Lincolnshire Co-op has set its sights on becoming net zero by 2045, with its plans officially signed off by the Science Based Targets initiative.

The roadmap starts now, with 2024 as the baseline year. By 2030, the Co-op intends to cut its direct emissions nearly in half. By 2045, it wants 90 per cent of emissions linked to the products it sells reduced too.

The organisation has already begun investing heavily in clean energy. Earlier this year, £8.5 million went into wind power, and another £2 million is earmarked for solar projects. Shoppers will also notice changes closer to home, with stores switching to energy-saving fridge doors and more sustainable refrigeration systems.

These steps put the retailer in line with international efforts to keep global temperature rises within 1.5°C. For customers, it means the everyday shop is increasingly powered and cooled in a way designed to tread more lightly on the planet.

A £1m grant from Historic England has been awarded to Spilsby Sessions House, paving the way for vital conservation work on the Grade II listed building.

The theatre has been closed since appearing on the Theatres Trust at-risk register in 2015. With this new funding, repairs will focus on the roof, brickwork, and windows.

It follows £5m already allocated from the government’s Levelling Up Fund, which will support the site’s transformation into a cultural hub. Plans lodged with the council earlier this year set out proposals for a café, meeting space, offices, a heritage display, and outdoor seating.

Further applications, including one to Arts Council England, are in progress to complete the internal fit-out. Early-stage work to prepare the building for reopening is already under way.

The redevelopment forms part of the £8m Lincolnshire Wolds Culture & Heritage programme, which also includes improvements to Alford Manor House and Alford Windmill. The projects aim to expand cultural attractions across the region, with Alford Windmill set to gain a new visitor centre and Alford Manor House a function room.

The combined investment is intended to secure the long-term future of the county’s historic venues while broadening their role in community life.

Weekly food waste recycling has now been introduced across North East Lincolnshire following a successful pilot.

The trial involved more than 5,000 households, with participants backing the move after reporting the collections were useful.

The scheme is part of the council’s wider recycling plans and has also created new local jobs. Residents are being supplied with indoor caddies and outdoor containers, while food waste is being collected weekly using a new fleet of vehicles.

The rollout aims to reduce landfill, increase recycling rates and give households a simple way to separate their food waste from general rubbish.

A community arts centre based in Grimsby’s docklands has received more than half a million pounds to restore and expand its facilities.

Unseen Arts will use £437,741 from Historic England’s Heritage at Risk Capital Fund and £150,000 from North East Lincolnshire Council’s Partnership Schemes in Conservation Areas repair grant scheme to regenerate two historic buildings on Auckland Road.

The project includes external repairs, reinstating traditional features, and making the buildings watertight. Inside, a new visual arts studio with ceramics facilities, an arts café and event space, and an extended performance studio are planned. Dedicated makers’ spaces will also be created for hire by artists.

Essential upgrades, such as roof work, reinstated windows, and an accessible toilet, form part of the programme.

Unseen Arts, a Community Interest Company founded in 2024, offers classes and workshops across aerial arts, performance, and visual arts. The redevelopment will allow the organisation to expand its programmes for adults, children, and young people.

The investment forms part of a wider heritage-led regeneration scheme launched in 2017, which has already supported the restoration of several buildings in the Port of Grimsby. A second phase of funding was approved earlier this year to continue the scheme for another three years.

A new hub has opened in Mablethorpe to coordinate safety and emergency services along the Lincolnshire coast.

The base, located at Queen’s Park Beach Huts, brings together coastguard teams, lifeboats, police, local councils and other agencies under the Atlantis Alliance. It aims to provide a stronger presence for both residents and visitors in one of the county’s busiest tourist areas.

Lincolnshire Police proposed the initiative and will be managed by Mablethorpe and Sutton Town Council, with National Coastwatch Mablethorpe maintaining the site. East Lindsey District Council is also backing the project.

With around three to four million visitors each year, particularly in Skegness and Mablethorpe, demand on rescue and safeguarding services rises during peak seasons. The new hub is designed to streamline responses to incidents ranging from beach safety and missing persons to crime prevention and fire support.

The safety partnership will continue to operate throughout the summer and beyond, offering a single point of coordination for multiple frontline services.

 Image credit: Stock.adobe.com/ Anthony Dillon