City of Lincoln Council have agreed to keep uphill Lincoln’s play area Wickham Gardens open, despite original plans to sell it.
The announcement came on November 23 at a Full Council meeting in the Guildhall, which was open to the public.
The council will deliver the recommendation to the Executive to keep the play area, donated to the public in 1914.
As previously reported, parents grew concerned when they noticed play equipment disappearing earlier this year; there is now only a climbing frame.
The council responded that the play area cost £3,000 to maintain per year, and that there was another play area in the Lawn, across the road.
The local community went on to create SWINGS, which put together a petition to keep the gardens open for use.
Leader of action group SWINGS, Victoria Douch, delivered the petition to City Hall, which was signed by over 1100 people.
“As a mother of three and regular user of Wickham Gardens, I was really shocked earlier in the year to discover the majority of the play equipment had been removed.
“I called the [City of Lincoln] Council to find out why and was told Wickham Gardens was being disposed of.
“There were two small adverts in the back of the local paper about the closure, but no other users knew about this closure and there had been no notices displayed on site.
“We formed community group SWINGS and we all have an interest in ensuring Wickham Gardens remains open to recreational facilities for the whole community both young and old.
“We are aware of the Council’s play strategy, where 11 play areas will be redesigned.
“However this strategy saw Wickham Gardens score highly as a play division for children and young people.
“What process led to Wickham Gardens being disposed of?” Douch asked.
Leader of the City of Lincoln Council Darren Grice said: “The initial decision to sell the land at Wickham Gardens was made so that the council could gain capital receipt.
“As we investigated the sale, restrictions became apparent, and within the last month we found that the sale would produce no capital receipt for the council.
“With the original reason for the sale gone, we saw no purpose in pursuing it, so have agreed to refer the matter back to the Executive in order to overturn the decision to sell.
“Whilst the SWINGS campaign was held within a similar timescale, this had no bearing on our decision to retain the land.
“The situation will remain as it has been in recent times, with no investment in the land by the council.
“We would facilitate an agreement between the [Westgate Primary] school and the community about use of the land, but this is where our involvement will end.
“Our Play Strategy is very clear about where investment will be made in the city.”
* Douche was delighted that Wickham Gardens would be kept open for its intended use as originally outlined in 1914.
“I wholly believe that thanks to the immense support from the local community, petitioners, our local Councillor Donald Nannestad, the Dean and Chapter of Lincoln Cathedral, the Friends of Lincoln Tank, the Civic Trust and the Bailgate Guild, and the fact that we joined forces to show the strength of feeling in the area, we managed to shame the Council in to overturning the original decision.
“We fully appreciate that these are difficult times, and that the Council need to make budgetary savings, however, this green space in central Lincoln is priceless to the local community.
“If it had been developed on as the Council originally intended, it would have been lost forever.
“We will now be working to obtain external funding to replace the play equipment, and to work towards returning Wickham Gardens to a vibrant recreational space for the whole community to enjoy.”
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We want to speak to three individuals in relation to a burglary which took place at Tattershall Farm Park at around 1.45am in the early hours of Monday, 8 August.
A fence was broken to gain access to the grounds, and a rear door to the workshop was forced open. Numerous power tools and equipment were stolen, including a red quad bike, to the value of around £25,000.
The escape was made via the same route across a field to the rear and along Marsh Lane, Tattershall using two-barrel carts from the site to transport the stolen goods down the lane.
If you know these individuals, or you have any further information that will help with our investigation please get in touch.
Please email [email protected] quoting ‘Incident 86 of 8 August’ in the subject line.
Or call 101 quoting Incident 86 of 8 August.
If you wish to remain anonymous you can report any information via CrimeStoppers by calling 0800 555 111.
Doddington Hall Farm Shop near Lincoln will feature in a new Channel 5 series which celebrates the British love of a good farm shop.
Episode one of ‘Britain’s Poshest Farm Shop’ is due to air on Channel 5 at 8pm on Friday, August 12. Doddington Hall features throughout episode 1 alongside farm shops in North Wales and Devon.
The two-part series is narrated by Patricia Hodge and described as “a warm and touching look at why we all love a farm shop, the characters that inhabit them and the people behind the scenes that work so hard to create outstanding produce.”
Owner Claire Birch in the Kitchen Garden, a stone’s throw from the Farm Shop.
Doddington Farm Shop Kitchen Garden display.
Doddington Hall said its award-winning farm shop wasn’t built on being ‘posh, but was “born out of a passion to provide our customers with good quality, seasonal, local food.”
Doddington Hall said Production company Out of the Blue TV filmed “on a momentous day when the cows were being put out to pasture for the first time after the winter so they were gambolling in the sunshine.”
Doddington Farm Shop Kitchen Garden display.
Owners Claire Birch & James Birch and stockman Hari Limbu.
Since 2006, the Elizabethan Doddington Hall has been the much-loved family home of Claire and James Birch. Claire’s family have lived in the Hall for over 190 years, devoting themselves to the upkeep, repair and progression of the Doddington Estate.
After a 50 year absence, the formerly neglected two-acre walled Kitchen Garden was restored to its former glory in 2007, inspiring the opening of the Farm Shop followed by the Cafe. Just a stone’s throw from the Hall, it provides an abundance of fruit, vegetables, salads and herbs which take centre stage in the Farm Shop and on Doddington Hall’s menus.
Owner Claire Birch in her kitchen in Doddington Hall, giving a sneaky peek into the ancient recipe archive.
Owner Claire Birch with a Kitchen Garden tromboncino squash.
Over the last 16 years, Claire and James have developed the Farm Shop, Bike Shop, Café, Coffee Shop, Restaurant, Home Store, Country Clothing Store, Holiday Cottages, Bauble Barn, Christmas Tree sales, Weddings and Events businesses; increased public access and organised popular concerts and exhibitions with all proceeds going towards the upkeep and conservation of the historic Hall and Gardens.
This year, the Doddington Hall Conservation Charity secured National Lottery Heritage Funding to develop ‘Wilder Connections’, a project to connect people with nature at Wilder Doddington.
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