Outstanding report for Christian Lincoln academy

Almost 20,000 fines and penalty points will be cancelled due to an error with temporary speed restrictions during roadworks on the A1 at Grantham.

The Lincolnite can reveal 19,089 offences between February 16, 2021 and July 10, 2021 will be scrubbed off the record due to a fault with the speed camera system and temporary 50mph limit.

Lincolnshire Police said the £100 speeding fines (totalling almost £2 million) are in the process of being refunded, and/or penalty points cancelled.

The force is working with National Highways to identify and directly contact motorists who have been affected.

National Highways blamed the issue on “a discrepancy relating to the temporary traffic order” during Lincolnshire County Council’s project to build a new junction at Grantham.

They did not respond to questions over how the error came about by the time of publishing.

It relates to two static speed cameras, one northbound and one southbound on the A1 at Grantham.

While Lincolnshire Police could not provide a total number of fines issued during the period of error, the force said of those whose Notice of Intended Prosecutions are in the process of being cancelled, 18,387 were between 50 and 70mph and 702 were above 70mph.

One driver contacted The Lincolnite when they received a letter from Lincolnshire Police.

They said: “As much as I am relieved to avoid the likely three-point fixed penalty and £100 fine, I think it’s a matter of public interest that other motorists have likely been prosecuted and/or fined for something with no legal basis.”

National Highways head of service delivery, Adrian Oulds said: “Safety is a top priority for National Highways. A temporary speed limit is in place on the carriageway to keep the A1 safe – for both drivers and the construction team – while work takes place.

“There was a discrepancy relating to the temporary traffic order, which means some of the enforcement was invalid and we are working with Lincolnshire Police to resolve this issue.

“However, we encourage all drivers to observe temporary speed limits through roadworks for their own safety.”

Lincolnshire Police Chief Superintendent Paul Timmins said: “We have been made aware by National Highways of a discrepancy relating to a temporary traffic order on the A1 which has meant that some enforcement was invalid regarding the temporary speed restriction.

“National Highways are the lead agency on this matter and are working through the details relating to the exact circumstances.

“We are working with National Highways and other partners to identify and directly contact motorists who might have been affected and will take action accordingly.

“This includes the possibility of refunding fines and/or cancelling penalty points that were awarded during the material time of February 16 and July 10 this year.

“The situation has been rectified and the temporary speed limit is enforceable and so I would urge all drivers to be aware and drive within the speed limit for your safety and that of other road users and the construction workers.”

Banners have gone up at Lincoln’s South Common to remind people not to feed the horses after recent incidents of the animals dying from passers-by giving them food.

There are around eight or nine horses left on the South Common in Lincoln, and Charlotte Houlden, owner of one of the animals, has said that feeding of the horses is a “daily occurrence” despite regular warnings of its dangers.

To try to combat this issue, local resident Wendy Miller wanted to put banners up on the railings to remind everyone that they should not be feeding the horses.

The sign is in both English and Polish, as the message reads clear. | Photo: Wendy Miller

The banners were made by Kate Baldwin of Impress Prints & Branding, who offered to create them free of charge after the spate of horse deaths.

They read “please do not feed the horses” in both English and Polish, accompanied with pictures of some of the foods that are not suitable for the horses to be given.

Owners are hoping it will help keep the horses safe from foods that are toxic to them. | Photo: Wendy Miller

Pictures of cake, bread, apples and carrots are on the banner after reports of a horse called Vera being given these foods when she died on August 1 this year.

Horse deaths on the South Common were seen as a growing threat by owners of the animals, which prompted the banners to be put up.

Signage had previously been put up in the area warning people against feeding the horses, but had since been taken down.

Horse owners are urging people not to feed their animals on the South Common in Lincoln. | Photo: Charlotte Houlden

Wendy Miller, who helped organise the placing of the new banners, told The Lincolnite: “Ever since that horse sadly died on South Common as a result of being fed cakes, we wanted to fundraise to have banners printed.

“They are there to warn people of the dangers of feeding horses, and thankfully Kate Baldwin offered to do it free of charge! Hopefully it can spread awareness.”

A young woman killed in a crash on the Lincoln Eastern Bypass has been named as Rosemary Earle from Cranwell Village, near Sleaford.

The inquest hearing at Lincolnshire Coroners’ Court heard how Rosemary, 28, died from a head injury, pending further tests, after a crash involving her car and a van, between the Branston and Bracebridge Heath roundabouts at about 4.30am on September 3.

Lincolnshire Police say the investigation into the circumstances of the crash is still ongoing, and they have not made any arrests.

If you have any information that may help police, call 101 or email [email protected] using incident 43 of September 3 as a reference.

The inquest was adjourned until March 3, 2022

Around 50 caravan owners in Ingoldmells are set to get five more years respite as East Lindsey District Council looks to claw back “greater than anticipated losses” a controversial policy change has caused.

The authority originally told owners of caravans on their site (Kingfisher Caravan Site) that they had to pack up any holiday homes older than 20 years (15 years plus five additional one year licence extensions) in a bid to modernise the campsite.

However, next Wednesday leaders will vote to make it 10 one year extensions instead – bringing the age limit to a total of 25 years.

It was recently estimated the site faced a £2.5 million loss of income over the next two years after an £842,000 deficit in its 2019/20 budget. However, bosses said that once the work is completed they will be in a better position in the future and that income levels would return to previous levels by 2022/23.

Owners of caravans on the site have previously hit back at the changes and are currently looking to take the council to court. More than 350 caravan owners have already left the site but 100 or so remaining owners are still fighting on.

A report before councillors next week said: “The Executive is fully aware of the current occupancy position at the park and of the ongoing threat of litigation from the Kingfisher Owners Group; it is also aware that plans to repopulate the Park are being developed by Invest East Lindsey Limited and through the exploration of a potential joint venture with another local organisation.

“Notwithstanding this, the change in the occupancy rate over the past 18 months has been greater than originally anticipated; whilst this will in part be due to those licence changes, COVID-19 has had major impacts on our customers and has contributed to the situation that prevails.”

It is estimated that the measures will “limit the future impact” and could prevent 50 caravans from having to be removed – though 18 caravans over the 25 year age limit will still have to go.

More than 100 people plan to take East Lindsey District Council to court over the changes to contracts, announced in October 2019.

Opponents to the plans have said the move has lost people’s futures and targets the working class people on site. They fear the authority will set a precedent for other caravan sites in the area to follow suit.

Stuart Allen, one of the campaigners previously said of the new changes: “The people on the site have been asked their opinion this time, but the majority can see that this guarantees nothing for them.”

He said people were now “leaving through fear of the future” and that the “council will continue to lose valuable income”.

During a recent meeting of the authority’s scrutiny committee, Councillor Colin Davie said: “The aerial pictures of the site are very depressing, it looks terrible. People that have caravans spend money in the local area but that’s not going through the local economy either.”

He said the loss of income was “substantial”.

Councillors later voted to bring the matter back for further investigations.