Care and nursing homes in the Country Court group have welcomed young people into their homes throughout this academic year as part of the YOPEY Dementia Befriender initiative. This important intergenerational work is coordinated by Tony Gearing MBE of the charity YOPEY which builds relationships between care home operators and secondary schools. Established in 2012, YOPEY gives young people the opportunity to contribute to their communities through volunteering to provide company to elderly people living in care homes. At St John’s Care Home in Spalding residents enjoyed meeting sixth-form students from Spalding Grammar School. Natalie Parnham, Home Manager at St John’s Care Home, said: “Over the months, the students have built up meaningful relationships with our residents, many of whom are living with dementia. We can see the students’ visits have a positive impact on people’s moods and overall wellbeing. “In addition, they are a fantastic opportunity for young people to gain first-hand experience of dementia and learn about life in a care home. We hope the experience will inspire some to pursue a career in the care sector.” Tony Gearing said: “YOPEY loves giving young people the opportunity to both enrich the lives of care home residents but also to learn wisdom from their elders. Following our training, sixth-formers from Spalding Grammar are doing a great job at St John’s, a lovely care home.” After her visit student Milena said: “I met a new resident named Peter who was part of the army and the navy…. Peter talked about his time there and we talked about history (the world wars mainly). “He mentioned the countries he served in and what the borders between countries looked like. We also talked about which books we liked, and he read us some poems (from memory). He told us that he came from Ireland and talked about his family.” Student Oliwia reported: “I met a resident called Dave who gave me some encouragement, and good life advice. This was a very enjoyable conversation.” Student Jack said: “The residents were very friendly and greeted me with a kiss on the cheek. This was nice because it made me feel welcomed and that they appreciated my time there.” Natalie Parnham, Home Manager at St John’s Care Home, added: “Here at St John’s Care Home, we have first-hand experience of how challenging life can be for families who have a loved one living with dementia.  “We know our residents benefit from being in such a supportive community here in Spalding, where we can take advantage of initiatives such as the YOPEY Dementia Befriender Community Partnership.” For more information about life at St John’s Care Home please contact stjohns@countrycourtcare.com or call 01775 710567.

West Lindsey District Council has reached an agreement with the Home Office to explore temporary dual use of Lincolnshire’s former RAF Scampton site, marking a significant step forward in securing the council’s vision to deliver its regeneration plans for the site through collaboration. Under the agreement, outstanding legal action will be withdrawn. The Home Office, which has planning permission awarded through a Special Development Order can use the site for a fixed period of time, up to October 2027 and has agreed to house a significantly reduced number of asylum seekers. The agreement also allows the council to use a portion of the land to pursue the regeneration of the site with preferred development partner Scampton Holdings Limited. The Home Office will retain just 10% of the site to temporarily house up to 800 asylum seekers – compared to the original 2,000. Leader of West Lindsey District Council, Cllr Trevor Young said the agreement is the culmination of weeks of negotiations with the Home Office and the result provides the community and investors greater certainty for the long-term future of the site. He said:“The specific details of the agreement are still being finalised, but this agreement paves the way forward for the short-term and long-term use of the site. “The council have always been clear that whilst it is our view that the site is unsuitable for large scale asylum accommodation, protecting the investment and regeneration plans for the site is a priority. This agreement provides the principles by which we can collaborate to unlock our investment and regeneration plan by working with the Home Office through a shared use proposal.” Cllr Young thanked the community for its continued support and said the council will focus its scrutiny and challenge to ensure the impact of asylum accommodation on the local community is as little as possible. The Home Office has committed to working with the council and Historic England to protect the heritage of the site, which is the former home of the Dambusters. Two listed hangars, the listed officers’ mess and Wing Commander Guy Gibson’s dog’s grave will be transferred to West Lindsey District Council once a legal agreement is in place, with the remaining listed hangars being transferred in 2026. As previously announced, the £300m of investment into the regeneration of the former RAF Scampton will preserve, protect, and enhance the site by providing aviation heritage, business, aerospace, space and education opportunities. Sally Grindrod-Smith, Director of Planning, Regeneration and Communities at West Lindsey District Council said:  “This marks a turning point in the council’s journey to protect the £300 million investment and regeneration plan. Our strategy to challenge every detail and hold the Home Office to account has successfully delivered the conditions in which the opportunity to collaborate and deliver a temporary, shared use of the site now exists. “This includes a significant reduction in operating capacity of the asylum accommodation centre, a vastly reduced Home Office footprint, and a suite of conditions on the Special Development Order designed to mitigate the impact of the development. “I am confident that over the coming months we can continue to use our energy and passion to protect this site and to develop an innovative and creative shared use proposal which allows for the kickstarting of plans to bring significant investment into West Lindsey and Lincolnshire.”

The International Bomber Command Centre in Lincoln has welcomed its 500,000th visitor since opening in 2018. Simon Poole was the lucky visitor, visiting with his family for the IBCC’s annual InSpire Ride event. The momentous milestone achievement was celebrated by the team at the IBCC as Simon was given a family goodie bag. The centre which has a focus on Recognition, Remembrance and Reconciliation, includes a Memorial Spire surrounded by walls containing the names of the 57,861 men and women who lost their lives serving and supporting Bomber Command, 10 acres of peace gardens and the Chadwick Centre which houses immersive and interactive exhibition galleries for visitors to explore. Nicky van der Drift, chief executive of the IBCC, said: “Since opening my team has worked tirelessly to provide the best experience possible for visitors who are coming to learn more about and remember Bomber Command’s history and sacrifices. Hitting the milestone of half a million is quite the achievement, and we’ve reached it in a much shorter time than we could have hoped, particularly given the closure in the pandemic. “In that time, we’ve welcomed people from 54 nations, of all ages, hosted innumerable events, collected 34 different awards and played an important role in both the local and Bomber Command Communities. “Education is at the heart of everything the IBCC does, from introducing visitors to the history of the Command to the 26,000 children who have taken part in our learning programmes. We subsidise all school visits to the Centre to ensure that as many children as possible can learn of the service and sacrifice of those of Bomber Command. “We are funded solely through tickets, events and donations so our ability to further share Bomber Commands’ history during World War II is determined by how much interest the public shows in learning about it. This milestone proves the interest is strong, and we’re looking forward to continuing to answer it for the rest of 2024 and beyond.” Simon, the 500,000th visitor, said: “I’m amazed, I didn’t expect that this morning! We have visited the IBCC before and love it, so to be the milestone visitor is brilliant.” The IBCC’s InSpire Ride event is a charity fundraiser that sees hundreds of motorcyclists travel to the centre for the day to remember those that lost their lives during POW escape from the German prison camp Stalag Luft III on 24 March 1944. This year, for the 80th anniversary of the escape attempt, Steve McQueen’s iconic Triumph motorbike from the film adaption of the attempt, ‘The Great Escape’, was loaned to the IBCC. The International Bomber Command Centre created and utilises the world’s largest free to access digital heritage collection on Bomber Command. The Digital Archive has been carefully developed by an international team of more than 400 volunteers and contains thousands of first-hand historical accounts, photographs and documents from all sides of the war. The Losses Database carries 5.5 million pieces of information of those who perished. It is now a primary source for Ancestry.com and FindMyPast.com.   Image: Simon Poole and his family, the 500,000th visitors to the IBCC

The creation of a new £26 million South Holland Health & Wellbeing Hub has moved a step closer, with the submission of a planning application for the first phase of the project. The application for the transformational South Holland District Council scheme has been validated and will now be assessed by planning officers alongside consultation with neighbours and relevant bodies, with a decision expected in September. There is an intention for construction to get underway in Winter 2024, with the main Hub building opening to the public in Summer 2026. A further outline application for the second phase of work on the Levelling Up project, including an extra care housing scheme, is set to be submitted in the coming weeks. In 2023 the Council was successful in a bid to the Government’s Levelling Up Fund, receiving £20 million of investment for the existing Castle Sports Centre site in Spalding, to address health and wellbeing through the provision of improved sport, recreation and leisure facilities, alongside new health and wellbeing services and facilities for residents. The first phase of the application includes plans for the main Hub building, including the creation of a new two-pool swimming facility, outdoor splash pad, sports hall, gym, fitness studios, wellbeing spaces, café and play zones. New outdoor facilities installed on the site would include a 3G artificial turf floodlit football pitch as well as a separate outdoor multi-use games area, community gardens and park run track. The extra care housing scheme, on the current swimming pool site, would contain specialist accommodation made up of self-contained homes combined with communal areas designed to help people continue to live independently for longer. Submission follows a public consultation on the proposals in March, with 5,000 residents visiting the project’s dedicated website, over 250 attendees to in-person exhibition and drop-in events, and another 250 taking the time to share their thoughts on the plans via the online form or via email. The feedback given has helped the project team to refine the designs, with changes from the previous proposals including additional, accessible toilet provision on the first floor, amendments to site security out of hours, changes to the spectator seating layout at the swimming pool and the inclusion of a raised end in the pool for competition starts. Unfortunately, within the budget available for the project, not all suggestions could be added to the plans. Due to the extremely high installation, operation and maintenance costs the project is not expected to be able to incorporate sauna or steam room facilities, instead prioritising a wider range of sport, wellbeing and physical activity opportunities. Purpose-built balcony or tiered spectator seating for the swimming pool is also not possible within the current plans, but approximately 250 permanent and temporary seats will be available around the main pool for competitions, whilst still ensuring that the facilities cater for the wider community and daily users. Councillor Gary Taylor, the Council’s project sponsor, said: “I am really pleased that we are able to take another significant step towards making this incredible project a reality, and creating brand new facilities that will cater for our whole community for many years to come. “Thank you to everyone who took the time to be part of the consultation process or who has helped to shape the designs so far. Feedback from those who will visit, enjoy and live near the site is invaluable in making sure we can create a truly transformative and well-used Hub for South Holland’s residents.” The submitted plans can be viewed and commented on by visiting www.sholland.gov.uk/FindandComment and searching the planning reference number H16-0462-24. More information on the project is available at southhollandlevellingup.co.uk, and any questions or feedback can be sent to levellingup@sholland.gov.uk.

RNLI lifeguards return for 2024 summer season this weekend (Saturday 25 May). It is expected that the beaches will see large numbers of people heading to the coast as the school summer half-term begins, the RNLI urges people to go to a lifeguarded beach if they plan on getting in the water. The charity’s lifeguards are ready to go this season as they have spent their time honing their skills, training, and preparing for the summer season. This season there will be 80 lifeguards in Tyne and Wear, 82 lifeguards in Yorkshire, 20 lifeguards in Lincolnshire and 80 more will be patrolling Norfolk and Suffolk beaches. Throughout last year there were 1049 incidents across the North and East lifeguarded beaches, and over 1300 people were aided. This season will be as crucial as the previous years, yet the 2024 season also holds a historical importance as the charity celebrates its 200^th anniversary. Lifeguarded beaches will be operational from Saturday 25 May, 10am to 6pm every day. Lifesaving cover will commence at the following beaches from Saturday 6 July: Runswick Bay, Sandsend*, Cayton Bay*, Belvedere*, Bridlington North*, Bridlington South*, Withernsea, Hornsea, Sheringham East, West Runton, East Runton, Cromer West, Hemsby, Great Yarmouth, Southwold South, Lowestoft North, Wells-next-the-Sea. Sutton on Sea beach will be operational on Saturday 13 July, and Redcar lifeguards will commence duties on Saturday 20 July. All lifeguards pride themselves in being fit and as prepared as possible to keep beach users safe each summer. They maintain a level of fitness, which allows them to swim in under 3.5 minutes, and run 200m on sand in 40 seconds. Training is an important ongoing factor for lifeguards, from fitness to operating the equipment and professional development. Ted Morgan, RNLI Lead Lifeguard Supervisor for East of England, said: ‘During pre-season training lifeguards are trained in casualty care, lifesaving skills, rescue techniques and incident management. ‘Our lifeguards also complete multi-agency exercises working with HM Coastguard, East England Ambulance Service and RNLI and independent lifeboat stations.’ It comes in the same week that the RNLI launched its annual Float to Live, water safety campaign, which shows people the technique to use to saves their own lives if they get into trouble in the water. Ahead of the busy half term holidays it has been revealed that 83% of the UK adult population (aged 16-64) expect to visit the coast this summer, and 40% expect to go three times or more. Rivers and lakes will also be popular. The Float to Live advice is: Tilt your head back with ears submerged and try to relax and control your breathing. Use your hands to help you stay afloat and then, once you are through the initial shock, call for help or swim to safety if you can. If you see somebody in trouble, call 999 and ask for the coastguard if you are at the coast, or ask for the fire service if you are inland.