February 16, 2018 2.37 pm This story is over 73 months old

No second floating restaurant, but clean-up money for Brayford instead

It’s complicated.
Designs for the floating restaurant on the Brayford: Stem Architects

City of Lincoln councillors are poised to reject controversial plans for a second floating restaurant on Brayford Pool, but they will fund improvement works to the area instead.

City of Lincoln Council’s Executive has been recommended to refuse plans for the £1 million restaurant west of the viewing platform on Brayford Wharf North when it meets on Monday, February 26.

The council instead is proposing that a loan and annual grant of £25,000 be provided to The Brayford Trust for them to undertake the required dredging and improvement works to the pool.

The viewing platform on the Brayford

Councillors on City of Lincoln Council’s Planning Committee unanimously rejected the plans for the floating restaurant in September 2016, only to be overruled by the government’s Planning Inspectorate 13 months later after a successful appeal by The Brayford Trust and Investors in Lincoln.

However, as landlords, the city council is set once again to reject the plans.

A loan, the size of which is yet to be determined, will be proposed to allow the trust to remove the silt and weeds, which is putting some of the moorings at risk.

The £25,000 grant proposed is the same amount as the predicted annual rental income from the platform development.

The trust receives no income to carry out these works itself.

Angela Andrews, Chief Executive for City of Lincoln Council

City of Lincoln Council chief executive Angela Andrews described it as a “win-win situation”.

She said: “The trust has made a compelling case for improvements required on the Pool and we are happy to fund this so that the works can be underway as soon as possible.

“Our view is that if, as the trust indicates, the only driver for the development is to fund the urgent improvement works, then a loan from the council is a suitable way forward. This gives the trust the much needed funds to carry out the works and continues to protect the Pool as an open waterway and an asset for the city.

“If the Executive approves the recommendation it will allow the improvements required to be made quickly and will allow the beauty of the Brayford to remain intact.”

David Rossington, chief executive of Investors in Lincoln and trustee of The Brayford Trust said: “No decision has been made yet. We’ll have to wait and see what the decision is. What the council may be suggesting is fine, but we’ll have to look at the fine details.”