Tourists spent £857m in East Lindsey last year, says report

Stuart Pearcey
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Tourists spent £857m in East Lindsey last year, says report
Tourists poured more than £857m into the East Lindsey area of Lincolnshire last year alone, according to a new report by Global Tourism Solutions. The findings show the £857.49million of investment from tourists to be the highest since the data was first recorded in 2013, up from the previous record of £824.2million in 2022. Councillor Adam Grist, portfolio holder for market towns and the rural economy at East Lindsey District Council, said: “It is fantastic to see tourism continue to grow and play such an important role in our local economy in East Lindsey, and especially in the Lincolnshire Wolds where we can see an incredible increase in visitors and support “The support these visitors bring to our local businesses, attractions and food and drink suppliers cannot be underestimated, and I hope we will continue to see these figures grow as we further expand our offer to tourists and add to our unique offer of events, activities and sights for people to enjoy.” The report also outlines an increase in overall visitors, with 4.57million people visiting East Lindsey across 2023, up from the 4.48million overall in 2022, including an 8.2% increase in those visiting just for the day, 2.77million in total. Across the key months of July, August and September over £350million of economic benefit was brought the area by 1.68million summer visitors. Shopping and local hospitality were the areas to benefit most, with £155million spent in shops and over £145million in cafes, restaurants and bars across East Lindsey. The number of tourism-related jobs also continued to slowly increase, up to 8,943 from 8,918 the previous year. The Lincolnshire Wolds in particular continued to rise significantly in popularity in 2023, owing to new tourism campaigns and a constantly expanding variety of unique events and activities, such as the Lincolnshire Wolds Outdoor Festival, Horncastle Horse Fair and Louth Food and Drink Festival In total the Wolds saw a 7.5% increase to over 3.5million visitors over the course of the year, with the economic benefit of their stays rising by an incredible 16.4% to £254.96million. Councillor Steve Kirk, portfolio holder for the coastal economy at East Lindsey District Council, said: “East Lindsey and its beautiful coastline is now firmly on the map for people to visit and enjoy, with our stunning blue flag beaches, the state-of-the-art facilities we are creating through Towns Fund and other transformational funding and our brilliant local hospitality and other businesses attracting people here every year. “This is such an exciting time for the East Lindsey coast, and our offer continues to expand as we achieve more national investment and work with our community to add to our ambitious plans for the area. We’re establishing ourselves as a primary destination for people across the UK and beyond to visit, and I can’t wait to continue the journey going forwards.”

The Mouse House Cheese Co. launches new cheese to celebrate 30 years of Lincs & Notts Air Ambulance

Tess Egginton
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The Mouse House Cheese Co. launches new cheese to celebrate 30 years of Lincs & Notts Air Ambulance
The Mouse House Cheese Co. has launched a new cheese to celebrate 30 years of Lincs & Notts Air Ambulance (LNAA). The Lincolnshire cheesemakers, based in Thorpe St Peter, Lincolnshire, have chosen a special smoked cheese to mark the occasion. Mollie Haines, Founder of The Mouse House Cheese Co., said: “We are so excited to launch this cheese to celebrate Lincs & Notts Air Ambulance’s 30th Anniversary. It is a special choice as it is one of our original cheeses we produce on the farm, which is an applewood smoked cheese infused with paprika and coal smoked directly on our farm.” The Mouse House Cheese Co. are a proud supporter of LNAA and already stock a LNAA Charity Gift Box. Every time a purchase is made, £8 is donated directly to the charity.  Since its launch in July 2023, £3,110 has been raised, helping to keep the iconic yellow helicopter in the sky and its fleet of critical care cars on the roads, 24 hours-a-day, 365-days-a-year. Joe Harper, LNAA’s Corporate Partnerships Manager, said: “We are incredibly grateful for the fantastic support from all the team at The Mouse House Cheese Co. This year is looking to be our busiest year on record with our crews already responding to 1,193 missions. “This partnership supports our vital work, ensuring that our crews will be by the side of even more patients, providing life-saving treatments to some of the most critically ill and injured people in Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire and beyond.” Mollie understands that being situated in such a remote location, should a critical incident occur, the need for the air ambulance would be vital in bringing a life-saving crew to the scene within minutes. She summed up: “They provide an essential service, especially for rural areas. The Mouse House is based at our farm at Lymn Bank, and we are aware of the need for the air ambulance in an emergency. “As a family run business, we want to make a difference and support this important charity which carries out such an important role. We hope that we never need the LNAA, but to have the reassurance that it is there is vital to us.” The cheese is available to purchase from the Mouse House Cheese Co. shop on Steep Hill, Lincoln, over the phone, as well as online at mousehousecheese.co.uk.

New life for ruined and worn out textiles in Tesco and Salvation Army trial

Tess Egginton
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New life for ruined and worn out textiles in Tesco and Salvation Army trial
The Salvation Army is known for its longstanding commitment to reuse and recycling. To tackle the problem of unwearable clothing and household linens which cannot be reused, Salvation Army Trading Company Ltd (SATCoL), the trading arm of the charity, is running a regional trial in partnership with Tesco which aims to encourage customers to donate worn out textiles to specially designed textile collection banks. SATCoL has a long-established relationship with Tesco that includes their in-store Takeback Scheme and over 2,000 clothing banks located at Tesco carparks. Their latest venture aims to extend their efforts to reduce textiles waste, in collaboration with the ACT UK (Automatic-sorting for Circularity in Textiles), and led by the UK Fashion and Textile Association. ACT UK is a group of brands, retailers, textile recyclers, industry associations, technologies, clothing manufacturers and academic institutions which will pioneer automated sorting and pre-processing facilities which could eventually divert thousands of tonnes of textile waste from landfill and disposal each year.​ ​This trial will last for 6 months and SATCoL has placed 18 new textile collection banks at Tesco recycling sites, with further banks placed at two Household Waste Recycling Centres in the East of England. The trial will ask donors to separate clothing and home textiles into two different textile banks – one for reusable items titled Wear Again and the other for non-reusable items for recycling titled Worn Out. Donors will be given information on the front of each bank to explain the textiles that can be deposited. The 18 Tesco sites and 2 Household Waste Recycling Centre in the East of England selected for the 6-month trial are as follows:
Tesco Superstore, 71 High Street, Kidlington OX5 2DN
Tesco Extra, Copdock Interchange, Ipswich IP8 3TS
Tesco Superstore, Brook Retail Park, London Road, Clacton-on-Sea CO15 4EF
Tesco Superstore, Thorpe Road, Melton Mowbray LE13 1SQ
Tesco Extra, Church Street, Lichfield WS13 6DZ
Tesco Extra, Power Station Road, Rugeley WS15 2HS
Tesco Extra, 1 Armada Way, Royal Dock Road, Beckton E6 7FB
Tesco Extra, Bridge Road, Dover Corner, Rainham RM13 9YZ
Tesco Superstore, Cedars Link Road, Stowmarket IP14 5BE
Tesco Extra, Cygnet View, Lakeside, Grays RM20 1TX
Tesco Extra, 15-18 Viking Way, Bar Hill CB23 8EL
Tesco Superstore, Cambridge Road Industrial Estate, Cambridge Road, Milton CB24 6AY
Tesco Superstore, London Road, Tring HP23 5NB
Tesco Narbourgh LE3 5LH
FCC Environment, Fengate Household Recycling Centre, Dodson House, Fengate PE1 5XG
Grantham – HWRC – Alexandra Road NG31 7AH
Tesco Extra, Oakley Road, Corby NN18 8AL
Tesco Superstore, Ropes Drive, Kesgrave IP5 2FU
Tesco Extra, Anson Road, Martlesham Heath IP5 3RU
Tesco Superstore, Lakeview Drive, Bicester OX26 6WA
  A media campaign titled #RuinedNotWasted to engage, inspire and empower citizens in the 20 chosen communities for the trial, will form part of the activity and help raise the profile for this initiative in the East of England region. The campaign images and video content will feature examples of everyday mishaps with clothing and household linens, as well as worn out items, with a clear message that asks people to sort their textiles and donate to the trial ‘Worn Out, Wear Again’ clothing banks. As part of the trial, Salvation Army Trading Company will analyse donations to understand more about motivations and changes in donor behaviour. Donors are also able to continue to donate good quality clothing to the Wear Again banks which provides donations and raises funds for The Salvation Army. There are approx. 9,000 clothing banks and over 240 charity shops across the UK operated by SATCoL on behalf of the parent charity. Bernie Thomas, Circular Economy and Sustainability Manager at SATCoL, shared: “Recycling-only collections could help capture more of the 300,000 tonnes of clothing that is presently disposed of in household bins each year. Separating items in this way, at source, could help make sure that worn out textiles are given a second life. Rather than being wasted, recyclable textiles would be collected and reprocessed at scale, using innovative textiles recycling technology to repurpose textile fabrics and fibres back into new products.” For more information follow #acttakeback or visit​ www.acttakeback.org or www.satcol.org/nrt

Home Office abandons plans to house asylum seekers at RAF Scampton

Stuart Pearcey
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Home Office abandons plans to house asylum seekers at RAF Scampton
Plans to house asylum seekers at RAF Scampton have been axed as the Home Office has decided the site is not value for money. Opening the site from this autumn as planned would have cost a total of £122m by the end of its use in 2027, and £60m has already been spent on the site. This change in direction has been welcomed by the Leader of West Lindsey District Council, Cllr Trevor Young, who said: “We have always been clear that the best use for this historic, key strategic asset was to unlock the potential to drive economic growth and prosperity in our place, for Lincolnshire and beyond. “Today we can finally put to bed an incredibly difficult period for our community and focus time, energy and resource on this once in a generation opportunity to honour the heritage of this site through regeneration and the delivery of investment in jobs and skills. “The Council now look forward to finalising plans with SHL which have necessarily had to pause whilst the issues played out. We are incredibly grateful for the ongoing support and commitment from SHL, and the patience they have shown us, whilst working through the issues. We hope that our collaboration can now accelerate at pace.” Peter Hewitt, Chairman of Scampton Holdings Limited said: “We must now put this period behind us, roll up our sleeves and work together to unlock the true potential of Scampton for generations to come. “We look forward to concluding our contract with West Lindsey District Council and moving into a period where we can work both with investors and the local community to achieve something very special in the defence, air and space sector in this unique corner of Lincolnshire.” Sally Grindrod-Smith, Director of Planning, Regeneration and Communities for the Council said: “Work will now progress at pace to conclude the necessary contracting arranging and secure formal, long term access to the site. In the meantime, it will be important to work with the Home Office to ensure any works already completed on site can be decommissioned and removed sensitively so as to protect the heritage of the site’. Work to close the site will begin immediately with the sale happening in line with the process for disposing of Crown land.

Development consent awarded for solar project near Gainsborough

Stuart Pearcey
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Development consent awarded for solar project near Gainsborough
The Secretary of State has given development consent to solar power project stretching around the east and south of Gainsborough. It’s the Cottam Solar Project, a solar and energy storage project that would cross the county border between Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire, which is being developed by Island Green Power. It’s the 85th such scheme of 142 applications submitted so far.

The Cottam Solar Project is named after its grid connection point at the existing National Grid substation at Cottam Power Station. The proposals involve a series of four site areas, known as Cottam 1, 2, 3a and 3b, which will host solar arrays, grid connection infrastructure and energy storage facilities.

The proposals also involve cable route corridors, accesses and environmental mitigation and enhancement measures. The development stretches from north of Blyton, through Corringham to an area bordered by Willingham, Fillingham, and Sturton, before turning west to cross the Trent near Marton en route to Cottam.

Island Green Power has delivered 26 solar projects worldwide totalling more than 1GW of capacity. This includes 14 solar projects in the UK and Republic of Ireland

Go ahead given to build first phase of Barton link road

Tess Egginton
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0
Go ahead given to build first phase of Barton link road
Plans to build the first phase of Barton-upon-Humber’s link road – connecting Barrow Road, the A1077 and Caistor Road – have been given the go ahead. North Lincolnshire Council’s planning committee has approved the latest multi-million pound investment to the area’s road network, which will help reduce congestion through the town. Residents will also benefit from nine miles of new cycling routes, as travel around Barton becomes safer and easier. Three miles of paths will also be updated. The transformation of the town’s travel infrastructure has been made possible after a successful North Lincolnshire Council bid for near £20m of funding. Cllr Rob Waltham, leader, North Lincolnshire Council, said: “We have spent a long time over several rounds of consultation listening to and meeting residents in Barton to see how they would like their town to develop. I’m delighted we are now in a position to drive forward with the plans. “These are once in a generation improvements that will make a huge difference to local people – residents told us they wanted to see the amount of HGV traffic passing through the town reduced, alongside more convenient access to shopping areas, homes and schools. This is what the new link road and brand-new cycling network will help to achieve.” The investment has already seen improvements made to Barton’s passenger interchange – with more upgrades still to come. To support the active travel boost of the new cycling network, covered cycle parking will be added, including a charging point for e-bikes. EV charging points will also be included in the extended station car park, with bus shelter improvements and real-time passenger information works also in the pipeline. A tender will launch in Autumn 2024 – with businesses invited to submit their application on YORtender. The works in Barton are the latest multi-million pound development on North Lincolnshire’s road network. Earlier this summer, work started on the new Burringham bypass, which will reduce congestion at Berkeley Circle and cut commuting times to and from Scunthorpe.
  Image credit: Stock.adobe.com/shintartanya

Residents asked to weigh in on name for new Sutton-on-Sea Colonnade site

Tess Egginton
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Residents asked to weigh in on name for new Sutton-on-Sea Colonnade site

A survey has been launched to give Sutton-on-Sea residents the opportunity to share their thoughts on a name for the new Colonnade and Pleasure Gardens site that is currently under construction.

Following meetings and suggestions with resident groups, a shortlist of five names was drawn up for East Lindsey District Council to consider, and these options are now being put out for people to vote for their favourite via a short online form. The shortlist of names to choose from are for The Sutton-on-Sea:
  • Colonnade
  • Seaview Colonnade
  • Pavilion
  • Sea Front
  • Tide’s Edge Terrace.
The survey is open to Sutton-on-Sea residents until Monday 30 September, and can be completed at www.e-lindsey.gov.uk/NameSurvey – with posters with QR codes to the form also being put up around the site over the coming weeks. The Colonnade development is a £7.5million project forming part of the government supported Mablethorpe Towns Fund, working with the Connected Coast Board to bring new opportunities and transform communities in the area. Initial works started in September 2023, and is expected to be operational before the 2025 summer season. The first phase of work will provide residents and visitors with a new state-of-the-art pavilion, including a café and restaurant, a Changing Places toilet and exhibition space. New beach huts will also be included as part of this phase of the works, as well as enhancements to the Pleasure Gardens to create additional seating areas, and space for pop-up events and markets. There will also be planting and community gardens, whilst retaining popular existing features including the paddling pool area. Councillor Martin Foster, the Council’s champion for the project, said: “It has been fantastic to see such great progress with the Colonnade site in recent months, and hope that having a name for the development that the community have invested in will help make it feel that bit closer to becoming a reality. “I know many residents are excited for work to be complete and these new state-of-the-art facilities to be open to enjoy, bringing new tourism and income for the town, creating new jobs and opportunities, and providing residents and visitors with a place to view our stunning Eastern coastline from. I hope lots of people will take the chance to have their say on the name of this important new landmark for Sutton-on-Sea and the whole of East Lindsey.”
  Image: Sutton-on-Sea – credit: Stock.adobe.com/mparratt

Duo of projects proposed changing how people move around Grimsby Town Centre

Tess Egginton
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Duo of projects proposed changing how people move around Grimsby Town Centre
A duo of projects are being proposed that would change the way we move around Grimsby Town Centre. Two reports are going through North East Lincolnshire Council’s decision-making process this month, both seeking approval to progress with schemes that will redesign car parking and public transport use in Grimsby Town Centre. The reports covering two car parks and a new Transport Hub will first be discussed at a meeting of the Transport, Infrastructure and Strategic Housing Scrutiny Panel on September 10th, before going on to Cabinet. Abbey Walk and Burgess Street Car Parks: This report goes into detail about options for both. It seeks approval for the demolition and redevelopment of the current multi-storey at Abbey Walk as a surface car park whilst improving Burgess Street Car Park at the same time. The Abbey Walk facility was built in 1969 by Holst & Company of Scunthorpe at a cost of approximately £200,000. Whilst a key asset for the town centre, the car park was closed in May this year, after structural defects were found. This was water ingress into key structural supports, making the car park potentially unsafe to use. Since then, four options have been identified in the report and costed for the future of the car park, from maintaining it as is, to demolition and replacement either with a surface car park, a two-storey structure or like for like multi-storey. The costed options are currently estimated as between £1.5m and £7m, with finalised costings only available once the next stage of more detailed project work is carried out. The current recommended option is to demolish the car park and replace with a 120-space surface car park with the improvements to Burgess Street being done at the same time. This would allow more use of Burgess Street. Funding for this scheme would initially be sought from the Council’s capital programme, with other funding sources being explored to reduce the impact on the council resources. If approved, the next stage would be to work up detailed design and costings before submitting any traffic regulation orders or planning permissions that may be required. Transport Hub: This report outlines the next steps towards the creation of a Transport Hub on a 1.6acre site off Osborne Street in the town centre. The report, which states how the scheme will ‘complement and enhance other regeneration activities across the wider Grimsby Town Centre’, asks for approval for various actions to take forward the hub concept. The proposed hub, says the report, would be sited behind current vacant units on Osborne Street which the council owns and are due to be demolished. It would also include the use of the car park at Garden Street. If this report is approved, it would allow work to go ahead to work up and deliver phase one of a ‘multi-functional’ hub for buses, cycles and other users – connecting people with the railway station. It would bring all the existing town centre bus stops together. “The residents of North East Lincolnshire deserve a fit for purpose transportation hub that allows quick easy access to public transport services in a central location near to rail, retail and town centre amenities,” says the report. It outlines how finances to fund phase one of this hub would be supported by £1.7m from the Bus Service Improvement Plan. It is anticipated that a further £1.9m would be provided through the Greater Lincolnshire Combined County Authority (GLCCA), subject to approval. If the paper is approved, the next stage would be to consult with people and businesses and carry out preliminary surveys before finalising the design, and submitting a planning application for the site. The council’s Cabinet meets on 18 September to discuss proposals for the schemes, following the discussions at the Scrutiny Panel.  
Image credit: North East Lincolnshire Council

Rugby club renovation gets additional cash boost

Tess Egginton
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Rugby club renovation gets additional cash boost
Stamford Rugby Club is to receive an extra £55,000 to help with its renovation work, paid for by developers of a nearby housing build. The money is a result of a planning agreement known as a s106 allocation. In June 2021, South Kesteven District Council’s Cabinet approved the distribution of funds to improve the sports facilities at Empingham Road Playing Fields. The money came as a result of a planning agreement relating to permission granted for a sustainable extension to the Stamford West development, which included residential and affordable housing, a business park and a local centre, associated highways improvements, pedestrian and cycle links, landscaping, and open space. The agreement stated that the money must be used to “provide, enhance, or upgrade the existing sports facilities at the Empingham Road Playing Field.” Cabinet Member for Planning, Cllr Phil Dilks, said: “The original Cabinet made provision for £55,000 to be allocated to the provision of new play equipment for the adjacent Lonsdale Road Play Area. “As there is currently no requirement for new equipment, this allocation is being transferred to the Rugby Club project.” The Rugby Club is now to receive a total £297,890 as part of the planning process, from a total £322,470 which has also benefited Stamford Indoor Bowls Club, Stamford Outdoor Bowls and Stamford Lions Club. The original allocation to the Rugby Club was based on the demolition and rebuild of their Club House. The Club is still fully focused on improving facilities. But since the original funding allocation, there has been substantial inflation within the construction sector, which affected the Club’s ability to fund a completely new building. Instead, plans have now been put in place for a complete refurbishment of existing building and playing facilities.
  Image credit: Stock.adobe.com/Stockfotos-MG

Sale of Lincolnshire agricultural machinery business saves 68 jobs

Tess Egginton
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Sale of Lincolnshire agricultural machinery business saves 68 jobs
Sixty-eight jobs in Lincolnshire have been saved following the pre-pack sale of the Burdens Group. Headquartered in Boston, the company supplied a wide range of farm and groundcare machinery from leading manufacturers including New Holland, Horizon, Amarzone and JPM Trailers. From tractors and combine harvesters to trailers and mowers, its customers included farmers, groundcare professionals and potato growers across the UK. The Burdens Group offered both new and used agricultural machinery for sale from its depots in Sutterton, North Kyme, Louth and Brigg. It also had a division providing agricultural machinery for hire. The company began to experience financial difficulties due to the pressures facing the farming sector following poor weather during 2023 and 2024, resulting in poor crop yields, and this was exacerbated by changes to EU subsidies. These issues resulted in farmers reducing their investment in new machinery which had a significant impact on the company’s turnover. Joint administrators Gareth Rusling and Robert Dymond of Begbies Traynor were subsequently appointed as joint administrators on 19th August and a sale of the business and assets was immediately completed to Russell’s (Kirbymoorside) Limited in Malton and Stevenage-based Ernest Doe & Sons Limited, representing the northern and southern sales respectively. The sales secured 68 jobs therefore reducing total creditor claims. A significant amount of tangible assets which were not sold to either purchaser will be disposed of by Eddisons Commercial Limited and are likely to be sold via auction. “Having traded successfully for more than 40 years, the Burdens Group was a victim of problems hitting the farming sector with bad weather and changes to EU subsidies resulting in its key customer base reducing their spend,” explains joint administrator Gareth Rusling of Begbies Traynor. “We worked hard to quickly conclude a sale to two experienced agricultural businesses, and it’s fantastic that the sales have saved the jobs of 68 people.”   Image credit: Stock.adobe.com/NAMPIX
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