National Highways defends plans to close A1 gaps in Lincolnshire as residents call for action at meeting in Grantham

Residents living near the A1 have questioned plans to close a number of crossings in a bid to make the road safer.

National Highways has announced plans to close 59 gaps on the A1 between Blyth and Stamford, potentially leaving around nine gaps along the 21-mile stretch of road for access and exit.

Nearly 100 people attended a meeting last night (Wednesday) at The Olde Barn Hotel in Marston to address road safety concerns on the A1.

The event, organised by Lincolnshire County Council, gave the public a chance to discuss safety issues on the A1, a known accident hotspot.

Statistics from Lincolnshire Road Safety Partnership showed that on average, about 40 accidents resulting in injury happen each year on the 35km stretch of the A1. In 2024 this rose to 62—five of which were fatal, representing 10% of all the deaths on Lincolnshire’s roads.

It has previously been highlighted that out of nearly 1,000 crashes from 2015 to 2022, 36 were fatal.

Police and highways bosses said they were very much aware of the challenges these accidents presented, including traffic management, emergency response times, and the impact of diversions on local communities.

In a show of hands at the meeting, about 90% of residents were in favour of the plans to close the crossings but questioned the long diversions they would create.

They were also in favour of traffic-calming measures such as speed limit changes and new warning signage.

Concerns were raised about the impact on local businesses, particularly regarding access to venues such as The Olde Barn Hotel, and the need for better infrastructure at junctions like Marston and Long Bennington.

Alistair Ross, from Marston said: “We’ve seen stupid things happen up there—people turning right through the junction and everything else. We all know it’s a really dangerous junction.”​

Tim Found, another Marston resident, added: “You’ll get some idiots that won’t obey signs, of course. But ‘half-measures’—like reinvigorating the cat’s eyes on the A1—makes a huge difference when you’re driving at night or in low visibility.”​

The discussion also highlighted the disparity in funding between regions, with Newark receiving £1billion for improvements while Lincolnshire struggles with limited resources.

The importance of community feedback and proper planning was emphasised.

A discussion also took place on the challenges of redirecting HGVs during road closures, with concerns raised over Lincolnshire County Council’s limited ability to control their movements due to national planning policies, which only allow weight limits as a regulatory measure.

National Highways bosses said that a number of solutions would be considered but that they would have to justify the expenditure.

Costs ranged from nearly £100,000 for road markings to an estimated £22million for “grade-separated junctions” to be installed—and bosses suggested this option would be difficult to justify.

Funding prioritisation, they said, is based on traffic density per lane rather than absolute numbers.

Phil Shaw, route manager for National Highways, said: “We have a limited pot of money, and we have to prioritise based on collision data and congestion.

“I would love to come and say to everyone, we’ll have a grade-separated junction at all 23 of those gaps. That’s not going to happen. So we’re trying to be as realistic and spend taxpayers’ money as efficiently and wisely as we can.”

“We can't just close the gap without doing the proper research and making sure the planned alternative is suitable for that traffic.

"Nothing's been done for a very long time, but it is now happening—that's the difference. We're chipping away.

“We want your feedback, and these forums are ideal. The fact that 90% of you said, 'Yes, let's close all the gaps,' means that when we do put out a consultation, hopefully, we get minimal objections.”

Phil added that, long term, it would be great to improve the A1 to A1(M) standard, telling residents: “We're trying, piece by piece, to make it an achievable thing... hopefully, in 10 years' time, we can actually go to government and say, 'Can we have £500million to do the final touches to take it to an A1(M) standard?'”

However, he could not give a specific time frame.

Following the meeting, Richard Davies, executive member for highways at Lincolnshire County Council, said progress had been made and thanked National Highways for their “fairly frank” answers.

“The big takeaways are that the consultation needs to be improved, but actually, the big push from a lot of people and a lot of the junctions is just ‘get on and do it’.”

He added that highways bosses needed to be candid about the limitations imposed by central government and national policies such as the Highways Act and the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF).

“There are areas where we can work together to make things a bit easier. But, yeah, I think it's been a really useful event and shows you that people want to talk about these issues, and we as local authorities are well-placed to help facilitate that.”

A three-week consultation is due to start on Monday (March 17) for the first 11 gaps to be closed south of Grantham.

National Highways hopes that if all goes well, work on those gaps will start in April, with consultation for a second phase of closures potentially following soon after.