Damn frustrating today to have the start of the public inquiry delayed by a few weeks due as the incorrect public signs not being been posted onsite.
No excuses it was a cock-up.
However, the county council’s project team was able to get three of five objections removed – those from Network Rail, Grantham Motor Company and a member of the public.
We also met with Western Power this morning, who have confirmed that they will be removing their objection to the scheme and are in the process of doing just that.
As a result, we’re now in close contact with Zurich’s agents and have agreed, in principle, to a proposal that satisfies their requirements and could lead to also having their objection removed later this week.
So it does look like all objections are now going to be withdrawn but a public inquiry may still be required. However, Central Government’s decision process should move faster than normal, meaning we may be able to start work on the second phase of the project sooner than expected.
Despite this hiccup in the process caused by an administrative error on the council’s end, I’m still confident that the scheme won’t be delayed and work on the relief road will continue in 2019 as planned.
A new start date for the inquiry, likely after Christmas, will be decided by the end this week.