonerby. The proposal is due to go before South Kesteven District Council, where councillors have been advised by officers to approve an application removing the obligation. If agreed, it would end plans for the Pennine Way bridge, a link that formed part of the original permission for the estate more than a decade ago.

For many in this part of Lincolnshire, the issue is about more than a piece of infrastructure. The bridge was intended to connect the development across the East Coast Mainline, giving residents easier access to shops, a tennis club and the NHS Community Diagnostic Centre in Great Gonerby without having to travel through Grantham town centre. Jess Stroud, who lives on the estate, said the planned crossing had influenced her decision to buy there because it would have made it easier to reach family on the other side of town.

She described the move to withdraw it as poor. Another resident, Ron Abram, said he believed developers often tried to avoid costs where possible, although he added that some neighbours may welcome the idea of less through traffic near their homes. Mark Wilson said the bridge had been talked about for years and argued that the promise should now be honoured.

Lincolnshire county councillor Richard Davies was even more blunt, calling the situation a scandal and saying residents had been left without what they were led to expect. Under the original 2011 approval, developers Norfolk Hub and Buckminster were required to build the bridge once 750 homes had been completed on the estate. They now argue that the crossing is no longer necessary because the Grantham Southern Relief Road is close to completion and will provide the traffic mitigation the bridge was originally meant to address.

The developers have also said that dropping the bridge could bring other benefits, including more money for the area, a developer-funded community hall and a lower risk of rat-running if there is no through route across the estate. The debate touches on a familiar issue for communities across Lincolnshire, where large housing schemes are often approved alongside promises of supporting infrastructure. When those commitments are later revisited, it can leave residents questioning what exactly will be delivered as developments expand.

A final decision is expected at a planning committee meeting on Thursday. For people living at Poplar Farm, that ruling will determine whether a bridge once presented as part of the estate's future remains a realistic prospect, or becomes another planning promise that never materialises.

This story was adapted by The Lincoln Post from original reporting by www.bbc.com.