One good-humoured local resident has made a petition to ‘knock Lincoln Cathedral down’ as it is impeding his view from his house to the Brayford, inspired it seems by the approval of a second floating restaurant in the city.
Facebook user Benjamin Abel made the petition on Tuesday, October 10 stating that one of Lincoln’s historic landmarks is clogging up his view of the Brayford at his Eastgate home.
He posted his subtle jibe on the You’re Probably from Lincoln If… Facebook page with the update: “I have decided if we get 100,000 votes I will take it to parliament to put the cathedral at the bottom of the Brayford to create three floating restaurants.”
This was followed by a link to the change.org petition, where Ben continues to describe the historic landmark as “an eyesore”.
“It’s ruining my view and that’s all that matters in the world”, he added.
Many Lincoln residents were left unimpressed after the green light was given for a second floating restaurant on the Brayford. Some stated the views across the pool would be obscured.
So far, just 10 people have signed the petition, but plenty of residents have enjoyed joining in with the view spoiling fury.
Paul Richardson agreed with Benjamin, he commented: “[Knocking down the cathedral] would make loads of student flats.”
Matthew Hall asked: “Could we convert it to a floating restaurant, perhaps?”
Unfortunately, Tom Canas was not amused by Benjamin’s antics, he commented: “Whoever wrote this is a total idiot, the cathedral shall never be knocked down.”
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Lincolnshire County Council won’t directly subsidise free school meals during half term, but it also has “no intention of leaving vulnerable children hungry” after opposition leaders challenged them.
Labour Party leader at the authority Councillor Rob Parker has written to Conservative leader Martin Hill urging him to “do the right thing and commit funds so that Lincolnshire children do not go hungry”.
“There is great concern across England about the absence of provision of free school meals to low income families over the half term holidays, and Lincolnshire is no exception,” he said.
He pointed to the fact a number of English councils of all parties had “stepped into the gap” and pledged to fund schemes.
“To date Lincolnshire County Council has remained silent on the matter and as far as I can tell has made no arrangements to ensure that children in low income families do not go hungry during the holidays through no fault of their own,” he said.
Lincolnshire County Council leader Martin Hill (left) and leader of the opposition Rob Parker.
According to council officers, the cost for providing free school meals to about 20,000 eligible Lincolnshire children will be about £300,000 for each week of holiday – around £3 per meal.
Councillor Martin Hill responded: “We have no intention of leaving vulnerable children or anyone else to go hungry over holiday periods.
“The government has made substantial additional financial support to low income families to further help them in these difficult times.”
He said £835,000 already received from government to support vulnerable had been allocated, including £400,000 to the Lincolnshire Food Partnership tosupport local food banks, and £215,000 to the Community Lincs Programme run by the YMCA.
The council has also responded to the COVID-19 pandemic by giving the Lincolnshire Resilience Forum £217,000 to bulk purchase food stock to support vulnerable residents.
“As always we will respond to requests for support positively and if there are children in need we will of course act immediately to keep them safe,” he said.
Lincoln’s Usher Gallery continues to be a source of division for the county’s councillors as both sides refuse to move forward.
The City of Lincoln Council said on Monday that Lincolnshire County Council refused its offer to house birth, death and marriage services at City Hall in a bid retain the Usher as an art gallery.
The Usher Gallery, which is owned by City of Lincoln Council and leased to the county council, was built to house pieces of art and historical artefacts.
It was bequeathed to the city by the late jeweller James Usher in 1927.
However Lincolnshire County Council announced in September it intended to hand back control of collections at the Usher Gallery to City of Lincoln Council and reconsider how the building operated.
It included using the landmark as a venue for weddings and other events.
At the time the city council leader Councillor Ric Metcalfe said it was a “betrayal of the county’s rich heritage”.
The authority has since been trying to save the building from the plans.
City of Lincoln Council leader Cllr Ric Metcalfe (left) and Lincolnshire County Council leader Cllr Martin Hill.
Councillor Metcalfe said he was disappointed by the rejection of the latest offer, which he said was trying to “create a win-win” for both sides.
He said: “Lincolnshire County Council has a long-term lease to operate the Usher Gallery in its entirety as a gallery for the benefit of people living and visiting the city.
“This is a long-term contractual commitment on the part of the county council.
“If they do choose to close the Usher Gallery, this will be a tragedy for the city, it will put into jeopardy possible future investment from national bodies for both the Usher and The Collection and could damage the reputation of the county council for some time to come.
“We understand the county council wishes to use the Usher Gallery as a wedding venue and we remain willing to explore the potential for this, but at a scale that does not detract from the building continuing to function as primarily an arts venue across both floors of the building.”
Plans to change the use of the Usher gallery sparked petitions and protests. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
Lincolnshire County Council leader Councillor Martin Hill however, said the city council needed to have “flexibility and imagination” to move forward.
He said the authority was grateful for the offer, but that it did not “support the long-term financial sustainability” of the gallery or the “future vision for the wider service”.
Councillor Hill denied the move was driven by saving money on office space, but “to find the right location, so that we can develop our buildings to deliver a thriving and sustainable art offering within our community.
He said constraints such as the listed building status, lack of security and environmental controls limited what could be done.
He pointed to the council’s work at Lincoln Castle as an example of success, adding the plans would “respect the spirit of the Usher bequest” by continuing to display art alongside its other uses.
“As I suggested to Ric, this exciting vision, coordinating artistic, historical and aviation heritage, will only succeed if we all accept flexibility and imagination to move forward and gain external support.”
Limited funds, he said, mean the council was “better to focus spending activity in achieving this on the Collection building” which he said was “more suitable to how gallery spaces are built for modern audiences” and already attracted “significantly greater” visitor numbers.
“We have a bold exciting vision for the future of heritage in Lincolnshire and very much hope that City of Lincoln’s Usher Collection and building will be part of that but we will all need to provide unconditional support.”
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