Lincolnshire Council Rejects Proposal to Downgrade Poor-Condition Roads

Plans to remove tarmac from certain low-use roads in Lincolnshire have been ruled out by council leaders, who described the idea as a step backwards in managing the county’s highway network.

The proposal, known as “unmetalling”, had been put forward by highways officers as a potential cost-saving measure to help address wider maintenance pressures. It would have involved downgrading some of the least-used routes—particularly rural roads serving limited properties.

However, at an executive meeting on 8 April, senior councillors declined to adopt the approach, arguing it would signal a retreat from maintaining the network.

Council leader Sean Matthews acknowledged the proposal as innovative but said it was not something the administration could support. Other members raised concerns that such a move would undermine public confidence and represent a form of managed decline rather than progress.

Councillor Danny Brookes told the meeting the policy would suggest the council was unable to keep pace with maintenance demands, while Councillor Natalie Oliver described it as inconsistent with ambitions around innovation and efficiency.

The concept has been used on a limited basis in the past, with 72 instances recorded since 1999, but it will not form part of the council’s forward strategy.

Jonathan Evans, head of highways, had previously described the idea as a “bolder” option to help balance the cost of maintaining a large network. Lincolnshire currently manages more than 9,000km of roads, including around 390km of unmetalled routes.

The proposal has now been removed from the council’s updated highways strategy, which will guide how the network is maintained over the next three years.