The Greater Lincolnshire LEP has officially put forward a bid for £50 million of funding from central government after submitting its Growth Plan.
The plan [PDF] focuses on supporting the area’s most important employment sectors: agri-food, manufacturing, tourism, care, low carbon, and ports and distribution.
The plan has highlighted twelve projects which could benefit from the fund, including the Grantham southern relief road, the Lincoln Transport Hub, Bishop Burton College, Freeman Street, West and East Marsh Road in Grimsby and Lincolnshire Lakes in Scunthorpe.
All 39 LEPs in England have now submitted a growth plan to bid for their local Growth Deal – a share of the £2 billion national Single Local Growth Fund.
Ursula Lidbetter MBE, Chair of the Greater Lincolnshire LEP, said: “It’s important our bid is nationally competitive, so we have identified upcoming projects which will stimulate growth, and which we feel fulfil the needs of the brief.
“The aim is to prioritise projects that can be delivered in the short term which unlock private sector investment.
“We are very proud of our Growth Plan and believe it represents a real opportunity to help ensure that projects and schemes which will boost our economy can go ahead.
“Funding will be allocated on the strength of this plan, and we believe that we’ve put forward a bid which is rich in detail, and well considered. Each scheme which we’ve identified is different.
“We are asking for £50 million to allow the projects, which already have other funds secured, to go ahead.
“Our plans are a way to ensure that prosperity and growth are terms that become synonymous with Greater Lincolnshire and that our area is known as a place to do business.”
Also known as the Strategic Economic Plan, the bid sets out details on how the LEP will help add £3.2 billion to the Greater Lincolnshire economy over the next seven years, including creating 13,000 new jobs, supporting the building of 100,000 new homes and helping 22,000 businesses grow.
The LEP sought feedback from the area’s top 100 businesses, spoke to business groups and organisations such as the Lincolnshire Chamber of Commerce and the Federation of Small Businesses, and partnered with local authorities to produce a plan that reflects the local needs.
The Minister for Cities, the Rt Hon Greg Clark MP, said: “The Government welcomes the Strategic Economic Plan that Greater Lincolnshire LEP has published today and looks forward to continued engagement with local civic and business leaders over the next few months on the negotiation of their Growth Deal.
“The Growth Deal provides a fantastic opportunity for the Greater Lincolnshire LEP to seek freedoms, flexibilities and influence over resources from Government and a share of the Local Growth Fund to put towards the growth priorities set out in this Strategic Economic Plan.
“This provides the opportunity to unleash the ambition and creativity of the LEP’s local leaders, by devolving resource and responsibility in return for compelling local economic leadership in pursuit of growth.”
Lincolnshire Growth Plan projects
Grantham southern relief road – will create 17 hectares of employment land and 1,600 homes, leveraging £260m of private sector funding
Boston quadrant – will create 4.5 hectares of employment land and 500 homes, leveraging £78m of private sector funding
Boole Technology Centre and Lincoln transport hub – will create 93 jobs, assist 219 businesses and open up 3.76 hectares of employment land
Unlocking rural housing programme – will create 2,059 homes
Bishop Burton College, West Lindsey – will develop a new agricultural college creating 35 new jobs and assisting 410 businesses
Innovation programme – will provide advice and support to 400 of Greater Lincolnshire’s growing businesses
Skegness western relief road – will create 31 hectares of employment land, leveraging £2.9m of private sector funding
Grimsby Freeman Street and West and East Marsh Road – will assist 166 businesses and create 280 homes
Grantham College – will create 43 new jobs and assist 300 businesses
Lincolnshire Lakes Blue and Green Infrastructure, Scunthorpe – will open up employment land and create 600 homes
Access to Employment Zones, North East Lincolnshire – will open up employment land and create 600 homes
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It follows a collision between a motorbike and Ford Kruga in March where, sadly, the motorcyclist – a 52-year-old woman – was killed.
Louth Wolds Councillor Hugo Marfleet told councilors there was a “very bad camber” in the road through the village which “basically flips vehicles one way then the other”.
He said there had been numerous accidents along the road, including a number of lorries which had overturned spilling their produce.
“The village itself is constantly under pressure with speeding vehicles,” he said.
However, he added that residents also wanted more action and speed limits on the road from Burwell to Muckton, which he said was “very narrow”.
“If anything happens on that road, all the traffic gets diverted through there and people come off that a bit fast”.
He asked for new signage to be installed to try to warn people of the dangers.
Committee Chairman Councillor Ian Fleetwood was familiar with the road.
“It is fairly fast and there are one or two little surprises there,” he said.
Councillor Tom Ashton said he endorsed the comments around the south of the village needing more needed doing.
“Going from 60-30mph with such a short stretch before that junction – I genuinely don’t like speed limits that drop by 30mph in one go.”
He called for the area to be looked at again “with considerable urgency”.
A report before councillors said the limit had been in place for “many years” and would have resulted from a speed survey.
A new test measured the mean speed at 35mph, within 3mph of the level required to justify a 30mph speed limit.
The Lincolnshire Road Safety Partnership has also requested an assessment of the A16 to the north of Burwell to see if a reduction from the national speed limit may be used there.
Lincoln Odeon staff reportedly ‘refused entry’ to a group of young people that came to watch the new Minions film dressed in suits – following an emerging TikTok trend.
The trend has seen many teens and adolescents arrive for screenings of Minions: The Rise of Gru dressed in formal suit attire, uploading their experience to TikTok with #gentleminions.
Cinemas across the country have implemented bans for people coming to watch the film in suits, after accusations of audiences making noise and throwing bananas and other items while the movie is on.
The trend has generated millions of views in recent days, appearing to consist of standing ovations at the end, cheering during dramatic scenes and sitting in unison adopting the characteristic steepled fingers of the film’s main character – Felonious Gru.
Gareth Nichols contacted The Lincolnite to say that his 15-year-old son and a group of around 15-20 school friends were “refused entry” to Odeon on Brayford Wharf North in Lincoln on Saturday, July 2.
He said his son and friends turned up in suits, and described the decision to ban a group of teens “who have dressed up for an evening out at the cinema” as “ridiculous”.
“They had all pre-purchased tickets and were not there to cause trouble in any way. They were refused entry because of the way they were dressed; smartly.
“Clearly the good people of Lincoln need to be aware that they should not attend the Odeon cinema dressed smartly, because I assume the same policy will apply to all age groups – not just teenagers.”
Odeon staff did say that the boys would get their ticket prices refunded in 2-3 days, but the cinema has confirmed that access is restricted “in some circumstances”.
An Odeon spokesperson said: “Due to a small number of incidents in our cinemas over the weekend we have had to restrict access in some circumstances.”