City centre tarmac patches on pavements in Lincoln to be removed

Lincolnshire County Council is embarking on a £250,000 pavement repairs project along Lincoln High Street across the coming months, fixing and replacing tarmac patchwork and damaged blocks along the pedestrianised area.

The authority has already started work on repairing and replacing damaged or missing stonework on the pedestrianised High Street, with fencing in place around a square of land at Speakers Corner.

The work will move along the High Street in the coming days, weeks and months.

Tarmac patchwork has been an issue that has blighted the appearance of Lincoln High Street for over a year now, with damaged slabs or stones being replaced with tarmac fills rather than slabs.

The council says tarmac is a temporary measure for safety purposes while they wait for the correct materials to be cut to order and made available.

The most notable piece of this work was at the bottom of the pedestrianised area, where Anglian Water removed the original brickwork to install a pressure reduction valve, before laying back over it with tarmac in March 2023.

This remained in place for over a year, and was not replaced with the original pavement material until May 2024, due to a wait for a “specialist quarry” to get the correct blocks.

It’s also been an issue uphill, with tarmac weaved between the historic cobbles of Bailgate and the Cathedral Quarter earlier this year.

Tarmac has been described as “a real eyesore” for residents, tourists and business owners alike, but it would appear Lincolnshire County Council are set to tackle the issue head-on.

The authority confirmed that some £250,000 will be spent on pavement repairs and improvements over the next twelve months.

This appears to be starting along Lincoln High Street, with signage and fencing up around a section of dug-up paving outside Pandora, by Speaker’s Corner.

Signage at the site says work will last until November 30, but the council has now said this is for the wider High Street works, rather than this specific patch of repairs.

Karen Cassar, assistant director for highways said: “The signage is correct that a crew will be working on the High Street between those dates, but the work to carry out the repairs to slabs and blockwork will be moving around to various different locations in the area.

“The dates on the sign that go on until November don’t relate to just this small area outside of that specific shop, but include the entire stretch of the High Street that is getting footpath improvement works.

“We will get the dates changed on the signs so that they are more specific with timescales when the boards are put out, to avoid any confusion in the future.”

It is expected that each area will take around 3-5 days to excavate, cut new slabs, re-lay and tidy up, but the council says there is “no exact science” on the timings, so jobs could take a little longer.