BHS win for bridleway access

Part of a Lincolnshire bridleway that came under threat has been preserved thanks to the British Horse Society (BHS).

Safe access to the bridleway, which crosses the busy A17 at Fosdyke Bridge near Boston, was in the balance after a planning application was submitted to the local authority for the construction of industrial buildings and a car park at a yard on the east side of the road.

BHS access senior executive Henry Whittaker said: “If the application had been successful, riders would, after crossing the road, have had to pass through a yard where HGVs would be making deliveries, obstructing the line of the bridleway.”

Boston Borough Council rejected the application following pressure from BHS staff and volunteers who lodged objections and made a statement at a council committee meeting on 24 July.

Mr Whittaker added: “We’re extremely pleased. This is an important victory for riders in Lincolnshire because this wasn’t just a dead-end bridleway — it was an access point to miles of off-road riding.”

The bridleway links to parts of the BHS National Bridleroute Network.

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