£2m Grantham High Street regeneration plan thrown into doubt
Council leaders clash over future of town centre funding after budget removal
The future of a £2-million regeneration project for Grantham High Street is uncertain after the funding was taken out of the council’s 2026/27 budget.
The money had originally been set aside to improve the town centre once the Grantham Relief Road was completed - including plans to make the high street more pedestrian-friendly.
But Reform-led Lincolnshire County Council says the money has already been spent.
Council leader Sean Matthews told the Local Democracy Reporting Service:
“I don’t know if it will go ahead - we’ll see.
“The money was given to the previous administration to spend, and when the Grantham Relief Road wasn’t finished, they spent the money elsewhere.
“There isn’t a pot of £2m sitting there waiting to be used. Conservatives want a debt promise in the budget, and we’re not going to do that.
“When the time’s right, when the relief road is finished, we’ll look at that and see whether it’s worth investing then. That’s two or three years away.”
Conservative leader Richard Davies described the decision as a “kick in the teeth” for the town, saying:
“Despite our desperate efforts to get Reform to see sense, they’ve pulled the money. It’s hard to understand the logic when you consider the variety of excuses.
“The paperwork says it’s to reduce borrowing. There are claims work has already been done, which is not true.
“We wanted them to keep the allocation for future spending, and recognise that the council represents the whole of Lincolnshire.”
It remains unclear whether the regeneration project has now been shelved permanently.