Lincolnshire pays out most in pothole damage claims

Small business owners in Lincolnshire will back the latest COVID restriction relaxations, but bosses warn of escalating costs ahead amid a 30-year high on inflation.

Katrina Pierce, the Lincolnshire development manager for the Federation of Small Businesses said: “The news that we are to move from Plan B and its various limitations and requirements back to Plan A will be positively received by Lincolnshire’s small business owners today.

“It shows we are moving in the right direction away from restrictions and barriers to working normally, and we certainly hope this really is the final wind down of all limits on trading.”

However, she pointed to further announcements from the Office for National Statistics on Wednesday which showed the price of food costs and energy bills drove inflation to 5.4% in the 12 months to December, the highest since it shot to 7.1% in March 1992.

Analysts have warned there is worse to come with gas and electricity costs set to rise by another 50% in the spring as a government price cap is set to be revised.

Further research from the Institute for Fiscal Studies also suggested average pay rises are failing to keep up with the rising cost of living.

Katrina Pierce, development manager for the Federation of Small Businesses in Lincolnshire. | Photo: Supplied

“Today’s announcement does come against a challenging backdrop for SMEs in the county,” said Katrina.

“Just this morning we found that the cost of inflation is at a 30-year high, which means costs on everything is escalating.

“Small businesses are also facing volatility in energy costs, difficulties sourcing labour and a range of stock and supply issues.

She said “all eyes will be on the Chancellor” in a few weeks time hoping that he will deliver a “pro small business budget”.

“But for today, it’s good to know this time next week we will be out of restrictions that affect how we live, work and socialise,” she said.

CCTV footage of someone running out of a Lincoln park moments after city man Sam Davies had been fatally stabbed has been shown to the murder trial.

The prosecution says the man, who slips and loses his footing briefly as he emerges into Browning Drive in the St Giles area, is 20-year-old Eimantas Gochman after just carrying out the attack.

Several clips – all from the same camera covering an entrance to the park between Browning Drive and Coleridge Gardens and timed at about 10.45pm on May 27 last year – were shown to the jury at Nottingham Crown Court on Wednesday, January 19.

William Harbage QC, prosecuting, said one showed defendant Eric Kesel walking up Browning Drive and entering the park at 10:45:16.

Another clip, he told the court, was Mr Davies going into the park, having approached from the opposite direction, at 10:46:11.

Mr Harbage said a third clip showing a man stumbling was: “A person who the Crown say is Mr Gochman seen running from the park less than a minute after Sam Davies had entered the park.”

The trial heard evidence from two residents of Browning Drive, captured on CCTV, who were chatting outside and saw two men walk by separately towards the alleyway to the park.

The women both said one of the men had firstly spent several minutes standing over the road from them apparently talking on a mobile.

One of the witnesses said both men came running back along the street a short time later and the shorter man – accepted to be Kesel – shrugged his shoulders with his arms up high and shouted either: “For ***** sake” or “****ing hell.”

This caused the man in front, who was dressed in dark clothing, to slow down.

The witness said: “They met up halfway down the street and had about a ten or 20-second conversation. Then the taller guy carried on running, turning right into Oval Approach towards Nettleham Road.”

Kesel, who lives in Browning Drive, was seen to go into a house on that street. The witness said the whole scenario had seemed odd to the two women.

She said: “There’s a running joke that there’s always something going on where we live.

“I said ‘It’s been quiet for a little while now. I wonder if this is the calm before the storm.’”

The next day she saw that the park area had been taped off by police.

Flowers and a teddy left on the railings near the scene where Sam Davies was killed. | Photo: The Lincolnite

One of the seven defendants is a 17-year-old boy. His barrister said video clips gathered by the police from Coleridge Gardens showed his client walking towards the park at 10:44:30 and walking back past the same camera at 10:47:34.

Mr Andrew Campbell-Tiech said to DC Carla Dawson in cross-examination: “During those 184 seconds, in the park Sam Davies was fatally stabbed. The prosecution case is this isn’t a coincidence.

“In the course of interview [my client] described that he went to the park to buy some cocaine, having left the taxi running at the bottom of Coleridge Gardens.

“Crucially, he told you that he never saw Sam Davies at all. In other words, when he went to the park and left it, it was before Sam Davies arrived.

“The material you have actually supports that proposition.”

Mr Andrew Campbell-Tiech said calculations of the time it took the boy to walk to the park from the camera point and back to it proved his point.

The trial was also played the 999 call from a Coleridge Gardens resident after Mr Davies had banged at his door asking for help as he bled from the two wounds.

The defendants standing trial – all from Lincoln – are Joe Jameson, 24, of Whitehall Terrace; Billy Gill,
21, of Hatcliffe Gardens; Daniel Heydari, 25, of Chestnut Street; Eimantas Gochman, 20, of Sturton
Close; Eric Kesel, 19, of Browning Drive; and Charlie Wakefield, 21, of Broxholme Gardens. A 17-year-
old boy cannot be legally identified due to his age.

All of them deny one count of murder. Jameson also denies making a threat to kill.

The trial continues, with the prosecution expected to complete its submissions next week.

The Grade II Listed Judge’s Lodgings, situated in between Lincoln’s castle and cathedral, has been listed on the market for £850,000.

The building is steeped in history, having been built in around 1820 by architect William Hayward to serve as the crown court.

It was given a two storey extension in the 1960s to the rear of the property, which contains various bedrooms and other amenity space, while a small garden can be found to the side of the property, with pedestrian access off Castle Hill.

The Judge’s Lodgings can be found in the middle of Lincoln Castle and Cathedral. | Photo: Lambert Smith Hampton

It has now been listed by Lambert Smith Hampton at a guide price of £850,000 on a 999 year leasehold, with the brochure advertising it as a multi-purpose commercial development.

The ‘Permitted User’ clause allows for the 501 square metre property to be reimagined into a variety of uses, including a theatre, public house, live music venue, public hall, library, museum or retail unit.

The building used to serve as Lincoln Crown Court. | Photo: Lambert Smith Hampton

Lambert Smith Hampton will be listening to offers until 12pm on Wednesday, March 9, and you can view the full listing here.

Applications must include full identity of the purchaser, proposed purchase prices, proof of funding, the basis of offer and proposed use of the building.

The possibilities are endless for it. | Photo: Lambert Smith Hampton

The property was last on the market in January 2021, listed for £800,000 by Banks Long & Co with Lincolnshire County Council wanting to sell to an owner who could “protect the fabric and heritage” of the Lodgings.

A great view of Lincoln Castle too! | Photo: Banks Long & Co