Karen Lowthrop: Challenging the concept of business

Lincoln Castle is playing host to a farewell event for the 30 sculptures on this year’s imp trail, offering you one last chance to see them all before they are auctioned for charity.

The imps arrived at Lincoln Castle on Tuesday, September 14 after organisers of the trail Lincoln Business Improvement Group made the decision to take them off the streets of Lincoln.

This was after a spate of vandalism which saw multiple sculptures damaged and in need of repair, so Lincoln BIG made the decision to prevent any more of these incidents.

You can see them lined up at the castle. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite

| Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite

The move signals the beginning of the end of the Lincoln Imp Trail, which despite its difficulties with vandalism and damage, has been a huge success in the city.

| Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite

The sculptures can be viewed at Lincoln Castle between 10am and 5pm until September 22, before they are auctioned on October 1, Lincolnshire Day, at Lincoln Cathedral.

This auction will be in aid of St Barnabas Hospice, the official charity partner of the Lincoln Imp Trail. Tickets cost £15 and are on sale here.

See them while you still can! | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite

| Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite

Vandalism and damage on Lincoln Imp Trail

The Post Impressionist imp, designed by Susan Webber and sponsored by Ruddocks, was found with scuff marks and damage at its spot near the Royal William IV pub on Brayford Pool on Wednesday, September 8. It’s believed that a delivery lorry bumped into the sculpture, causing the damage.

The first imp damaged was the Community Imp on Guildhall Street, which was vandalised on July 21 by 20-year-old Bradley Pennell from Scunthorpe, after a drunken night out. He pleaded guilty in court and has been ordered to pay damages.

It was all change for the imp trail, as the Footie Imp was taken away for repair, the Community Imp returned and the temporary red imp was moved elsewhere!

The next imp to be removed from the trail was the Running Imp at the junction for St Mary’s Street with the pedestrianised High Street, but organisers Lincoln BIG said this was just for some TLC. That was replaced by “Goldie the Imp”.

Then, in late August, the Footie Imp at the lower High Street was found vandalised late at night. Stewart Tomlinson, 45, from Grimsby has been charged with criminal damage in connection to this incident, and was sentenced at Lincoln Magistrates Court on September 17.

Visit Lincoln will undergo a rebrand to incorporate the whole of Greater Lincolnshire, expanding the organisation’s geographical footprint.

Visit Lincoln’s new name will be Destination Lincolnshire and will be business focused, to build an engaged tourism, hospitality, leisure and retail community across Greater Lincolnshire.

The award-winning destination management organisation formed in 2012 and has supported a visitor economy growth of 30% to the city of Lincoln since it formed.

The transition to Destination Lincolnshire will be led by businesses, with representation from local authorities involved in the Towns Fund initiative as well as other schemes in Lincolnshire.

There will still be a commitment to Lincoln, as a continued investment in Visit Lincoln allows it to remain an internationally recognised brand.

All marketing activity including the website and social media will remain as Visit Lincoln, along with consumer facing brands such as Taste Lincolnshire and Cycle Lincolnshire.

The organisation’s evolution has been backed by councils across Lincolnshire, and has also developed a partnership with the University of Lincoln’s tourism research observatory which champions research and a data-led approach in the tourism sector.

Speaking about Destination Lincolnshire, Kate Ellis, strategic director for major developments at City of Lincoln Council, said: “Over the last 10 years Visit Lincoln has played a critical role in transforming the city’s tourism offer and international profile.

“Given the impact of COVID we need a much more collaborative approach to rebuilding the visitor economy led by the private sector. By working together we’ll be championing the recovery of the sector much more effectively then if we do it alone.”

Charlotte Goy is the Visit Lincoln CEO. | Photo: VL CIC

Charlotte Goy, chief executive at Visit Lincoln, explains: “Destination Lincolnshire will focus on building an engaged and resilient visitor economy across Greater Lincolnshire.

“Tourism, incorporating retail, leisure and hospitality has been most affected by the pandemic; and Destination Lincolnshire brings forward a new structure which is business led and across a wider geographical footprint.

“Our growth is supported by businesses and operator within the sector who want to see a joined-up approach, and together we’ll champion new packages, digital innovation and collaborations that have not been possible before.

“Destination Lincolnshire will also deliver against the Government’s key visitor economy priorities which include sustainability, skills, inclusive tourism and the levelling up agenda which include the multi-million-pound Town Deals across Lincolnshire.

“We’re at the beginning of this journey, and we will be asking people to help us shape Destination Lincolnshire into an organisation that can support all levels of the visitor economy, from sole traders right the way through to the local enterprise partnership.”

Lincolnshire County Council hopes to get a court order to remove an abandoned trailer of rotting rubbish in Lincoln – if it can’t find the deceased owner’s relatives.

The trailer, described by the county council, as a “wooden caravan-like structure” has been parked on Ripon Street for two years or longer according to a local resident.

The county council stuck a notice letter to the trailer in March this year, stating it was an obstruction to the highway and needs removing within 28 days, which has still not been done. However, commenters on The Lincolnite’s story earlier this week flagged up that the trailer’s owner had died, including one person who said she’d “reported it to the council after the family cleared his flat out”.

The Lincolnite contacted the county council to ask for clarification on the situation and a spokesperson said: “We’re still looking for the current owner’s family and alongside that we’re hoping to secure a court order to allow us to move it, should no living relatives be found.”

Karen Cassar, assistant director for highways at LCC, previously said the council was trying to find out who now owns the trailer to avoid local taxpayers having to pick up the bill for moving it.

She said: “We appreciate this is a nuisance for local residents. We want to make sure as much of your money as possible goes into maintaining and improving our roads.”

The council has not set an exact deadline in its search for the owner’s family, but once the court order comes through a more accurate timeline will be known.

The trailer is full of rotting rubbish. | Photo: Submitted

A notice from the county council was stuck to the trailer stating that it needs removed within 28 days, but this was back in March 2021. | Photo: Submitted

This comes after a concerned Lincoln resident contacted The Lincolnite calling on the county council to take action, saying he has never seen the area so filthy in more than half a century.

And the trailer full of rotting rubbish isn’t the only issue on Ripon Street, as there also appears to be a problem with fly-tipping and overgrown weeds, which City of Lincoln Council says it tackling.

The weed spraying programme is ongoing with Ripon Street scheduled to be sprayed in the next two weeks.

The city council added that Ripon Street and that general area is ‘subject to a significant amount of fly tipping, which is why we try to check and clear all streets around there at least weekly’.