There is currently debate over the 185 person-strong waiting list for an allotment plot in Lincoln.
At present, the waiting list system for a space to grow vegetables, fruits or herbs works on a ‘first come first served’ basis.
When an allotment becomes free, City of Lincoln Council contact the person who has been on the waiting list the longest.
That person then has three weeks to respond and if they do not respond, the next person on the list is contacted.
However, the current system is causing problems amongst those who have been waiting on the list for years.
Some even believe that after plots have been freed up, they are not maintained properly.
Claire Leivers, a previous plot owner and currently on the waiting list, said: “I have been on the waiting list for 4 years now, one week I was number 17, then number 9 in the list, then I would be number 14.
“It was completely different from week to week, month to month until I gave up ringing.
“I think they should let the allotments be self-managed and the council have no say in it at because they clearly can not do it.
“When I was offered a plot 4 years ago it was badly overgrown and I was told it had been unused for 3 years.
“I clearly stated that I did not want my plot rotovated and spent over £40 getting weed control and tools then spent two days spraying.
“The next day I went to check the site and the Council had rotovated the site merely causing more problems for me.
“They took me off the list 6 months ago for reasons unknown to me, then offered me a 1/2 plot on Saturday at Sincil Bank, but when I went to check it, it is more like a 1/4 overgrown and weedy plot and the gate was locked so I couldn’t check it anyway”
“There are so many empty plots and something really needs done about it.”
The City of Lincoln Council currently manages more than 900 plots spread across the 18 sites within the City.
Steve Bird, Head of Community Services, Leisure and Sport at the City of Lincoln Council, said: “We would like to reassure all those who have an interest in allotments that we are doing all we can to try to let plots.
“We review this list routinely to make sure that the people on the list are genuinely interested in taking on a plot.
“Everyone on the waiting list should keep an eye out for us contacting them, and respond.
“If anyone has put their name on a waiting list and no longer wants an allotment, then we could as them to contact us to remove it.
“The delay in the system, and the lack of responses are extremely frustrating for staff, and we share the frustration of other allotment holders who sometimes see plots standing vacant for longer periods than we would like.
“We would like to improve the way allotment plots are let, and we’re currently discussing this with representatives from North Lincoln Horticultural Society, the largest Allotment Holders Association in the city.”
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Coal is the dirtiest of all the green house gases, which is why even the present government has committed to phase out coal power completely by 2024 and driving forward power generation based on renewables with a decarbonised power system by 2035.
The development of wind and solar power means that clean energy is now cheaper than coal generation in most countries, and the cost of new coal based energy plants is well above the cost of new wind and solar farms.
Sustainable non-carbon sources of energy are essential to tackle global warming, and just as essential for hard pressed consumers who are currently paying far more than they need to for their energy use.
District councils in Lincolnshire are already supporting low income households with the Home Energy Upgrade scheme to help them insulate their homes and install low carbon heating for the coming winter.
This is no time for complacency. The rapid acceleration of global warming is evident to everyone just now, andthe time for prevarication is over.
There is no contradiction between tackling global warming and making sure that we can all pay our energy bills.
A Lincoln woman was hospitalised for six months after giving birth whilst having coronavirus, enduring multiple strokes and spending five weeks in a coma. Now, she is fundraising for private treatment to speed up her recovery.
Josie Busby had coronavirus in September last year before testing positive for it again in November. After a dizzy spell, and due to being heavily pregnant, she phoned NHS 111 and an ambulance was sent out.
Josie, now 40, was taken to Lincoln County Hospital where the baby’s heart rate was seen to be high. After waiting to see if her condition improved, doctors decided that for the safety of her and the baby an emergency c-section would be performed.
William, 5, became a big brother to George two days later when Josie’s new baby was born in November 10 last year.
However, Josie suffered multiple strokes and was sent to Glenfield Hospital in Leicester on November 13 for specialist treatment as she was “desperately poorly”, her husband Rob said.
Josie with her sons William, 5, and George who is now around nine months old.
Josie returned to Lincoln County Hospital four days later but her condition continued to deteriorate. She was put into an induced coma for five weeks, where she said she had a lot of tubes inside her. During her time in hospital, her new baby George was looked after at home by her husband Rob and his mum.
Josie came out of the coma in December, but remained in hospital until June 20 this year and she is determined to speed up her recovery by fundraising for private treatment.
Josie is determined to become more mobile again.
She is now having NHS stroke recovery treatment (physio and speech therapy) and also has carers coming to her house at least twice a day to help her with personal care and to get dressed, while family and friends have been helping with batch cooking.
An emotional Josie told The Lincolnite that she is desperate to have the joy of being able to look after her children properly as she has really struggled with not being able to physically do much for them.
She said: “It’s all a blur. I can’t remember much until around February of this year. Although I was awake in December I wasn’t aware of what was going on as I was on a lot of medication.
“I’ve only been home six weeks and my left side is still weak. I can’t hold George in the way that I want to and should, so I am still working on that bond, and I can’t even change his nappy at the moment.
“The physio is coming to the house four to five days a week, helping with my speech, handwriting and physio work. That has been really upsetting for me as I had beautiful handwriting before and now it’s like I’ve never written before, it’s gone completely. I am like a baby learning from the beginning.
Josie (right) with her sister Alice (left).
“I can’t walk across the living room, clean or cook, and when I am in bed I feel like a prisoner as I can’t roll over. My main objective is to be more mobile again so I can do normal activities and look after George and William.
“Because I’m more aware of things now, I am feeling more emotional. I am having counselling to work on that. I think once you’re home in a lot of ways it’s harder as you are more aware of what you can’t do at home, whereas in hospital you get a lot of help with things.
“The support we have had from our parents has been amazing, and above and beyond.”
Josie has felt upset about not being able to look after her baby boy George properly and is trying to raise money to speed up her recovery.
Josie set up a GoFundMe page as the NHS treatment she is having is for a shorter period of time and she said “not being with the kids properly is killing me at the moment”.
She said: “Having children really motivates me to want to get better soon. It is horrible being at home and not being able to look after them, or myself, properly.
“I want to say a massive thank you to everyone who has donated. It really means a lot to us and the boys. I also want to thank the hospital staff who were amazing.”
Josie feeding her baby boy George.
Josie’s husband Rob said: “At the very beginning it was very much a shock. When I saw her for the first time after George was born she was essential vacuum packed with tubes coming out of her. It was really scary.
“There were a lot of uncertain weeks at the beginning and I was being given updates from ICU – at one point she was given a 10% chance of survival. It is definitely good that she is home. The help she is getting is really good, what she is after with the GoFundMe page is to add to that.
“Even in this short space of time she’s been home she’s had marked improvements. There is still a long way to go, but she is determined.
“What we’ve had so far (support from hospital and carers) has been really good. All the support from the maternity and Ashby wards, and ICU, was excellent, and from my perspective they couldn’t do enough for me (when I was on the maternity wing with George).”
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