Vandals leave £1,000 worth of damage at Lincoln village cricket pitch

The Lincoln College Group held its annual awards, celebrating the achievements and success of its students in the past year.

The ceremony on December 2 was held at the Monks Road campus, with hundreds of students, staff and stakeholders enjoying a three-course meal and entertainment from the Performing Arts students.

Thirty student success and determination stories were celebrated on the night, with Lincolnshire Police Chief Constable Chris Haward being the guest of honour at the ceremony.

Mark Locking, the Managing Director for Education and Training Delivery at Lincoln College Group handed out the awards.

Full list of winners:

1. Performing Arts and Creative Arts category – Jack Shaw
2. Construction Apprentice Award – Paulius Rafanavicius 
3. Construction Student Award – Oscar McLaren
4. A-Levels and Access to HE Award – Tye Kirk
5. Care College Student Award – Chris Charumbira
6. Care Services Apprentice Award – Rachel Kelman
7. Care Services Student Award – Sophie Blackburn
8. Business and Education Apprentice Award – Gillian Macias
9. Business and Education Student Award – Shane Dale
10. English and Maths award – Andrew Thursby
11. Hair and Beauty Student award – Gemma Cotterill
12. Hair and Beauty Apprentice of the year – Lucy Sprigg
13. Engineering and Technology Student Award – Georgia Davey
14. Engineering and Technology Apprentice Award – Osvaldas Milasius
15. Sport, Public Service or Animal Care Performance Award – Charlotte Johnson
16. Commitment to Sport, Public Services or Animal Care Award – Kyle Storer
17. Award for Community Education and ESOL – Toni Kime
18. Service Sector Student Award – Jack Fairweather
19. Service Sector Apprentice Award – Rhiannon Gillings
20. Philip Dawson Foundation Learning Award – Ellie Kennedy 
21. Made in Gainsborough Apprentice Award – Philip Brackenbridge
22. Air and Defence Student Award – Faith Stephens
23. Policing College awards – Lochlan Chamberlain and Dominic Capewell
24. Richard Arbon Award for Overcoming Adversity – Daisy Hackney
25. Most Improved Student Award Ben Craig
26. Apprentice of the Year – Rachel Kelman
27. 16-to-18-year-old Student of the Year Award – Shane Dale
28. Over 19 Student of the Year Award – Andrew Thursby
29. KryptoKloud Award for Digital Learner if the Year – Megan Thompson
30. Entrepreneurial Achievement Award – Kerry Gabbitas

A consultation on the second phase of a 500-home plan for land bordering Greetwell Quarry has sparked fears for the future of the site and nearby nature reserve.

Persimmon Homes is currently carrying out a consultation on its plans for 340 new homes as part of its Greetwell Fields Development.

The 500-home site borders Greetwell Quarry and is part of a parcel of land in the Central Lincolnshire Local Plan called the Lincoln North East Quadrant Sustainable Urban Development.

The plan, created by West Lindsey District Council, the City of Lincoln Council and North Kesteven District Council, has been in the works since before 2012 and is allocated for 1,400 homes, five hectares of employment use, a retail and community centre, new school and improved transport and infrastructure.

However, many people say they did not know about them at all, and appear surprised by the latest consultation which has sparked local residents into action.

Locals fear the development would lead to the the loss of the Quarry and the Greetwell Hollow Nature Reserve as green space/recreational areas and impact on wildlife in the local area.

They do not feel homes built in the area will be well-protected from flooding and say it will lead to over density as well as impact on infrastructure.

Local resident Kimberley Ford said: “I use this every day, I walk my dogs there, the children go there to play.

“You take that away and what are the youths going to do? Where are they going to go?

“Everyone’s in uproar about this.”

Michelle Watts said: “Building on this area would leave the Arboretum as our closest green space.

“Although they are talking about preserving topography, there is no mention of taking into account the wildlife within the quarry, particularly the birds that use the site for nesting.

“[The wildlife reserve] is only a limited area and increased footfall and limited areas to walk dogs would mean this would probably no longer be viable to protect the wildlife in the area.”

John Ambrose said: “For me it is all about space – the site is already densely populated and the sections in question provide a space to go – I don’t know how I would have coped in lockdown without it.”

Roads, traffic, parking, utilities etc can barely cope at the moment,” he added.

Documents about the NEQ within the Central Lincolnshire Local Plan said: “Existing features of note, including the exposed quarry faces and views of Lincoln Historic Core, will be retained and exploited to help provide a development of unique character.”

They also note key objectives to “protect the Wildlife Reserve at Greetwell Hollow and low-lying land at Willingham Fen West, part of which is designated as a Local Wildlife Site”.

Persimmon Homes’ plan lies within West Lindsey District Council boundaries, however the rest of the site sits within the City of Lincoln.

A City of Lincoln Council officer confirmed no plans had yet been submitted to the authority to build on the rest of the site.

Kieran Manning, assistant director for planning, said the NEQ included protections for the quarry and Hollow, adding that as and when applications were made residents would be consulted and given the opportunity to comment.

“Whilst the local plan allocation inevitably means development of the wider site to some extent would occur should it come forward, the above requirements would be carefully considered in terms of the environmental impact of the proposal as well as all other material planning matters including infrastructure.

“In addition to this and in around two years from now there will be a mandatory requirement for development to demonstrate a biodiversity net gain of 10%.

“It would therefore be the case that this requirement would be triggered if a detailed proposal comes forward beyond that time.”

Objectors plan to launch a campaign against any plans, including protests and petitions.

Persimmon Homes consultation ends on Sunday, December 5 and can be filled in here: https://www.persimmonconsultation.com/greetwellproposal

The full plans will be submitted to West Lindsey District Council at a later date.

A movie written, filmed and directed in Lincolnshire has received high praise from national media and film reviewers, including The Guardian who described Lapwing as an “intriguing, slightly stylised and quasi-theatrical piece”.

Lincoln-born screenwriter Laura Turner and local director Philip Stevens made their feature film debuts with Lapwing. Lapwing is set in 1555, a year after the Egyptian Act of 1554, on the isolated Lincolnshire coast, exploring the female experience of emotional abuse and coercive control in relationships.

The story tells the story of a mute young woman called Patience, who is played by Hannah Douglas, confronting the physical, verbal and emotional abuse she has suffered from her brother-in-law, and falling in love with a gypsy called Rumi. The plot sees an isolated group of salt farmers arrange an illegal passage to Europe for an Indian gypsy family in hiding, but a love affair between an aphonic English girl and the son of the Egyptians threatens to destroy both communities.

Produced by Lincolnshire based production company Urban Apache Films, it was filmed entirely in the county. The cast and crew are largely made up of people from or with connections to Lincolnshire, as well as some well-known names – Emmett J Scanlan who was in Hollyoaks and Peaky Blinders, and Sebastian de Souza who featured in Skins.

Lapwing was released in selected cinemas on November 26, including Lincoln’s Everyman Cinema and Parkway Cinema in Cleethorpes. Before the film’s general release it also had a world premiere at the Leeds International Film Festival, a local premiere at the Everyman Cinema, and a screening at the Rio Dalston in London.

It proved so popular the Lincoln’s Everyman Cinema have put on extra showings between December 3 and 9 – see more details here or on the Everyman website.

In addition, the film is also available on demand through Apple TV, Amazon Prime, Google Play and Sky Movies.

High praise for Lincolnshire film

The Guardian was among many to review the filming, awarding it 3/5 stars

The review said: “Screenwriter Laura Turner and director Philip Stevens are making their feature-film debuts with this intriguing, slightly stylised and quasi-theatrical piece: stark, oppressive, menacing, a historical drama with a slice of horror. ”

It added: “Stevens resourcefully uses the blank canvases of wild, empty coastline and forest to avoid the need for much specific period detail.”

Mark Kermode spoke about the movie on his 5 Live Film Review. He said: “It’s got a really kind of effective atmosphere. It’s shot by Stewart McGregor and makes fantastic use of the landscapes. There’s this kind of feeling that this could be happening anywhere at almost any time. There is very good music by Lee Gretton.

“It’s [the film] bleak, and at times it’s kind of almost intolerably bleak, but there’s something in there. Since I saw it I have thought about individual images from it…the film has a power and an atmosphere that I hadn’t expected.”

UK Film Review gave the movie five stars.

The review said: “There are no weak points when it comes to acting in this film. All members of the cast showcase jaw-dropping talent; I’m wary about using the word ‘perfect’ here but it’s somewhat rare to find a cast in its entirety that can mesmerise viewers as much as Lapwing has proved it can.

“The overall concept of Lapwing is one of heavy subject, if you were to just explain it briefly to someone you would create a ripple effect of sorrow painted across each listener’s face. However, without the power behind the acting, watching the events unravel for an hour and a half might not have created the same effect, showing the importance of finding the right people to fit these roles.

“Without the strength of emotional potency and the cast’s attention to detail in their roles, I feel like reactions to the events would fall flat into a pit of distress and not much more. It would ultimately prevent the audience from being able to understand where they fit into the empathetic connection (or apathetic, depending on which character you focus on) attached to the twisted and torn individuals of the story.”

The review also praised writer Laura and director Philip, adding: “Directly joining the conversation surrounding acting talent, it is obvious that director Philip Stevens was compatible with the cast in order to successfully present these characters in their best light, as well as deeply understanding the writing by Laura Turner and how the intensity of the script should be translated onscreen from a directorial perspective.

“All of these main elements of Lapwing flow together wonderfully, instinctively intertwining and helping the project to grow from its roots – just like that of a lapwing and its early symbolic meaning that it invokes the fertility, the rains and the health of flocks. Core elements of this nature in film carry themselves in the same way.”

The film was also reviewed on the Inside Total Film podcast.

Jack Shepherd said: “The cinematography I thought was the stand-out here, it looked fantastic.” And that the “coastlines are shot so well” in a “really beautiful movie”.

He also had high praise for the main character Patience, played by Hannah Douglas, adding: “She’s got basically no dialogue. She conveys a lot of emotion through her face and it’s very well done, it’s very impressive.”

Movie Reviews 101 described the film as “brutal and raw” and rated it as four stars.

The review was full of praise for the main characters, saying: “Hannah Douglas is brilliant in this leading role, her character goes through so much, where Hannah will make us feel the raw emotion she is going through.

“David is the leader of the group, he won’t let anyone go against him and runs a shady illegal operation to help people travel to Europe, showing this man will do anything to feel important in this world.

“Emmett J Scanlan gives us one of the worst humans we will see in film this year, his performance will make us hate him in everything scene. Lizzie is the sister that has been through the abuse that he has put her through.”

The Times rated the film as three stars, picking out its “bracing melodramatic force”.

Screenwriter Laura Turner and director Philip Stevens told The Lincolnite: “It’s been a really amazing and exciting journey since the film had its premiere and then released to select cinemas and on video on demand on November 26.

“It’s been a bit of a whirlwind, but just such a brilliant time of starting to introduce the film to audiences. We’ve loved having the opportunity to talk to audiences at the various Q&A special events we’ve done across the county and beyond, and we’ve got more of those coming up in the new year across the country.

“The complex themes of abuse, misogyny, xenophobia, coercive control and toxic masculinity are so integral to the piece, which makes it all the more important that we are having these conversations with audiences and getting the chance to find out their response to the film, and for them to ask us questions about how we developed the story, too.

“Gaining such incredible feedback, and positive reviews from national press, has been incredible for everyone involved and we feel so grateful that the film has been received with so much insightful conversation and thoughtful comments. We’re looking forward to continuing that journey in the coming weeks!”