The Grandstand will undergo essential maintenance budgeted at £100,000
The City of Lincoln Council will invest over £4 million to tackle the effects of the recession on the city, if plans are approved at Full Council on March 6.
A five-year strategic plan and a two-year delivery plan includes 98 projects to tackle unemployment, housing issues and social wellbeing in the community.
The council acknowledged that in Lincoln 3,242 people are currently on Jobseeker’s Allowance, 3,000 people on the housing waiting list and 4,500 children, 25%, are living below the poverty line.
Rick Metcalfe, Leader of the City of Lincoln Council, explained how elected bodies like councils cannot stand by and watch the effects of the recession, so money has been moved around to fit the context of the city’s problems.
“We take the problems facing Lincoln very seriously and have spoken to the people and stakeholders in the city and are addressing their issues with evidence based decisions from thorough research,” he said.
The biggest winners
Up to £2 million is assigned to provide mortgage indemnity for first time home buyers in Lincoln allowing them to obtain a 95% mortgage.
Working with two financial institutions, the council will act as a guarantor for new buyers who are Lincoln residents and buying a home within the city boundaries with a value of around £100,000.
The first £1 million should help 50 new home purchases.
The City of Lincoln Council has committed £10,000 per annum for two years to support the Visit Lincoln Partnership.
Apprenticeship schemes at the council and with partners will receive £75,000 a year funding to focus on young people not in employment, education or training.
Pending a feasibility study, £150,000 of capital investment will be used to develop a programme of support for small businesses or social enterprises designed to stimulate the economy and job market.
Council allotment sites will get £75,000 directed by a new allotment strategy due in April 2012.
Some £125,000 of funding will be used to establish day care centres for the homeless, aimed at reducing public anti-social behaviour.
Reducing Lincoln’s carbon footprint will get £30,000 investment for up to two more electric cars and further promotion of public transport for staff at the City Council as well as cheaper resident parking permits and parking season tickets for people with low emission vehicles.
Regenerating local communities with a city-wide version of Neighbourhood Management will be introduced with £105,000 funding per year.
The Grandstand will undergo essential maintenance budgeted at £100,000 but will reduce future costs by preventing further deterioration of the grade two listed building.
Establishing a new cemetery in Lincoln will be given an additional financial contribution of almost £700,00 plus £32,000 yearly operating costs until costs becomes neutral.
Some £50,000 will be spent on carrying out a study into bringing forward the Western Growth Corridor in Swanpool with the idea of creating homes and employment.
With community engagement a priority at the City of Lincoln Council, £164,000 will be spent on upgrading City Hall facilities such as improving public meeting rooms and creating more interview space.
The losers
With council tax frozen for the year, money for these projects has been found by moving around existing budgets during the council’s services review.
The council conceded there may be room for shrinkage in its workforce as it becomes more efficient, but assured there are no plans for redundancies.
Councillor Rick Metcalfe said: “Operating more efficiently is not a crude euphemism for cuts but we can intelligently manage vacancies and offer early retirement.”
Other areas that have sacrificed budgets are leisure schemes and IT.
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Television presenter Stephen Mulhern will be in Lincoln next month for ITV’s ‘In For A Penny’ show and the producers are looking for extras to assist with a returning game.
In For A penny is a British game show based on a segment of the same name from Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway.
The show returned for a fourth series which began last month with Stephen Mulhern hitting the streets with his pop-up gameshow, where unsuspecting members of the public take on a challenge and compete for a cash prize.
Lifted Entertainment, who produce programmes as part of ITV Studios, are looking for extras with a variety of different hairstyles, normal, bald, colourful, braids, mullets, perms and more, for a paid role. The extras will not be in contention to win any prize money, but will help with the gameplay.
Filming will take place during the morning or afternoon of either June 8, 9 or 10, with the exact date/time being confirmed in the coming weeks.
Anyone interested and available is being urged to send their full name, contact number and location, as well as a clear picture of themselves with their current hairstyle, to [email protected].
We are appealing for witnesses and anyone who may have captured dashcam footage following a serious RTC on the A631 last night.
Officers received reports of a single-vehicle collision just after 7pm on 18 May involving a white Yamaha FZR 600 motorcycle.
A 34-year-old man sustained serious injuries and was taken to hospital where he remains.
The collision occurred on Gainsborough Road, Bishopbridge and the A631 junction just north of West Rasen was closed before 8pm to allow emergency services to deal with the incident. It was reopened during the early hours of this morning (19 May).
If you witnessed the collision or captured dashcam footage, you can get in touch in one of the following ways below:
By calling 101 quoting incident 421 of 18th May.
By emailing [email protected] quoting incident 421 of 18th May in the subject line.
If you wish to remain anonymous, you can report via the independent charity CrimeStoppers on 0800 555 111 or online https://crimestoppers-uk.org/
Whatsapp
