Hundreds of trees have been planted in Winterton as part of a project to develop a community orchard. The project is being led by Winterton 2022, which was formed in 2012 as one of 150 Local Trust ‘Big Local’ areas in England and received £1million funding to spend in Winterton over 10 years. Big Local is funded by the National Lottery, and aims to enable residents to make their communities even better places to live. Following public consultation, it was decided to create a green open space which incorporated community fruit growing – recognising the area’s agricultural heritage as well as supporting local wildlife. Humber Forest, the community forest for Hull, East Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire, has supplied grant funding for the trees being planted on the site at Water Lane, Winterton. A total of 450 woodland trees are being planted including oak, silver birch and wild cherry, as well as 86 fruit trees being planted in the orchard, including apple, plum, cherry, and pear. Thirty-three of the fruit trees being planted are special heritage fruit trees paid for by Winterton 2022. In addition, a 250m hedgerow is being planted which will create habitats for wildlife. Pupils from The Winterton Federation School and Winterton Academy joined other community volunteers to plant the trees. Councillor David Rose, cabinet member for environment and strategy at North Lincolnshire Council, said: “North Lincolnshire Council is proud to work with Winterton 2022, Humber Forest and local volunteers to promote tree planting and the recreation of traditional orchards in our area. “A Green Future, our environmental policy, encourages local people to plant the right tree in the right place, as is happening in Winterton. Lincolnshire has 18 little-known traditional apple varieties and two plums, so it’s great to see heritage fruit tree varieties being brought back into our towns and villages.” Kerrie Prowting, Winterton 2022 coordinator, said: “Working with Humber Forest, North Lincolnshire Council and The Conservation Volunteers has allowed us to really kickstart the community orchard, which would have taken us a much longer time otherwise. “We are delighted with the number of volunteers who have turned up to help with this, and we welcome any other volunteers who would like to come forward to help us to plan and implement the next stage which will include planting soft fruits, building footpaths, putting in beehives and nesting boxes, and loads more.” Leah Cave, Humber Forest partnership manager, said: “While planting these trees is something Humber Forest is really proud of, it is the benefit that these trees bring to the community that really matters. “If you are a farmer or landowner and are interested in planting trees on your land, Humber Forest would love to work with you.”

A campaign to safeguard the future of the much-loved Louth landmark has received a promising victory under the guidance of law firm Wilkin Chapman. The firm, which has an office at Louth’s Oxley House, is supporting the ‘Save Louth Legion’ movement and has helped the leaders of the campaign to successfully prevent its sale on the open market for the next six months. With a moratorium granted by East Lindsey District Council, the drive to restore the now-derelict Louth British Legion Hall as a community hub and social space can move forward. Currently disused, the building had been facing sale on the open market after negotiations with the Royal British Legion failed. However, locals now have a vital chance to save the once thriving social hub – if they can raise sufficient funds in time. Local architectural designer James Irvine, leader of the Save Louth Legion campaign, said: “Louth has lost so many social hubs over the years, so something must be done to preserve Louth Legion Hall for future generations – especially as the only truly accessible mid-sized music venue in Louth “We must salvage Louth’s lost community spaces and the ‘Save Louth Legion’ campaign is essential for achieving this. While the news that our appeal has been granted is great news, it is just the beginning of our fight to save the venue. “I grew up in Louth and I, like many other residents, have many wonderful memories of time spent at the Louth British Legion Hall. From birthday parties, wedding receptions, band night jam sessions, craft fairs and blood donations, the hall has been a vital, flexible social hub that gives so much back to the community – we can’t let it be lost. ” With the firm’s help and pro bono legal support, Mr Irvine has successfully applied to register the hall as an asset of community value, which grants a six-month moratorium. During this time, the building cannot legally be sold. Although the Royal British Legion is able to list the building for sale on the open market, it must wait six months to sell – giving the Save Louth Legion campaigners time to raise the funds needed and prepare their bid to purchase the building themselves on behalf of the local community. “We’re thrilled that our appeal has been successful,” added James Irvine. “This gives us a fighting chance to save the building by raising funds and applying for grants through the Community Ownership Fund. Corporate & commercial solicitor at Wilkin Chapman, Kelsey Jerrard, said: “We’re delighted that the application has been successful in the important community campaign to save this local landmark. The team at Wilkin Chapman has reviewed the application drafted by James, and advised on the process of setting up a Charitable Incorporated Organisation  to assist with how the Hall will be run if successfully acquired by James. “With this milestone achieved, we’re especially hopeful for the future of the much-loved community hub.”

London Camera Exchange (LCE) has announced the winners of its inaugural competition, LCE Photographer of the Year 2024. The contest featured 14 different categories including the ‘People’s Choice’ award open to public voting. The competition attracted nearly 13,000 entries from all over the globe and demonstrates photography’s continuing appeal. Entry was open to images captured on all types of devices: phones, action cams, drones and (the vast majority) using more ‘traditional’ camera equipment. First prize winner: Marilyn Taylor Taking overall first prize is Marilyn Taylor with her submission entitled ‘Long Tongued Bat Approaching Banana Leaf’, shot in northern Costa Rica. Marilyn recalls: “It was so dark that it was very difficult to see these tiny bats flying like ghosts. We could only photograph for a short time, as they soon flew off. This was probably one of the most interesting shoots I’ve ever been on – it was absolutely fascinating. The fact that I achieved a couple of super images out of it was a terrific bonus.” Marilyn, from Woking in Surrey, has a background in engineering from Oxford and now balances her time between freelance photography and playing golf. She is no stranger to photographic competitions, having previously won several contests and national gold medals. She was the first recipient of the Royal Photographic Society Digital Group PDI Raymond Wallace Thompson Trophy. Marilyn is currently studying at the UCA in Farnham for a Master of Fine Art Photography, working on diverse projects including the ‘Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Fine Art Photography’ and ‘Visual Alchemy’. Marilyn received £5,000 in LCE vouchers as the overall first prize winner. Category winners (£500 vouchers each): •Abstract – ‘Sailing’ by David Higton •Action – ‘Speedsters’ by Kaushik Majumder •After Dark – ‘Ready to Depart’ by Alexander Howard •Birds – ‘Incoming Gannets’ by Linda Ariss •Drone – ‘Haldon Belvedere Misty Sunrise’ by Daryl Baker •Landscape – ‘Sunset at Shiprock’ by Curtis Blum •Macro – ‘Wasp Trio Drinking’ by Ian Mears •Music – ‘You!!’ by Dominic Beaven •Pets – ‘Anti Gravity Dog’ by Daniel Sheridan •Portrait – ‘Authenticity is a New Future’ by Laura Arkhypenko •Street – ‘The Last Train’ by A B M Nayeem Siddiquee •Travel – ‘Valencia Opera House’ by Graeme Hilditch •Wildlife – ‘Long Tongued Bat Approaching Banana Leaf’ by Marilyn Taylor •People’s Choice – ‘Yaks Nupse’ by Patrick Pfirrmann The Landscape, Wildlife and Birds categories proved especially popular with entrants. Some of the shortlisted photographs featured particularly interesting stories, such as ‘Destination Dreamland’ by Becky Bailey, a deaf photographer who experiences the world through pictures. ‘Sycamore Gap – the Last Show’ by Ian Sproat, an electrician by day, is an outstanding image of the iconic Sycamore Gap tree on Hadrian’s Wall, captured just a week before it was maliciously chopped down. One of the judges’ favourites, and Pets category winner, was an image of a King Charles Cavalier Spaniel entitled ‘Anti Gravity Dog’ by Daniel Sheridan. An employee of Bournemouth Council, Daniel also runs a photography website named ‘A Billion Clicks’, which – of course – specialises in dog photography! The awards were presented at a special ceremony at The Photography & Video Show on Sunday 17 March 2024 at The NEC, Birmingham. All winners and runners-up had their images displayed in an exhibition at the entrance of the Birmingham show, and shortlisted photographs have been made into a commemorative book. Nick Richens, chief executive of LCE, said: “We were thrilled by the sheer volume of entries to the competition and the outstanding quality and diversity of the photography submitted. Choosing the winning images was an especially tricky affair as there were just so many stand-out images. We would like to thank everyone for submitting their incredible work and making our very first POTY competition a resounding success. Congratulations to all the winners from the LCE team.” The LCE POTY competition ran from October 2023 to January 2024, and was the first time the UK independent retailer had hosted a contest of this scale. Nearly 13,000 entries were submitted. Overall, there was a £12,000 prize fund generously supported by leading photo industry brands including Canon, Nikon, OM System, Fujifilm, Panasonic and Sony. Judges included Chris George, content director at Future Publishing, street photographer Peter Dench, journalist and She Clicks founder Angela Nicholson, and Nick Richens, Chief Executive at London Camera Exchange. LCE is the UK’s largest chain of independent photographic stores and offers a wide portfolio of products and services for enthusiast and professional photographers and filmmakers. The company has been recognised for its outstanding customer service and support across the British photographic media for many years.   Image credit: Marilyn Taylor – ‘Long Tongued Bat Approaching Banana Leaf’