Around 3,000 cannabis plants have been discovered in a disused shop in Boston, Lincs. The cannabis farm was spread over 4 floors of the shop and even included beds and a living area, thought to be for the use of ‘the cannabis farmers’ or those securing their investment. The surprise discovery was made by uniformed officers on a regular patrol around the  Market Place, at around 12.30am today [1st November]. The site however was unmanned when the discovery was made and therefore the guilty party have not yet been brought to justice. Police authorities have left a scene guard in situ, and are naturally keen to hear from anyone who may have information that could lead to a prosecution. If you have any information, no matter how small or insignificant it may seem, there are a number of ways to get in touch:

• Call 101, quoting incident 8 of 1November.
• Email force.control@lincs.police.uk putting “incident 8 of 1 November” in the Subject line.
• Contact Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555111.

No 41, Alexandra Road, also known as Woodliffe Villa, Cleethorpes is the latest building to receive a facelift as a result of Townscape Heritage funding. Work started in March this year to conserve and restore the front facade and return this Grade II listed building to its former glory. And it’s now been unveiled as the latest scheme in the Townscape Heritage programme to be completed, following in the footsteps of No 33 with the new building and shop frontage, as well as the RAFA building, completed in 2021. No. 41 is one of the earliest properties along the road, which originally stood on its own and had a front garden. The property is split into two – a shop on the ground floor and a residential property above. Built from red brick with a Welsh slate roof, the building also has a single cast iron balcony dating from around 1900 which has been stripped, restored, and returned as part of the project. Working with the University of Lincoln School of History and Heritage Dept, paint analysis revealed blue and cream. These colours have been replicated using RAL5023 Distant Blue with RAL1013 Oyster White for the detailing. Based on the research by The Scottish Ironwork Foundation, this balcony is by George Wright & Co & Lion Foundry of Kirkintilloch and it is believed to be the only example of its kind to have survived. As part of the works, the late 20^th century shop front has also been replaced with a one that is to the original design and entrance and redecorated using colours chosen as part of the heritage scheme – in this case, RAL7016 (Anthracite Grey) and RAL9003 (Signal White). The shop is currently up for lease. Additionally, in the residential part of the property, the dormer window has been reinstated (the original was removed in around 50 years ago), along with the replacement of the bay windows and the rainwater channels. The name of the property has also been included in the fanlight of the residential entrance. Cllr Tom Furneaux, Cabinet member for heritage, said: “This project is really making a difference to how the properties on Alexandra Road look. I’m grateful for the cooperation and input from the property owners, without whom, we couldn’t do this. I hope that, in time, and with more funding, we’ll be able to complete the full stretch along Alexandra Road – it would look absolutely fantastic!” Discover Cleethorpes Heritage’ is a four-year Townscape Heritage (TH) programme launched in 2018, which has recently been extended to December 2024. The scheme is supported by £1.9m from the National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF) and £1m from North East Lincolnshire Council (NELC), and circa 900k of 3^rd party match funding from the property freeholders/leaseholders.

Young carers in North East Lincolnshire have been given a financial boost to help get them through the cost of living crisis, thanks to a donation from a generous local business. YOUNG carers in North East Lincolnshire have been given a financial boost to help get them through the cost of living crisis, thanks to a donation from a generous local business. Newlincs Development Ltd, operators of the Grimsby and Immingham tips, have donated £2,000 to benefit young carers in North East Lincolnshire, giving them some much needed support during difficult times. There are approximately 800,000 young carers in the UK – children and young people aged 6 to 18 who have a caring role for a family member either through an illness, a disability, mental health or drug and alcohol issues. In many cases, a young person’s friends and school teachers are unaware of their caring responsibilities. Because of these responsibilities, they often don’t get to enjoy the same opportunities that most children have, like going to the cinema, a theme park or beach. The Young Carers Project, part of North East Lincolnshire Council’s Children’s Services, offers support for young people aged between 6 and 18 years who carry out a caring role – usually this is for a parent, sibling or grandparent. Young carers are offered one-to-one support, group work and social activities and outings to provide a break from their caring roles. Currently there are almost 300 young people registered with the project. Sharon Hunt, operations director at Newlincs Development Ltd, said: “The guys at the tip have raised an amazing amount of money over the years. “We are so pleased to be able to help local people throughout North East Lincolnshire, in particularly the young carers who do an amazing job, and deserve to be recognised and appreciated for their efforts in helping other family members.” Councillor Margaret Cracknell, portfolio holder for children, education and young people, said: “I’m really grateful to Newlincs staff for making this very generous donation. Newlincs have been incredibly supportive of our local young carers in recent years, with donations of meat vouchers and cash to help them through the pandemic. Their donations also helped sponsor a trip to a theme park, which for many of our young carers, was the first time they had seen big rides. “To give our young carers the opportunity to have a day away from their caring responsibilities is so important. It’s an opportunity for them to just be children again. “So I’d like to thank Newlincs staff for this donation. It will go a very long way and will make a huge difference to a lot of our young people in what is a very challenging time for many.” Newlincs Development Ltd are North East Lincolnshire Council’s waste management contractor, and manage the Immingham and Grimsby tip sites. Staff at the two tips, also known as Community Recycling Centres or CRCs, were awarded Best Civic Amenity Site of the Year at the awards for Excellence in Recycling and Waste Management for the effort they put in to make recycling fun while also raising thousands of pounds for local good causes. They’ve become well-known for their Christmas and summer holiday junk modelling makeovers and this year went all out for the Platinum Jubilee with a cast of Royal-themed characters popping up around the site. As well as their amazing decorations, they also sell bikes and bric-a-brac at the Grimsby site with all proceeds going to charity.

Plans for a new retirement/care village in Welton have been submitted to planners by Lace Housing. The plans allow for some 62 apartments featuring communal and staff facilities, and 10 bungalows complete with gardens, vehicle access and parking. A design and access statement states: “The main objective of the proposed development is to enable older people to live as ordinary a life as possible in their own homes” It continues: “The proposed accommodation will be purpose built to meet the changing needs and requirements of older people. Residents will able to access support and enablement services.

North East Lincolnshire Council has just been awarded a prestigious national award after winning the best in region in England for its support for the local small business community. North East Lincolnshire Council was among 250 councils in England who entered the inaugural Local Government awards run by Britain’s biggest business representation group, and it emerged triumphant in the ‘All Round, Small Business Friendly’ category. Local authorities from across England responded to the call when FSB (Federation of Small Businesses) launched their inaugural Local Government awards sponsored by Maybe*, which were aimed at celebrating and recognising those that had made the biggest impact on local SMEs during the Covid crisis and beyond. Over the last few years, North East Lincolnshire Council has led a new approach to providing a comprehensive business support offer to small and medium enterprises, catering to varied needs of small business. Paula Gouldthorpe, FSB Development Manager for South Yorkshire and the Humber said “It is really pleasing to see North East Lincolnshire Council rewarded for their consistent hard work and effort to help businesses through what has been a very challenging couple of years.  This was amid a high-quality field of entries by local councils!    “Both the quality and quantity of entries from this region and beyond was incredibly high so the Council, its teams and individuals involved in supporting the business community should feel very proud to be among the winners. We look forward to continuing to work with them – and all our other business-supporting councils – to ensure we have a vibrant and strong local small business community.” Cllr Philip Jackson, leader of the Council, said: “Small businesses are the real lifeblood of our local economy, with more than 95% of all businesses in North East Lincolnshire employing under 49 people. This award is testament to the great work that many people put in and to the partnership and collaboration across our borough.” In its round up, the FSB praised the joint approach to supporting small and medium enterprises and said that the collegiate, holistic approach has been transformational and created an environment conducive to long ­term success for local businesses. Projects highlighted included business workshops and events, business festivals, sector­ specific Business Growth Advisors, start-­up programmes, managed and coworking spaces an Investment Hub and access to Business Investment Advisors. In recent years, a range of support for our small businesses has been put in place with partners, that includes: e- Factor: A local, not-for-profit social enterprise founded in 2010, offering business workshops, business events such as the ‘Great Big Small Business Festival’, tailored 1-1 support via sector-specific Business Growth Advisors, and important programmes such as Smarter Energy NEL, and the Start Up Academy Programme launched in 2021 which provides a comprehensive 12-month support programme for new businesses. Investment Hub: A unique service created in 2016, this small team has a combined 100 years’ background in finance. They put businesses in contact with commercial lenders including banks, finance companies, gap funders and peer to peer lenders to help their business move forward. The team invests their time and knowledge in supporting local, small businesses to achieve their goals, for example, Hub Advisors will attend and support business owners in-person when they speak to commercial lenders. Business Investment Advisors: Business Investment Advisors provide a set 12-week programme to small business owners to access £1,000 in funding for specialist support. They know that the needs and circumstances of every business is unique, and they find creative solutions to support businesses to achieve their goals The council’s economy and growth team: With access to information about commercial property being offered to market we are able to match this with local business needs and requirements and present tailored property portfolios of available land/property that matches their specification. Our InvestNEL website offers businesses a raft of information, and we offer regular newsletter updates on activities and opportunities for local business. The Council also runs a number of Business Centres, ideal for small and micro businesses across the borough. Vikki Wilson, who manages the Council’s business centres, said: “In a place like ours with so many small businesses thrive, it’s easy to see why Business Centres are popular. Their flexibility of office sizes, provision of communal facilities and opportunities to collaborate with other small businesses make them a compelling choice of workplace. “With break-out rooms and conferencing facilities for up to 64 people on-site, locations like the Innovation Centre on Grimsby’s Europarc make the high-quality workspaces and services associated with big corporations accessible for the area’s many micro-businesses.”