February 3, 2017 9.58 am
This story is over 64 months old
Lincoln cancer charity shop footfall down 50% since city centre works began
Fundraisers behind a Lincoln cancer charity shop have said they have had a 50% decrease in footfall after the loss of the bus station and works on Sincil Street. The team at Candles Charity Boutique on Sincil Street are reminding shoppers to continue supporting the businesses and shops in the area, particularly as they are…
Pan Connock, co-founder of the Candles Charity. Photo: Sarah Barker for The Lincolnite
Fundraisers behind a Lincoln cancer charity shop have said they have had a 50% decrease in footfall after the loss of the bus station and works on Sincil Street.
The team at Candles Charity Boutique on Sincil Street are reminding shoppers to continue supporting the businesses and shops in the area, particularly as they are edging ever closer to a vital research funding target.
Charity founders told The Lincolnite there’s a summer deadline for the shop to raise as much money as possible. After that they’ll look to possibly leave the unit.
The money raised in the shop and on their JustGiving page goes towards research into what the government have described as a ‘potential breakthrough’ for a non-invasive cancer treatment.
Pam has said since work started in the area, footfall has decreased. Photo: The Lincolnite
So far the charity has raised more than £1.3 million, which has gone into supporting the world-leading work done in Lincoln by Professor Oleg Eremin.
Professor Eremin has carried out extensive research into the use of immunotherapy treatments and how these can be applied to encourage an individual’s immune system to fight cancer, rather than using chemotherapy and radiotherapy.
Pam Connock, co-founder of Candles told The Lincolnite: “Since the bus station, the car parks and the buildings began in the late Autumn we have had a minimum decrease in footfall of 50%.
“It has had a massive impact on the intake in the shop.
“This shop is the bread and butter of the charity at the minute. If we don’t have any fundraising there’s money coming from here and assured.
“We have such a short time to make the money in now because we will probably be leaving this premises in the summer when the lease is finished.
“To finish the research we need £80,000, which doesn’t sound a lot when you have raised £1.3 million, but that is the difference between finishing the job and nearly finishing it.”
Works taking place
Work on Sincil Street, jointly led by the City of Lincoln Council and Lincolnshire Co-op will see the modern extensions to the existing Corn Exchange taken away and replace with elegant shop fronts within the existing openings at ground floor level.
Works, in tandem with the City of Lincoln Council, sit within a masterplan for the area, which also includes the £30 million Lincoln Transport Hub, which will be in the location of the former Bus Station.
Lincolnshire Co-op chief executive Ursula Lidbetter said: “As well as delivering a new offer to those living and working in the city, the brands will encourage more people to come and experience our thriving city centre, contributing to the local economy.
“The new transport hub being constructed next to this scheme will allow people to access the destination easily.
“It is important for local businesses who depend on shoppers coming into the city, for commuters travelling in for work and for growing numbers of visitors to Lincoln.”
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Drivers in Lincoln will face nearly a fortnight of disruption when electrical works cause a road closure on Skellingthorpe Road from next week (July 11).
Western Power Distribution will install a new electricity connection for a new primary school on Skellingthorpe Road.
The county council has been constructing a new 130-place school on the site of the former Priory Witham Academy Junior School, which will be for St Christopher’s primary-aged pupils.
As a result, Skellingthorpe Road will be closed between Tritton Road and Boultham Park Road between July 11 and July 22.
This is to ensure the safety of engineers and local people while work is taking place.
A diversion will be put in place via Tritton Road, Doddington Road and Newark Road.
Western Power Distribution said: “We apologise for any inconvenience caused while we complete this essential new connection.”
We are investigating a road traffic collision which happened just after 5pm today.
The crash happened on the A15 just south of Waddington and involved a black Peugeot 208 that collided with a tree. The driver of the car, a 56-year-old male, was taken to hospital with serious injuries.
The A15 was closed just before 6pm and is likely to remain closed for some time.
We are particularly keen to hear from those who were driving along the A15 this afternoon between 4pm and 5:10pm and may have captured dashcam footage of the road during the collision.
If you have dashcam footage or any other information that will assist in our enquiries, there are a number of ways you can get in touch.
By calling 101 quoting incident 285 of 4 July.
By emailing [email protected] quoting incident 285 of 4 July in the subject line.
If you wish to remain anonymous, you can report via the independent charity CrimeStoppers on 0800 555 111 or online.