It may have been Friday the 13th but West Deeping residents were not afraid to visit the village hall last night to express concerns to their MP about road safety and water management issues in the village.

The meeting was convened and Chaired by Coun David Ward who sits on the village’s parish council although the meeting was not organised by the council and Coun Ward explained that he was acting in a personal capacity as a resident of the village and not on behalf of the parish council or anyone else. In fact, most Parish Councillors chose not to attend the meeting but instead published a position statement.

About 25 local residents attended the meeting along with the County Councillor and two of the District Councillors who represent the village. At the invitation of residents, Rt Hon Sir John Hayes who is MP for the South Holland and the Deepings also addressed the meeting.

The agenda focused on the safety of the staggered crossroads where King Street crosses the A1175 Stamford Road. There have been a number of accidents in recent years which have caused severe and minor injuries. There are a number of factors which contribute to the problem including the number of lorries using the junction, the speed of vehicles heading to and from the Tallington crossing and drivers using King Street as an alternative route to avoid the busy A15 near Glinton. Despite the level of concern, Lincolnshire County Council has ranked the junction 91st (ninety-first!) in a list of priorities for road improvements in the county.

A forthcoming planning proposal from Cemex to expand the works to extract aggregates is anticipated to increase the amount of vehicular movements by as many as 70 HGVs each day as well as dozens of ancillary vehicles. Furthermore an additional 42 dwellings are expected to be completed this year at the Tallington Lakes Caravan Park which now has an exit on King Street very close to the junction in question.

Coun Ward expressed a preference for a roundabout as a road safety measure but he acknowledged that any improvements would be welcome. These might include improved signage, speed restrictions, traffic lights etc.

In response to a question from District Councillor Ashley Baxter, there was some conjecture about the likelihood of a bridge alternative to Tallington level crossing where morning queues of traffic often extend back to beyond the junction. Despite many years of discussion between villagers, Highways England, Lincolnshire County and other stakeholders, the project has never made it beyond ‘the drawing board’. Neither the MP nor the County Councillor were aware of any firm or feasible proposals currently in progress.

Sir John Hayes MP made a number of pledges to the campaigners. Firstly, he promised to express his opposition to planning applications for further aggregates extractions unless they were accompanied by road safety improvements. Secondly, he promised to contact Lincolnshire County Council to established what action had been taken in response to a meeting between officers with parish councillors back in October 2019. Sir John also told the meeting that he would continue to lobby for a solution to the problem of Tallington level crossing.

Later in the meeting, residents also raised concerns about the continued issues of water and sewerage at the North of the village. Representatives of Anglian Water attended a parish council meeting on 12 February but the complex issues have not been satisfactorily resolved.