Colin McFarlane: “We need street lights back on in Lincolnshire and also need to make sure they’re not harmful”
I have lived in both London and Lincoln since I left Loughborough University at 21. I performed in the Lincoln Mystery plays in the Cathedral in 1989, met and married my wife in the Cathedral and christened my son there and my parents still live here, so Lincoln is a very special place for me.…
Lincoln actor Colin McFarlane campaigned to get the lights back on. Photo: Steve Smailes / The Lincolnite
I have lived in both London and Lincoln since I left Loughborough University at 21. I performed in the Lincoln Mystery plays in the Cathedral in 1989, met and married my wife in the Cathedral and christened my son there and my parents still live here, so Lincoln is a very special place for me.
It has always been my oasis from the wonderful but mad entertainment industry I am in and that calm has been disturbed recently. I noticed an unease around the place all caused by the lights going off after midnight across the county. Since speaking out about this I have been contacted from unhappy people all over the county from Sleaford to Grantham to Grimsby and beyond.
As Commissioner Loeb from Gotham City I would like to call in Batman to sort this out, but he’s not available at the mo! So while we’re waiting for our hero to arrive, I thought I would get the ball rolling so we can get our lights back on as soon as possible. Please read on and help turn my dream into a reality so we can once again light the magical Lincoln we all love and be and feel safe.
Introduction
So, having lived in Lincoln since I was 18 and acted since I was 21, I travel back and forth from Lincoln to London on a regular basis and I always look forward to hearing about the latest topic of conversation in Lincoln. Over the past twelve months, putting to one side Brexit and latterly Trump, the subject that has caused the most heated debate, without a doubt, has been the lack of street lights after midnight; other than, of course, Lincoln City’s incredible footballing success which I am privileged to continue to witness first hand.
We were recently asked to give a simple “either/or” answer to a very complicated subject regarding Brexit. We are being put in a similar position regarding street lights. Instead of “in or out”, it’s “on or off”. Both scenarios ignore the fact that it’s just not as black and white as that. With Brexit, the media and the politicians dressed it up in many different ways, but there was basically one story: immigration. With street lighting, we are also being told there is basically one story: cuts.
The issue
After a lot of research into street lighting across the UK, it is clear that we have a perfect storm of new technology, huge financial pressures on local authorities and a lack of guidance from central government. This results in poorly thought-out, knee jerk and costly decision-making under pressure. In the long term, on many levels, a carefully considered national policy on street lighting would save both Lincolnshire, and the country in general, a fortune. However, Lincolnshire County Council (LCC) has plunged ahead and implemented a new “street lighting transformation project”, to much local consternation.
Has LCC got it right and, if not, how can we rectify the situation over the short and long terms?
Potential solutions
It’s not clear how much research LCC actually conducted before implementing its new programme. However, by modelling our next steps on the policy of councils like Cardiff, it becomes clear that there is a viable and financially low risk solution available. It is not too late and we can still achieve substantial savings here in Lincolnshire with far less upfront investment with an immediate and low risk return, while avoiding little known but potentially dangerous side effects and unintended consequences.
Street lighting can then be maintained at a level that allows people both to BE safe and FEEL safe. Furthermore, it will keep our options open for the future as the lighting technology market develops rapidly. It’s a win win!
The key to this happy outcome is to learn and benefit from the experiences of other councils and follow best practices that have already been developed. Cardiff’s strategy has proved to be a popular and financial success so why try to reinvent the wheel?
The optimal solution appears to be to moderately reduce the output of existing residential street lighting in conjunction with dimming technology, and avoid using inappropriate LEDs in residential areas. In Lincoln’s case, even though LEDs appear to have already been installed, they need to pause and reconsider.
Ideally, LED installations should be confined to motorways and highways until more is known about the potentially toxic and harmful effects of what is a developing technology still in its infancy and it is vitally important that we make sure that the appropriate types of LED are specified so that they will not need a costly overhaul in the future.
Lincolnshire County Council’s street lighting policy
LCC has recently adopted a new street lighting policy whereby they aimed to reduce costs by “managing energy consumption to a minimum” by removing up to 3,000 existing street lights and turning off another 38,000 street lights during all or part of the night (so called part night lighting, with the “curfew” starting as early as 10pm in some areas and by midnight in all the other areas).
Additionally, dimming would be introduced on another 17,000 street lights, after their conversion to LED technology without, it would appear, LCC considering what is an appropriate and safe specification.
Although LCC’s attempts to achieve savings with this technology are to be applauded, the lack of apparent knowledge of the potential harmful effects of different types of LEDs, combined with the extreme strategy of just switching lights off, is a concern. For example, what type of LEDs were specified and installed? From where are the specific savings coming exactly?
The current publicly available cost estimate is a capital outlay of £6.4 million, to deliver eventually some £1.77 million in cost reductions from its annual £5 million street lighting budget. However, there are many financial issues that have not yet been publicly addressed:
How much of the £6.4M has already been committed/spent?
How long does it take for the projected maximum annual savings of £1.77M to be achieved?
How are the costs and savings distributed over the four strands of the new policy?
Removal;
Part night lighting (“curfew”);
LED conversion;
Dimming of those new LEDs.
Are costs and savings equally distributed or are the costs and/or savings concentrated in one or more of the strands?
The answers to these questions will drive how best to move forward.
Residents’ reaction
This new policy has proved markedly unpopular with residents, whose complaints range from unhappiness with reduced safety and convenience through potential health risks from the inappropriate type of new LED lights being installed, to the way this policy has been implemented without sufficient consultation and review.
At the moment, to people in Lincolnshire, it feels like we are living in a third world country under curfew and many simply believe that they do not have a voice in this matter at all.
Even when they do attempt to raise the issues of safety and fear of crime with their councillors, they think they are simply not listened to and are ignored. Furthermore, most people are highly unlikely to be aware of the separate but crucial issue of the inherent risks of some of the LED technology being rolled out without the appropriate research or consultation. All they are told is the reason we are doing this is because we have to make “cuts”.
A policy of fear is then used, “if it’s not street lights then we can’t fix the pot holes or we have to cut this or that”.However, just because we have to make cuts shouldn’t mean we can’t have proper engagement with the public through prudent and constructive dialogue leading to the best solution for all.
From my conversations with people across Lincolnshire in person and via social media, these are people’s prime concerns:
Lincoln feels unsafe – Many of the public feel unsafe in their own homes; we ALL need to feel safe at night in the city and rural areas – lighting is crucial to this;
People feel confined to their homes when it’s dark – Fewer people are going out because it’s dark and they are fearful;
Fear of crime – This is just as valid as being a victim of crime;
It’s forcing people to spend more on security – To make driveways and gardens safe;
Emergency services can’t do their jobs properly – They can’t find people’s house numbers etc.;
You can’t legislate for the unexpected – A child is sick in the night, someone has a heart attack etc. How do they even see their way to their car?
Damage to the vibrancy and economy of the city – A University city is less attractive for potential students because they feel unsafe after a night out;
PR own goal – Benefits of Magna Carta Commemoration & Lincoln City FC’s spotlight on Lincoln being undercut;
Private businesses keep their lights onat night- E.g., Car dealerships, supermarkets for safety and security reasons, so why don’t LCC?;
Lights off can also harm the environment – By discouraging people from walking and cycling in the early hours, we are forcing more people into their cars;
False economy – Cost to the Council of road safety accidents, burglaries, injuries in the dark, lawsuits etc.
Blanche Lentz, General Manager for Lincolnshire at East Midlands Ambulance Service, said that they have concerns regarding:
Cardiac arrest – every second counts and if we can’t find house numbers quickly due to a lack of light it can be the difference between life and death;
Injuries in the work place – by our staff being unable to see clearly where they are going when having to move extremely quickly to save lives;
Access to homes at night is proving difficult, particularly when house numbers aren’t clearly visible. For elderly vulnerable residents the darkness can cause unnecessary anxiety when we are trying to find their address.
The East Midlands Ambulance Service has indicated that it would welcome the opportunity to work with the council to allay their concerns.
LincolnshireChief Constable Bill Skelly, understanding that LCC’s policy is likely to make the public fear for their safety, stated in a recent BBC Radio Lincolnshire interview:
“I do have sympathy with you… Lighting is one of those factors that can be used to prevent and to deter crime from taking place. What I can say is that the council have to make difficult decisions but they are your council, so a route into it is to lobby them and to speak to them about the decision they made to try and bring about change.”
Speaking directly to a victim of two recent crimes, he said:
“I do absolutely appreciate that it has had a direct effect on you and you’ve seen these incidents taking place since they’ve decided to change the lighting.”
It is almost impossible to prove definitively whether crime has gone up or down because:
Fewer people are going out after midnight because it’s pitch black in many places; and
Once again, due to cuts, there are often not enough police available to deal with the complaints and they often go unreported.
There is, however, evidence to suggest that some elements of crime, such as burglaries, are indeed on the increase. At a public meeting of theEast Grantham Police panel, they said there had been a spate of burglaries due to the lights going out and that: “One burglar even commented to the police that he waited for the lights to go out before leaving his home.” How damning is that? For the elderly, shift workers, women and the sick and vulnerable to hear this kind of thing is a worrying and unacceptable state of affairs in this day and age.
A survey in The Lantern Report, commissioned by local authorities themselves, concluded that:
“When specific offences were considered, the estimates provide suggestive evidence that part night lighting may be associated with an increase in robbery…”
In summary, it seems eminently reasonable that residents want to:
Feel safe after midnight whether we are out and about or in our own homes;
Sleep soundly without lights that are too bright or harmful keeping us awake;
See at night without damaging our eyes or our health;
Walk or cycle home after a late night out/shift work etc. and feel safe;
Walk down the pavement without tripping over and getting injured in the dark;
See pedestrians and road junctions while driving in both good and bad weather;
See our way to our car in an emergency;
Get the best from our emergency services;
Admire the sky at night.
Why is it so hard for LCC to understand this? If I were a councillor for the day, I would look to satisfy as many of my constituents’ concerns as possible and benefit the economy. I would have an in-depth look at how best to make major savings through having a sensible lighting policy. In order to do that, I would start by talking to councils like Cardiff who have got it right.
Experience of other councils
First of all, let’s be clear that it IS possible to save money AND keep the lights on, contrary to what appears to be strident attempts by LCC to have you believe otherwise. Cardiff, Westminster, Nottinghamshire, Herefordshire and Sheffield are examples of councils that are doing just that.
However, not only do we need the lights back on, we also need the “right” lights on and not ones that can potentially damage our health and the environment.
What is little known in the public domain is that, in simple terms, there are “good” LED lights and “bad” LED lights, at least for street lighting purposes. Westminster and Cardiff, the best examples, are using “good” ones and Herefordshire and Sheffield are using “bad” or inappropriate ones.
The CCT (Correlated Colour Temperature) or “colour appearance” of a light is crucial to our wellbeing and is measured in Kelvin (K). For example, lighting in the CCT range 2700K to 3000K is regarded as “good” (safe, yellow-rich, warm light) and 4000K to 6000K as “bad” (potentially unsafe, blue-rich, cool light).
Many councils’ cost cutting strategies involve the use of LEDs. However, various studies point out the folly of not conducting thorough research before rolling them out and ending up with the “bad/inappropriate” ones. Public Health England pointed out in their in-depth study into the use of LEDs:
“Therefore, due to the high capital outlay and the potential long-term impact of an inappropriate installation, any new LED street light installations should be subject to an assessment involving qualified lighting professionals, who should consider the conclusions of this report and any future evidence.”
Public Health England, May 2016
And the warnings are not just emanating from this country:
“Encourage the use of 3000K or lower lighting for outdoor installations such as roadways. All LED lighting should be properly shielded to minimise glare and detrimental human and environmental effect … Encourage minimising and controlling blue-rich environmental lighting by using the lowest emission of blue light possible to reduce glare”.
American Medical Association, June 2016
A recent study highlights the fact that we are literally playing with people’s health by not properly researching the harmful effects of LED technology. It stated:
“Public policy makers should also be convinced to curb the wide scale introduction of short wave length illumination, which is potentially the most dangerous component of light pollution.”
“Light Pollution as a New Risk Factor for Human Breast and Prostate Cancers”
Haim and Portnov, January 2013
It is the significant increase in blue-rich, short wavelength light from “bad” (high CCT of 4000-6000K) LED street lights, which is their primary cause for concern.
Both Herefordshire and Sheffield are examples of councils who are using what are now considered inappropriate or “bad” LEDs. So, although their aim to save money and keep their communities well lit is to be applauded, they have, inadvertently, chosen lights with incorrect specifications which are potentially harmful to residents and the environment; it seems LCC has made the same costly mistake.
Best practices
Cardiff is currently the best model in the UK; in line with Public Health England’s advice, they carried out an 18 month pilot scheme pre roll out.
“Cardiff Council has been working closely with interest groups and campaigners to ensure that the proposed colour and brightness of the light for the new scheme is appropriate and safe.”
Cllr Ramesh Patel, Cabinet Member for Transport, Planning and Sustainability
Other organisations also agree with this strategy:
“New street lighting should be tested in situ before a lighting scheme is rolled out across a wider area. Local authorities should give careful consideration to the type of LED lighting they use and consider the potential impacts of higher temperature (Kelvin) blue-rich lighting has on ecology and human health.”
Campaign to Protect Rural England, December 2014
Cardiff recognises that LED street lights are a developing technology and if the cheaper options are used, the “blue-rich light” they emit can be harmful to us. This blue-rich light from “bad” LEDs with the inappropriate specifications is replicating daylight at night time, which is completely out of sync with the natural world. It is also highly discriminatory towards the growing proportion of the population aged over 50 with AMD (Age-related Macular Degeneration) whose eyes’ ability to transmit blue light is severely compromised. This is a fact that seems to be ignored by Councils in their Equality Impact Assessments.
After in-depth research and consultation with the public and lighting manufacturers, Cardiff decided that there should be a two-strand approach to keep the community well lit AND save money:
Main roads and highways would be lit by “good/appropriate” LEDs (3000K) not “bad/inappropriate but cheapest” LEDs (4000-6000K);
Residential areas would not use LED technology at this point but would be lit by a lowering of output and dimming of existing lighting.
Cardiff’s approach to residential street lighting is designed to improve the night time environment and to deliver a host of positive outcomes for residents and visitors, including:
A reduction in street crime and the fear of street crime;
Better visual guidance revealing obstacles more clearly;
An 8% reduction in the Council’s carbon emissions;
A taxpayer saving of £800,000 a year in energy costs, just from switching 13,608 street lights to LED lights on almost all of the city’s main bus routes and highways, at a capital cost of £4.4MM.
In terms of the reduction of crime, Cardiff took into account the findings of eight different studies and concluded that improved street lighting, either through more lights or brighter lights, reduced crime. With improved visibility, potential offenders are more exposed and less likely to commit crimes.
There are many ways to both save money and keep communities well-lit and safe using LED technology. However, it is developing all the time and there is little guidance or consistency across the country.
Implementation
Simon Nicholas (a leading street light campaigner) says that:
“Virtually all UK councils are getting their street lighting policies badly wrong. In the main, councils have ignored the communities they are meant to serve, and rushed blindly into cutting or replacing existing street lights to save money with scant knowledge of a constantly developing lighting industry that in a short space of time will render their plans obsolete, as technological advances negate ill thought out council planning. All local authorities should explore the option of dimming existing street lighting – which still has years of life left in it – rather than spending millions on brand new LEDs without due consideration. Cardiff spent £1.7 million to dim 22,365 existing street lights and is now saving £312,000 a year. The cost of this is a fraction of what it would have cost to convert the existing lights to LED.”
However, LCC seems to be ignoring best practices and maintaining that everything is going swimmingly. Councillor Davies of LCC even proclaimed recently:
“We have been piloting LEDs in Lincolnshire for nearly 20 years now, one of the reasons we’re not able to convert the vast majority of our lights to LEDs is a lot of them already are, a lot of them are already very high efficiency”
BBC Look North. March 2017
This appears to be highly implausible since the first use of LED technology for street lighting applications did not take place anywhere in the world until 2006!
It’s clear that we need real, substantial dialogue here in Lincolnshire.
LCC could, for example, address the critical issues of their residents and constituents, and instead of potentially squandering millions of pounds on the wrong LEDs, invest a fraction of that on reducing the wattage and dimming their existing lighting. This way you can keep the lights on and still save money. Additionally, you keep your future options open as LED technology is developing so rapidly and potentially becoming much cheaper. It’s common sense!
Conclusion
In conclusion, to satisfy all the concerns listed above and to reach a cost effective and long lasting solution that gives Lincolnshire the street lighting it needs and deserves, over the long term it ideally requires three things:
A national policy – led by central government to give guidance, promote awareness, set a minimum standard and, in so doing, drive the costs of what is required down; so that the necessary but currently expensive lighting options become more affordable for all.
Public engagement – involvement at a local level in a street lighting policy with which ALL the local community residents are happy, not one imposed on them in which their complaints and concerns are steadfastly ignored.
Transparency – honesty and accountability from Councils nationwide on their proposals and budgeting, thus far and going forward.
In the short term, though, LCC needs to learn and benefit from the experiences of other councils and follow best practices that have already been developed.
The optimal solution appears to be to upgrade the existing residential street lighting with dimming technology, and avoid using inappropriate LEDs in residential and commercial areas.
However, no one is currently prepared to admit that they have got it wrong. There is a culture of refusing to admit that mistakes have been made. If the LCC and any other councils are serious about saving money as well as maintaining the health and well being of its constituents, they need to wake up to reality.
Listen to others who have got it right like councils such as Cardiff, listen to the people paying their wages and come up with a policy and strategy that benefits everyone both financially and spiritually, as well as keeping us safe in our homes.
Leading street light campaigners such as Simon Nicholas have offered to personally meet with councils and give them the benefit of their years of experience and expertise. I firmly believe it is an offer LCC should accept so that we can right the mistakes and create suitable street lighting, not only for our county – but indeed for the whole country – that is truly fit for purpose.
Lincoln Actor Colin McFarlane is best knows in his role as Comm Loeb in Batman Begins & The Dark Knight. Next movie 'The Commuter' with Liam Neeson out October 2017. Voice of the Cube.
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The Lincolnite welcomes your views. All comments are reactively-moderated and must obey the house rules. Please stay on topic and be respectful of other readers.
There have been 1,643 new coronavirus cases and 83 COVID-related deaths in Greater Lincolnshire this week – compared to 1,670 cases and 71 deaths last week.
Some 304 new cases and 17 deaths were reported in Greater Lincolnshire on Friday – the third day in a row with 17 deaths.
The government’s COVID-19 dashboard recorded 252 new cases in Lincolnshire, 28 in North Lincolnshire and 24 in North East Lincolnshire.
On Friday, 14 deaths were registered in Lincolnshire, two in North East Lincolnshire and one in North Lincolnshire. These figures include deaths both in and out of hospitals, as well as residents in hospitals outside the county.
NHS England reported six new local hospital deaths at United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust, four at Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust (NLAG) and one at Lincolnshire Community Health Service hospitals. Some 51 hospital deaths have been recorded this week, compared to 48 last week.
On Friday, national cases increased by 40,261 to 3,583,907, while deaths rose by 1,401 to 95,981.
Lincolnshire health bosses estimate that 80-90% of new coronavirus cases in the county are now a mutant, more infectious strain of COVID.
Figures earlier this week said that by January 8, 59.2% of cases had confirmed the new virus — up from 36% by the end of 2020 — and now county leaders estimate the number to be even higher.
The COVID mutation that has taken over most new cases in Lincolnshire is not only more infectious, but also more deadly, it has been revealed.
NHS bosses are hoping to offer all care homes in Lincolnshire the first COVID vaccine dose by the end of the week. This comes as almost 5.4 million people have received jabs nationally.
Director of Nursing at Lincolnshire CCG Martin Fahy told BBC Radio Lincolnshire that about three quarters has been completed so far.
A single week in December saw Lincolnshire deaths reach 13 times the yearly average, explained local health bosses frustrated with COVID deniers.
Lincolnshire County Council’s Director of Public Health Professor Derek Ward explained that the week including December 14 would usually see an average of 23 deaths, but 2020 say 301 deaths that week.
In national news, there are no plans to pay everyone in England who tests positive for COVID-19 £500 to self-isolate, No 10 has said.
The PM’s official spokesman said there was already a £500 payment available for those on low incomes who could not work from home and had to isolate.
The coronavirus R number in the UK has fallen sharply since last week, suggesting the lockdown is slowing the spread of coronavirus.
The R, which refers to the number of people that an infected person will pass COVID-19 on to, is between 0.8 and 1 across the UK, according to the figures released by the Government Office for Science and the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE).
This means for every 10 people infected with COVID-19, they will pass the virus on to between eight and 10 others.
Lincoln City has taken the top spot with the highest infection rate in Greater Lincolnshire.
This week saw South Holland at the top which was put down to two outbreaks in care homes with up to 100 cases. South Holland has now dropped to third place in the region.
Greater Lincolnshire still remains way below the national average infection rate of 472.9, with just 217.3 per 100,000 of the population.
Here’s Greater Lincolnshire’s infection rate over the last seven days up to January 22 according to the government dashboard:
Greater Lincolnshire’s infection rates from Jan 15 to Jan 22. | Data: Gov UK / Table: James Mayer for The Lincolnite
Coronavirus data for Greater Lincolnshire on Friday, January 22
Greater Lincolnshire includes Lincolnshire and the unitary authorities of North and North East (Northern) Lincolnshire.
45,645 cases (up 304)
31,814 in Lincolnshire (up 252)
7,067 in North Lincolnshire (up 28)
6,764 in North East Lincolnshire (up 24)
1,760 deaths (up 17)
1,255 from Lincolnshire (up 14)
272 from North Lincolnshire (up one)
233 from North East Lincolnshire (up two)
of which 1,047 hospital deaths (up 11)
638 at United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust (up six)
32 at Lincolnshire Community Health Service hospitals (up one)
1 at Lincolnshire Partnership Foundation Trust (no change)
376 in Northern Lincolnshire (NLAG) (up four)
3,583,907 UK cases, 95,981 deaths
DATA SOURCE — FIGURES CORRECT AT THE TIME OF the latest update. postcode data includes deaths not in healthcare facilities or in hospitals outside authority boundaries.
The COVID mutation that has taken over most new cases in Lincolnshire is not only more infectious, but may also be more deadly, it has been revealed.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said there is “some evidence” the new variant of COVID-19 which is more transmissible could have a “higher degree of mortality”.
However, he said all current evidence continued to show that vaccines remain effective.
Health bosses in Lincolnshire on Friday estimated 80-90% of new coronavirus cases were the new variant.
Boris Johnson told reporters that there were currently no plans to change lockdown rules saying “this is the right package of measures” and that it was down to people obeying the current lockdown and enforcement.
Mr Johnson was speaking during a press briefing on Friday where health bosses said 1 in 55 people now had coronavirus in England.
There are now more than 38,000 people in hospital nationally – 78% higher than the peak of the first wave.
Mr Johnson said: “We’ve been informed today that in addition to spreading more quickly, it also now appears that there is some evidence that the new variant, first identified in London and the south-east, may be associated with a higher degree of mortality.
“It’s largely the impact of this new variant that means the NHS is under such intense pressure.”
In response to questions over death spikes caused by the new variant he said: “Death numbers will continue to be high for a little while to come.”
Sir Patrick Vallance, the government’s chief scientific adviser, said there was already confidence the new virus spread more easily, but that it was unclear why that was.
He said there was no difference in terms of age range being affected.
Sir Vallance added the outcome for those in hospital with the new variant was the same, however, there was evidence “there’s increased risk for those who have the new variant, compared to the old virus”.
Early evidence suggests the difference shows 13-14 deaths per 1,000 infected as opposed to 10 in 1,000 for the original virus.
However, he added: “That evidence is not yet strong, it’s a series of different bits of information that come together to support that, and I want to put it into context as to what it might mean.
“But I’m stressing that these data are currently uncertain and we don’t have a very good estimate of the precise nature, or indeed, whether it is overall increase.”
He confirmed there was increasing evidence the new variant would be susceptible to the vaccines and studies of the Pfizer Biontech vaccine showed “very good neutralisation”.
“There’s increasing confidence, coupled with I think what is a very important clinical observation, which is that individuals who’ve been infected previously, and have generated antibodies, appear to be equally protected against original virus and new variant,” he added.
England’s Chief medical office Chris Whitty said there had been a “turning the corner” for the number of people catching the virus, adding it was coming down from an “exceptionally” high level.
A Lincoln couple will reopen their independent pizzeria at a new location on Friday night, with an array of main and signature pizzas and Belgian waffles.
Weirdough’s Pizza Emporium will open at Tap & Spile on Hungate from 5pm on Friday, January 22, but it initially started out as a charity project making Neo-Neapolitan pizzas.
Husband and wife team Matt and Rachel Barnes have lived in Lincoln for around five years and last year they wanted to do something to raise money for the NHS.
Matt starting to prepare a pizza. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
Kneading the dough. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
Matt used to work at a Lincoln school, but they were closed to most pupils for a few weeks in March, so he started working on a project and Weirdoughs Pizza Emporium was born.
It was initially run from The West End Tap from the end of last summer, but in January the pub announced it would not reopen again under its current management, so Weirdoughs had to find a new premises.
The base ready for the next stage of the pizza making. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
Matt putting the pizza into the oven. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
The tasty pizza in the oven. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
Adding the finishing touches to the pizza. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
All profits made from the food sold – just under £2,000 – went to the NHS. The couple also did some drop offs at the coronavirus ward at Lincoln County Hospital.
Matt was made redundant at the end of May and Rachel was due to give birth four weeks after that.
It was a hectic time for the couple as Rachel, who works at a primary school in Peterborough, would be on maternity leave and Matt would soon have no income.
The Margz main pizza – San Marzano tomatoes, mozzarella and basil. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
The Weirdough – San Marzano tomatoes, parmesan, Emmental, mozzarella, red onions, roasted red peppers, mushrooms, spicy Nduja sausage, rocket, balsamic glaze and garlic drizzle. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
As the pizzas were working so well and following feedback from customers, the couple decided to turn it into a business.
Dan Neale, who previously ran the West End Tap, has joined the Weirdoughs team of four as a pizza chef.
Or why not try a Create Your Own Weirdoughs Waffle? | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
The dough is homemade 24 hours ahead to make their special main and signature pizzas, while customers can also order a create your own Weirdoughs waffle.
The Belgian waffles come with a variety of toppings such as Kinder Bueno, Crunchie, and Galaxy Caramel, with sauces including white and milk chocolate, salted caramel and toffee, with ice cream.
Weirdoughs will open Friday to Sunday 5pm-9pm and Wednesday to Thursday 5pm-8pm for takeaway or delivery.
Pre-ordering is advised via Facebook or Instagram or by calling 07734 297 035, with the latter option preferred if it is after 4.30pm.
Owner Matt Barnes will help meet your pizza needs. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
Delivery is available to the following areas: Ermine, St Giles, Monks Road, High Street, Bailgate, Boultham, West End and the city centre.
Weirdoughs will try and accommodate other areas too, but it may incur additional charges, while the takeaway will also be joining Uber Eats in the near future.
Weirdoughs will be based inside the Tap & Spile pub in Lincoln. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
Once pubs are allowed to reopen again, customers at the Tap & Spile will able to order Weirdoughs food straight to their table and Matt said he can’t wait for people to able to experience it that way.