Tuesday 19th April 2011 Skegness image damaged by neglected prime location property
East Lindsey District Council have expressed their frustration over
delays in redeveloping a seafront property damaged by fire in 2007.
The council granted planning permission in early 2010 allowing the
site to be developed into a leisure centre but work is still not
underway. Owner, businessman Taj Bowler, said that legal issues have
delayed the start of construction and insists that funding is not an
issue. James Gilbert, from the authority, said: "It doesn't look great
at the moment at all. Planning permission has been granted and we
really want the developer to get on with this development as quickly
has possible for the benefit of the town. We are incredibly frustrated
- this site has been vacant for three-and-a-half years now and we want
to see it redeveloped as quickly as possible for the economic benefit
of Skegness. We want jobs for local people, we want opportunities and
this site can bring those." Lincolnshire

Thursday 14th April 2011 Lincolnshire police chief says sorry over ‘sandwich safety’ advice
Richard Crompton, the Chief Constable of the Lincolnshire Police force
has issued an apology over ‘unnecessary’ advice given to police
officers regarding preparing their packed lunches. Officers were
issued with advice about keeping their lunch cool and avoiding out of
date products. Although the advice was issued three or four years ago
it recently received publicity in the light of the £20m in savings the
force is required to make due to funding cuts. In a statement to BBC
Lincolnshire, the Chief Inspector said: "I don't believe that our
staff need to be told how to make their sandwiches. The advice was not
necessary and we seem to have given the media another daft health and
safety story, sorry." Lincolnshire

Monday 4th April 2011 Lincoln tops business growth league
The East Midlands city Lincoln has been named as UK’s number one
hotspot for business growth. A Royal Mail report discovered a 2%
increase in the number of companies trading in Lincoln in recent
months. A total of 100 new firms started trading in Lincoln in the
past six months, taking the total to 8,000. Stephen Agar, of Royal
Mail said: "It is encouraging to see how certain areas are
experiencing focused and localised growth. We expect this trend to
become even more evident over the coming months as businesses new to
an area start to use the services of local suppliers." Lincolnshire

Tuesday 15th March 2011 Magna Carta display plans for Lincoln
The Magna Carta could be back on display in Lincoln Castle after
Lincolnshire County Council announced plans to build a new vault to
house the document. The council had originally wanted to use the crown
court building which stands in the castle grounds. However, these
plans were stymied by the refusal of the HM Courts Service to move out
of the castle. Mary Powell, tourism development manager for the
council, said : "The Magna Carta will be housed in a vault in some
rundown buildings to the side of the prison with its own entrance. We
didn't want to house the Magna Carta inside a prison." Lincolnshire

Monday 7th March 2011 Major work at Scunthorpe Trent railway station
A major program of work has begun at one of the busiest freight routes
in Europe. Engineers are starting work on renewing the track layout at
Scunthorpe Trent junction, which lies between Scunthorpe and
Cleethorpes in North Lincolnshire. A spokesman for North East
Lincolnshire Council said work had progressed so far without
significant disruption: "The project is a complex replacement of
switch and crossing layout at a five-track section of one of the
heaviest freight routes in Europe. So far, trains have continued to
run past the works, but on this and the next weekend engineers will
require unrestricted access to the site to be able to safely complete
a major part of the scheme." Timetables alterations and replacement
bus services are in operation so passengers are advised to check their
travel arrangements before they set off. Lincolnshire

Friday 4th March 2011 Winning lottery card stolen
An 82-year-old woman had a winning lottery scratch card snatched from
her hand as she showed it to neighbours. A bicycle-riding thief stole
the card as the woman told friends and neighbours of her £800 win
while returning from the Co-op shop in Boston where she’d had the card
verified. A police spokeswoman said the scratch card was "of no use to
anyone" as the details had been completed on the reverse and could not
be claimed. The theft has been reported to National Lottery
Commission. Lincolnshire

Friday 4th February 2011 New bridge across River Trent proposed
Plans for a £6m bridge spanning the River Trent at Gainsborough have
gone on display. Designs by architect Oliver Houchell for the
276-metre structure were put on display at Gainsborough’s Young and
Safe Building for the public to view. The footbridge will link
Gainsborough to Beckingham Marshes. Funding for the bridge is not
being provided by West Lindsey District Council so other sources of
finance will be pursued, including government grants. Mr Houchell said
he was interested in feedback: "The concept design for Gainsborough
River Trent footbridge involved overcoming a complex set of site
constraints, and has been driven from the outset by the pursuit of
integrity, simplicity and structural legibility. The resulting
structure carries more than a passing resonance with the town's
industrial past." Lincolnshire

Thursday 27th January 2011 Visit Lincolnshire goes into administration
Visit Lincolnshire is among many high profile victims of the British
Government’s drive to cut the budget deficit. £650,000 of funding for
the group coming from Lincolnshire County Council and the East
Midlands Development Agency has been cut, forcing the group into
administration. Visit Lincolnshire promotes tourism in Lincolnshire
and its chairman John Grubb lamented its closure saying: "It means,
for the first time in several decades, there won't be a body promoting
tourism to the county.” Visit Lincolnshire's interim chief executive
Marc Etches said Lincolnshire "will be left out in the cold nationally
and internationally". Lincolnshire

Wednesday 19th January 2011 Stamford Riverside Festival cancelled after row with town council
An annual Lincolnshire music festival has been cancelled after a row
broke out between organisers and the town council. The festival has
been running at The Meadows in the town centre for more than ten years
now but this year the event is under threat due to safety concerns.
The charitable association Riverside Festival claims it cannot afford
to meet Stamford Town Council’s demands to produce verified audited
accounts because of the high costs involved. The town council offers
use of The Meadows to the hugely popular festival free of charge. The
council are worried about safety implications because the event is
being run successively with celebrations ahead of the Olympics. In a
statement the council said: “It is entirely reasonable to predict that
the proposed two successive events in 2011 would attract greater
numbers and that, consequently, existing public safety and crowd
control measures would require evaluation.” Lincolnshire

Wednesday 8th December 2010 AA apologise over nurse’s 10 hour rescue wait
A Lincolnshire nurse who waited 10 hours for a rescue after a
breakdown has received an apology from the AA. Jenny Rossington, from
Skellingthorpe, broke down in her Renault Clio on the A46 on her way
to work as a nurse in the renal unit at Lincoln County Hospital. Ms
Rossington, 50, called the AA at 0945 GMT and was advised she faced a
maximum wait time of no more than three hours. But Ms Rossington was
finally attended at 1945 GMT after a 10-hour wait in sub-zero
temperatures. "I rang the AA on numerous occasions during the day and
the time they said they could get to me was getting further and
further away," Ms Rossington said. The AA said Ms Rossington’s call
had got “lost in their system” as the AA faced an “unprecedented”
24,000 breakdowns across the country. Lincolnshire