West Street

IN TIMES PAST, West Street was a much sought after address and many of the town's most important people lived here. Today, it is one of Bourne's main thoroughfares, beginning at the town centre, and is actually the A151 trunk road from Spalding which goes on to Corby Glen and Colsterworth, and thence to the Great North Road or A1, although there is a turn off a mile outside town where the road becomes the A6121 into Stamford.

It is therefore a popular route, particularly for commercial vehicles, and in the absence of an east-west bypass, and no prospect of one in the immediate future, Bourne will continue to be used as a through route by lorries and container vehicles, much to the detriment of those who live here.

Most of the buildings were originally private homes, some with shop premises below and the owners living above, but today they are devoted mainly to retail and commercial activities, offices and shops, although there are still some residential properties, mostly flats above and behind shops, with a few of the old town houses vainly trying to cling to their Victorian splendour amid an ever increasing flow of traffic that is constantly impeded by vehicles parked on the north side.

Double yellow lines prohibit this on the south side but this restriction is frequently ignored. On busy days, or if roadworks are taking place or a delivery vehicle parks illegally for a long period, this stretch of road is liable to become a traffic jam at any moment and as a result, the rest of the town soon becomes gridlocked for long periods.

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