July News

Folk Festival

The Free 10^th Annual Festival of Lincolnshire Folk Music on Sunday 4^th August from 11am ‘til late is always amazing, packed with great bands all day and evening.  The beer festival is on the Saturday before from 10am and a karaoke Night.

Welcome to Jed and Julie at The George, ready to welcome you for drinks or meals. 01522 272251

Jed and Julie at the George

Well Heads at Coleby are complete

Coleby Well Heads are of unique historic significance and their restoration is now complete, thanks to the Parish Council, residents and FCC Communities Foundation, previously known as WREN, which gives funds out of our landfill tax. Work was completed ahead of schedule by Jason Henfrey, a Newark Stone Mason trained at Lincoln Cathedral.

Highways

I have persisted doggedly to get improvements in our highways, taking it up with the Interim Chief Executive, Debbie Barnes. She has restructured the staff. The new Director of Highways is Karen Casar. I have been into the office to discuss our outstanding issues with the Assistant Director and County Highways manager Richard Fenwick

Marianne trialling a hydrogen-fuelled car that runs on water.

and will be working through my list. In the meantime, please keep reporting through the Council website or directly on “Fixmystreet”. We are getting some progress, and much more is needed.

Marianne trialling a “zero emissions” hydrogen fuelled car.

The Local Plan

The Local plan is the set of rules against which all planning applications are compared to decide if they get planning permission or not.  It is changing and we each get a say.

Last time, many of you wrote to agree with me that the 37,000 more dwellings was too high. And so it has proven to be. If the ambition is too high, then we do not meet it and the developments become almost impossible to resist, something of a “free for all”. Secondly, the big allocations, such as a 50% increase in Sleaford have not been deemed by developers as the most profitable. They want more in the “desirable villages” and expect much more traffic.

More houses going up at Waddington

North Kesteven District Council is now reviewing its Local Plan. I welcome lower numbers of housing required and they need to be lower still. Since the numbers are calculated on more people living alone, then we should insist that this is what developers build. Currently, we have many new mansions for people moving into the area, yet some of our own residents still don’t get the home they need.

We need some development, but too much increases pressure on already stretched public services such as roads, schools, care, quick access to GP’s, hospitals and ambulances. If we cannot afford the matching facilities and services, then how can we afford the houses? Who will go without?

Your Voice

The new Local Plan will over-ride any other plans, including a village neighbourhood plan. Please have a look and comment, even if only in a sentence or two. The number of houses “required” was set at 1540 every year for 25 years, and is now planned to be 1100-1300 every year until 2036. Deadline is July 18^th.

https://www.n-kesteven.gov.uk/your-council/council-news/have-your-say-on-central-lincolnshires-local-plan/

Lincolnshire Show

Thanks to everyone for a brilliant show, especially those of you who joined me for coffee. The County Council theme of a circus this year and a big dinosaur section helped us win the award for the best non-agricultural stand in show!

Thorold Arms, Harmston’s Community Pub

Mark and Arzu are planning to be open for business in August with a grand re-opening.  Work was delayed by weather and the discovery of some underground waterworks, now resolved.

Big Village events

Thank you to the many volunteers who do such huge amounts to make special events in our villages.  I was lucky enough to enjoy Beckingham’s big day in June.

Fabulous Open Gardens and wonderful teas

Beckingham Duck Race included a complete soaking!

Harmston Food Fayre

Your Voice in high places

Chris Rogers in charge of strings for our County, with his musicians at the Civic Service in Lincoln Cathedral. You may remember that Chris Rogers played at our fund-raiser in our garden last year!

This week, I was re-elected again as Leader of the Independent Group of Councillors and Vice Chairman of the Local Government Association. My task is to represent and assist councillors across England and Wales. We have a £50m budget, around 200 staff and 18,000 councillors in 350 local authorities. We are the voice of Local Government. This is the last in a very busy round learning and speaking at conferences that included the Green Party in Scarborough, the CEMR of European Local Government is Romania and the Local Government Association in Bournemouth. Meetings with ministers this month have centred on what money and arrangements we need if there is a “no deal” Brexit.

I also visited the Knepp Estate, 1000 ha in Sussex, given over to “rewilding”. I then had the chance to question the government advisors on how that lack of management might be integrated into the replacement farm payments scheme for environmental benefit. Food for thought.