Lincolnshire County Council believes it’s being short-changed by more than £100m a year due to the Government’s funding formula, and is extremely concerned at the additional financial pressure caused by the removal of the £9m Rural Services Grant.

The first patients have been welcomed to the new £15 million Skegness Community Diagnostic Centre (CDC). The facility on Old Wainfleet Road opened last week, bringing a number of NHS diagnostic services to the town for the first time, including state-of-the art CT and MRI scanners, echocardiograms and dental X-ray. Community diagnostic centres offer a range of elective (planned) diagnostic services, away from main hospital sites, providing easier and quicker access to tests, potentially closer to patients’ homes. Each centre in Lincolnshire is being designed to consider the specific health needs of the local community. Other services available at Skegness CDC include non-obstetric ultrasound and a range of physiological testing, such as blood tests for adults and children over the age of five, standard ECGs and 24-hour blood pressure testing. Blood testing for chemotherapy patients will also be available, in the first step to develop a chemotherapy service from the site. Bernard North, from Sutton on Sea, was one of the first patients to use the new CDC in Skegness, attending for a CT scan. He said: “My GP asked me where I wanted to go for my appointment, and initially I asked for Louth. Then I was telephoned and offered the chance to come to Skegness. My wife Rosalyn and I didn’t realise this facility was here and thought it might be a mobile scanner, but this was fantastic. “I would 100% recommend it. I’ve been looked after so well by the health service.” Approximately £42 million has been invested in community diagnostic centres in Lincolnshire during 2024, which also includes a £5 million expansion at Grantham in March 2024 and a £23 million new modular-built facility in Lincoln. Professor Karen Dunderdale, Lincolnshire Community and Hospitals Group Chief Executive, said: “We believe this to be the most significant NHS investment in Skegness in recent years and we are very proud to be delivering new diagnostic services that we know will make a huge difference to the local community. “The CDC will offer more choice and convenience to help reduce travel for patients, while increasing the number of appointments to help bring down waiting times for diagnostic tests. “We have already seen great success in the Lincolnshire CDC programme as a whole, with more than 118,000 tests delivered to patients since it began in November 2021 and the creation of approximately 140 clinical and non-clinical job roles. “This has been made possible thanks to developments like this with better partnership working across NHS services, including with local primary care providers.” Skegness CDC has been built on land owned by Skegness-based leisure operator Teen Spirit Limited. Managing Director Scott Sinclair said: “Teen Spirit Limited is delighted to be working in collaboration with the NHS to bring a much-needed facility to local residents of Skegness and those in surrounding areas. “The opening of Skegness Community Diagnostic Centre will be a quantum leap forward in meeting the health needs of local residents, speeding up access and alleviating the burden of travel to access essential diagnostic services. “On a personal note, my four-year-old daughter was diagnosed with cancer in December and during treatment in Nottingham we met a family from Skegness who travelled long distances for care. I am sure having more local opportunities to receive diagnostic testing will make such a difference to others in a similar position.” The dual contract for construction of both Skegness and Lincoln CDCs has been delivered by Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) specialist MTX Contracts Ltd. MTX Managing Director David Hartley said: “We are privileged to partner the Trust to deliver new community diagnostic facilities that will have such a huge impact on waiting lists and deliver a significant improvement in patient care. “This contract is one of several won by MTX to build CDCs across the UK. Employing MMC enables MTX to deliver fully compliant high quality facilities for NHS Trusts faster, safer, greener and more cost effectively, compared with conventional building techniques.”   Image credit: United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust

The South & East Lincolnshire Councils Partnership has pledged its commitment to playing its part in keeping the marine environment and our coastal waters clean and healthy. The Motion for the Ocean is primarily backed by the Local Government Association Coastal Special Interest Group (LGA Coastal SIG) and recognises that ‘our ocean and climate are in a state of emergency.’ Over thirty councils across England have made pledges in support of the Motion since its introduction in 2021. By supporting the Motion for the Ocean, the Partnership recognises that local government play a vital role in supporting the health and productivity of our oceans, and that the communities the Partnership serves in South Holland, Boston and East Lindsey are on the frontline for managing the crisis the ocean is in. The LGA Coastal SIG highlights that the oceans are often left out from the climate action plans of many local authorities and aims to raise awareness for this and cause change – partly by attaining the support of local councils. The South & East Lincolnshire Councils Partnership has made seven pledges, which have been signed by Cllr Craig Leyland, Leader of East Lindsey District Council, Cllr Anne Dorrian, Leader of Boston Borough Council, and Cllr Nick Worth, Leader of South Holland District Council. In a joint statement, Cllr Craig Leyland, Leader of East Lindsey District Council, Cllr Anne Dorrian, Leader of Boston Borough Council, and Cllr Nick Worth, Leader of South Holland District Council, said: “We are proud to be supporting the Motion for the Ocean, and recognise the importance of keeping our coastal waters healthy for years to come. “The South & East Lincolnshire Councils Partnership will ensure our pledges are followed up on as part of our ongoing commitment to support the environment and reduce the impact of climate change. We anticipate that our hard work will make a lasting difference for our local landscape and communities. “With our seven pledges and heightened concern for the prosperity of the ocean, we are confident that the Partnership is taking a positive step forward.” The pledges include:

1. Review within 12 months the actions and projects that have been undertaken to promote ocean recovery in South and East Lincolnshire and understand further opportunities that may exist alongside the resources required to do more.
2. Consider the implications for ocean recovery in strategic decisions, plans, procurement and approaches to decisions by the Partnership Councils, primarily in planning/planning policy, regeneration, skills and economic policy, aligning with climate change mitigation and adaptation requirements.
3. Ensure that the Local Nature Recovery Strategy for Greater Lincolnshire strives to support ocean recovery both through supporting healthier coastal waters and inland watercourses.
4. Work with partner agencies such as Anglian Water, the Environment Agency, Lincolnshire Chalk Streams Project, developers, and others to explore ways to improve the water quality of our rivers and coastal waters benefitting nature and residents alike.
5. Work with partners and relevant authorities to promote and support ocean literacy across South and East Lincolnshire, including ensuring all pupils are given the opportunity to experience the ocean first-hand before leaving primary school and promote sustainable and equitable access to the ocean, through physical and digital experiences for all residents.
6. Promote marine citizenship through all appropriate means, including through supporting staff to attend awareness raising volunteering events such as beach cleans or habitat creation/management activities to raise awareness and understanding of our problems facing the marine environment through a ‘source to sea’ approach.
7. Write to the Government asking them to put the ocean into net recovery by 2030, following expert guidance.

  Pic: Stock.adobe.com/Brian Jackson

East Marsh Community Research Network has secured just under £1m funding to combat local social, economic, environmental and health challenges in the region. The money has been awarded through phase two (the implementation phase) of the Community Research Networks programme, which has been funded by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), and will be delivered by The Young Foundation, a non-profit organisation that specialises in community research and social innovation. In phase one of the programme (the expression of interest phase), the group received £25k to develop a robust partnership of local organisations, undertake extensive community consultation to ensure the community were receptive to the project and its aims of combatting local challenges, and develop a pilot research project. Through phase two, the network seeks to empower, train and upskill community members to lead and shape the future of the East Marsh. It will be seeking to influence key stakeholders, decision makers and policymakers to help shape policy, practices, services and behaviours that are central to enhancing life in the community. Killian Troy-Donovan, Programme Manager at Our Future, said: “We know what is possible when people have space to explore the questions that matter to them, and find solutions that work for the people that will live with them. “These have often already been developed through years of conversations over breakfast, at the market, in youth clubs, cafes, and pubs. The East Marsh Community Research Network will build on the vast knowledge that exists locally, empowering people who have been exploring these questions for much of their lives.” Helen Goulden OBE, CEO at The Young Foundation, said: “We know that local communities and citizens understand local needs best, and are fundamental to tackling complex societal issues. Which is why the Community Research Networks programme is so important. “The insights gained from East Marsh Community Research Network and other local research networks will be vital if we are to work together to tackle some of the persistent and entrenched challenges we face. “And at a national level, we hope to be actively contributing to a new and evolving infrastructure to support community research across the UK. This is core to The Young Foundation’s strategy, and as delivery partner we are proud to be working alongside UKRI to support this work over the next five years – and beyond.” The aim of the Community Research Networks programme is to put communities at the heart of research, awarding grants to organisations that are interested in supporting local people across the UK, and working with them to better understand their valuable role in research and innovation. The programme has awarded a total of £8.9m to community networks across the country in this second phase, with an additional £625k awarded in the first phase. East Marsh Community Research Network includes Foresight North East Lincs , East Marsh United, North East Lincolnshire Council, NSPCC, University of Lincoln, Learning4Life-Gy, Our Future and NEL Health and Care Partnership.   Image credit: Stock.adobe.com/Stockfotos-MG

A woman who says her “children still have a mum thanks to everyone involved in my care,” has been reunited with the ambulance crews who responded in her time of need. On the afternoon of 7 June 2024, 45-year-old Sian Deeks went over to her partner Daniel’s house. They were in the middle of a conversation when Sian started to lean against the worktop in the kitchen and became unresponsive – she had gone into cardiac arrest. Speaking of that day, Sian said: “I would never have thought I’d have gone into cardiac arrest ever. You just never think it would happen to you. I don’t remember any of it, but Daniel said he was calling out to me, and I wasn’t responding to him. “I’ve lived with heart failure for a few years now, so while he didn’t know it was a cardiac arrest, he had an inkling it was due to a complication with my heart. That’s when he put me in the recovery position and dialled 999.” Daniel’s call was answered by Emergency Medical Advisor Tim Higham-Jones, who advised Daniel to lay Sian flat on her back and perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) until ambulance clinicians could take over. Steve Green, a Specialist Practitioner, was one of the many people from EMAS and the Lincs & Notts Air Ambulance Service (LNAA) involved in the response to Sian. He said: “The advanced life support we delivered to Sian wouldn’t have been as successful, if it hadn’t been for Daniel taking instant action with bystander CPR. “While he was understandably quite emotional when we got there, we reassured Daniel that he’d given Sian the best chance of survival by delivering effective hands-on CPR at the earliest opportunity. “CPR not only save lives, but the quicker it’s delivered also reduces the risk of adverse and irreversible damage to the brain for those who do survive.” Upon the arrival of ambulance and air ambulance colleagues, Sian’s airway was managed to keep it open – allowing the flow of oxygen to her body to be uninterrupted, CPR was maintained, and a defibrillator was attached to Sian. After approximately 17 minutes, the defibrillator identified Sian’s heart as being in a shockable rhythm, and after two shocks were delivered, her heart was beating again – however, Sian was not out of the woods yet. Steve added: “Once we managed to stabilize Sian’s condition, we then needed to get her safely out of the property and to hospital as quickly as possible. “She was taken by road in the ambulance, travelling with myself and the LNAA team. We continued to manage her airway and ensure she remained stable until we got to the hospital.” Sian was then handed over to the Resuscitation Department at Scunthorpe General Hospital, while still sedated and intubated. In the early hours of the following morning, Sian went into cardiac arrest for a second time while in the Intensive Care Unit. Sian said: “A nurse spotted it when she was doing her observations. She had apparently shone a light into my eyes to see they had gone into the back of my head, and the machines attached to me started beeping.” Miraculously, after six minutes of further advanced life support being delivered to Sian, she managed to survive her second cardiac arrest in less than 24 hours. Sian says experiencing these major events on top of living with an existing heart condition has been challenging, but she is grateful to her partner Daniel, and all the medics who she credits as her reason for her children “not having to scatter their mother’s ashes.”   Image credit: Stock.adobe.com/JTana

Efforts to teach youngsters a range of practical skills at the Long Sutton Youth Shed have been given a £500 boost thanks tho a donation from Freemasons of the town’s St Mary Lodge. The Youth Shed is an extension of the Men’s Shed concept, bringing together young people to learn a range of DIY and practical skills as diverse as construction, electrics, and woodworking. It’s hoped that the groundwork done at the Youth Shed will help students to build a better future. An earlier example of the skills being taught is bricklaying, when the Men’s Shed worked with Buildbase for volunteers to teach bricklaying to 20 students on a 10-week course. Each week they were given a new tool and taught how to use it, so that by the end of the course they would have a bagful of tools and the skills to get the best from them. The theory was that they would then have a firm foundation on which to earn themselves a living. lan White, the Master of Saint Mary Lodge, is on the right of the picture above, with Youth Shed instigator and organiser Ivan Thompson and some of the youngsters in front of their woodworking builds. The £500 donation was one of more than 70 given by Freemasons each year to worthy causes in an area from The Humber to The Wash, with each Freemasons’ Lodge nominating the good cause of their choice.

The Court of Appeal has supported South Kesteven District Council in its defence against an appeal from the owners of Tallington Lakes Leisure Park near Stamford.

The Court’s decision means that Tallington Lakes, licensed for 385 units but currently home to significantly more, must be subject to regulation through licensing, and must also comply with planning permissions.

The council says can now confidently continue its work to ensure that Tallington Lakes Leisure Park is operating in line with regulations. Council Leader Ashley Baxter said: “We are pleased that our professional opinion about the status of this site has been supported by the courts. It means our officers from different departments can take a co-ordinated approach to ensure the site complies with relevant legislation.

“The purpose of licensing regulation is to protect both the public and the countryside. Residents from the site and the neighbouring villages have often raised concerns about the way the site is managed, and will be encouraged that the council has successfully defended against the site owners’ appeal.”

The next step will be a site visit by Environmental Health and Planning Officers to continue investigations. Officers will visit to ensure compliance with licensing and planning conditions. Enforcement action will be taken if deemed appropriate.

Any other development work that has been undertaken at the site will be examined to check it is in line with planning conditions at the site.

Tallington Lakes Ltd is liable for SKDC’s £20,431 costs in defending the appeal, and the Council is in the process of recovering this debt.

In a written judgement, Lord Justice Underhill states: “SKDC’s correspondence leading to the issue of the 2016 licence seems to me to have been clear and appropriate. In any event, however, it was always open to the appellant to seek legal advice, and/or representation … but it seems that he prefers to trust his own judgment.”

Black Friday has arrived at London Camera Exchange (LCE) both online and in-store in Lincoln. Don’t miss out on unbeatable camera offers available for a limited time only. With exclusive Black Friday deals on cameras, lenses, and accessories from top brands like Canon, Nikon, and Sony, there’s never been a better time to upgrade your gear or get started on your photography or content creation journey. Plus, it’s the perfect opportunity to buy gifts for family and friends. Shop for Black Friday offers on the best digital cameras, including the latest mirrorless, compact, and DSLR models featuring advanced autofocus systems, enhanced low-light performance, and 4K video capabilities. Enjoy discounts on Fuji Instax and Polaroid instant cameras, allowing you to capture and print memories on the go. Love action-packed adventures? Explore Black Friday deals on GoPro HERO action cameras and DJI drones, gimbals, tripods, and more. With limited stock available—don’t miss out on exclusive Black Friday camera deals at LCE online or in the Lincoln store.

Changes to the way significant decisions are taken involving transport, housing, skills and investment to benefit local people in Greater Lincolnshire have moved a step closer. In a historic moment, a document called the “Statutory Instrument”, required to form the new devolved Greater Lincolnshire County Combined Authority, has been laid in Parliament. It means the new devolved authority can go ahead, with a first meeting of a the new GLCCA expected to take place early in the new year. That will come before the first-ever Mayoral elections across Greater Lincolnshire in May. The process for candidates to stand to be the new Mayor are currently being worked through with more news on deadlines to stand and timetables due soon. In a joint statement welcoming this latest news, authority leaders, Cllr Martin Hill (Lincolnshire), Cllr Philip Jackson (North East Lincolnshire), and Cllr Rob Waltham (North Lincolnshire), said: “As we move into this final Parliamentary process, we look forward to the new year and a 2025 that brings with it a new dawn for us all here in Greater Lincolnshire. “The Greater Lincolnshire Combined County Authority will give local decision makers the chance to shape our area’s future – building a stronger and more prosperous region for generations to come. With this will come better lifestyles of residents and wider opportunities for businesses.” Introduction of devolution and the GLCCA brings a total investment pot of £720m directly into Greater Lincolnshire over the next 30 years.  This includes an annual £24m Mayoral Investment Fund to invest in priority areas including jobs and skills; housing & highways, transport, business & infrastructure, and innovation and trade. There is also an initial capital funding pot of £28m including brownfield funding for individual schemes across Greater Lincolnshire. In North East Lincolnshire this will support the phase one development of a Grimsby Town Centre Transport Hub while in Lincolnshire a number of projects are already underway including road improvements to Old Roman Bank near Sandilands and drainage improvements at Kirkby on Bain. Upcoming projects include roundabout works at Nettleham and streetworks in Grantham, a business grant programme within the UK Food Valley in South Lincolnshire and a grant to Sleaford Moor Business Park for the next phase of this low carbon business park. In North Lincolnshire this will be used to unlock land in Scunthorpe, Brigg, and Barton-upon-Humber, enabling more homes to be built for older residents.

Lincs & Notts Air Ambulance (LNAA) is taking part in The Big Give Christmas Challenge to raise £90,000 in just one week! The charity needs to raise £45,000 in online donations to secure a match pot that will double the amount raised to make £90,000. All donations will support LNAA’s life-saving work, 24-hours-a-day, every day of the year. From 3-10 December all donations will be doubled. Money raised could go towards helping people like Malc who ended up lying in a ditch fighting for his life. The Lincs & Notts Air Ambulance crew were soon by his side, giving life-saving treatments where he lay. He had suffered multiple traumatic injuries, and his survival was uncertain. Malc had numerous broken bones including his pelvis, spine and ribs. He had open fractures to his right leg, a shoulder injury, soft tissue damage and had internal bleeding. When the crew had lifted him onto level ground, they stabilised his pelvis and placed traction splints on both legs to reduce blood loss and provide protection. LNAA Dr Jake performed life-saving surgery at the roadside and Malc received three blood transfusions as Jake and paramedic Danielle fought to save his life. Once stable Malc was airlifted to the Major Trauma Unit at Nottingham’s Queen’s Medical Centre, where a surgical team were waiting to operate on him. Malc said: “Lincs & Notts Air Ambulance is a team of wonderful people who go out and save lives at the roadside. I’ve needed that service; I’ve used that service and what a service it is.” Malc is still recovering from his injuries and life is very different for him, his wife, Kirsty and his nine-year-old son, Teddy. It is a slow healing process, but his legs are gradually getting stronger. Head of Community, Corporate and Events Fundraising, Rachel Wilson said: “It’s patients like Malc who need the care only our crew can provide – and quickly. He was potentially one of four patients that day, our daily mission average, to which the crew took the equivalent of an Emergency Department. “Whether at the beachside, on the roadside or in the countryside, our crews respond to emergencies of the most serious kind, providing medical interventions that can mean the difference between life and death. “Patients like Malc get the best care possible only because of the support we receive from people across Lincs & Notts and beyond. “Donations to our Christmas Challenge will be generously matched by our campaign pledgers including the Pilgrim Trust and our Community Champion The Reed Foundation, meaning your donation will have twice the impact! “But in order to access the £45,000 we have in the matching pot, we need to raise £45,000 in online donations. We hope everyone will give generously this year to help us reach our target and enable us to help keep our iconic helicopter flying and our critical care cars operational 24/7 as we move into the busy winter months.” How can you get involved? Visit https://www.ambucopter.org.uk/BigGive and make a donation from 12pm (midday) on #GivingTuesday (Tuesday, 3^rd December). The campaign will close at 12pm on Tuesday, 10th December.