Lincolnshire County Council leader Martin Hill with his dog Boris
It has been yet another momentous year at the county council.
May saw the county council elections in which my Conservative group gained a clear majority.
While I was naturally pleased at this strong endorsement for the way we have managed local services, we have not rested on our laurels and have ambitious plans for the future.
We were elected on five key commitments:
Securing the best Brexit deal for Lincolnshire
Spending taxpayers’ money wisely
Keeping Lincolnshire moving
Good health and wellbeing – protecting the vulnerable
Promoting our communities – a good quality of life
As you can see, we are always looking for ways to improve the lives of Lincolnshire people.
With that in mind we have launched our Fairer Funding campaign. Councils across the county have received far less money than metropolitan urban areas.
We believe that supporting our communities across a sparsely populated rural area provides its own challenges and that we should be funded by central government accordingly.
We are actively lobbying alongside our MPs for the funding system to be reviewed.
I would like to thank everyone who has backed our campaign so far. Look out for updates on progress throughout the coming year.
I am pleased to say that after years of planning, the city’s biggest road project in decades, the £99 million Lincoln Eastern Bypass – from the A158 Wragby Road roundabout to the A15 at Bracebridge Heath – is now well under way.
Not only will this cut congestion it will also add an estimated £600 million to the local economy.
There are also plenty of other plans in the pipeline for other road improvements in the Lincoln area including the £4 million A46 Dunholme/ Welton roundabout and the £2 million Wragby Road/ Wolsey Way improvements.
We are also working on an outline business case for the North Hykeham Relief Road.
Better broadband is another major improvement we are actively supporting.
In the 21st century, it’s vital for any modern home or business.
The onlincolnshire partnership, led by Lincolnshire councils and BT, has been continuing the roll-out of superfast broadband.
The latest phase will see coverage of almost 97% of the county by the end of 2019.
More than 90% of the county can now sign up with an internet service provider and enjoy faster speeds.
Over the last few years, we have had major opportunities to celebrate Lincolnshire’s rich history, with the 800th anniversary of Magna Carta and then with the Charter of the Forest.
2018 will see us marking a different kind of history when we commemorate our aviation heritage as part of events to highlight the 100th year of the founding of the RAF.
Lincolnshire: Bastion in the Air, 1915-18, supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund runs until April 30, 2020.
The project aims to promote the work carried out in constructing aircraft and defending British airspace during the First World War, which led to the formation of the RAF in 1918, and the continuing links between the county and the RAF.
There will be a series of travelling exhibitions throughout the county during the three-year period, as well as two major static exhibitions in 2018 at RAF Scampton and in The Collection Museum.
New Year’s resolutions
On a local level, as I have already mentioned, I am really hopeful that our Fairer Funding campaign will reap benefits for Lincolnshire.
On a national and international level, we all recognise that the Brexit negotiations have been tricky. But this makes it all the more important that our government sticks to its principles and continues to work hard to deliver the best outcome for all of us.
With that optimistic note, I would like to wish Happy New Year to all Lincolnshire Reporter readers!
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Councillor Martin Hill is the leader of Lincolnshire County Council.
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.
Reflections 2017: Martin Hill – Fighting for a better deal for Lincolnshire
Reflections from the leader of Lincolnshire County Council.
By Martin HillLeader of Lincolnshire County Council
Martin Hill with his Patterdale terrier Boris
It has been yet another momentous year at the county council.
May saw the county council elections in which my Conservative group gained a clear majority.
While I was naturally pleased at this strong endorsement for the way we have managed local services, we have not rested on our laurels and have ambitious plans for the future.
We were elected on five key commitments:
Securing the best Brexit deal for Lincolnshire
Spending taxpayers’ money wisely
Keeping Lincolnshire moving
Good health and wellbeing – protecting the vulnerable
Promoting our communities – a good quality of life
As you can see, we are always looking for ways to improve the lives of Lincolnshire people.
With that in mind we have launched our Fairer Funding campaign. Councils across the county have received far less money than metropolitan urban areas.
We believe that supporting our communities across a sparsely populated rural area provides its own challenges and that we should be funded by central government accordingly.
We are actively lobbying alongside our MPs for the funding system to be reviewed.
I would like to thank everyone who has backed our campaign so far. Look out for updates on progress throughout the coming year.
I am pleased to say that after years of planning, the city’s biggest road project in decades, the £99 million Lincoln Eastern Bypass – from the A158 Wragby Road roundabout to the A15 at Bracebridge Heath – is now well under way.
Not only will this cut congestion it will also add an estimated £600 million to the local economy.
There are also plenty of other plans in the pipeline for other road improvements in the Lincoln area including the £4 million A46 Dunholme/ Welton roundabout and the £2 million Wragby Road/ Wolsey Way improvements.
We are also working on an outline business case for the North Hykeham Relief Road.
Better broadband is another major improvement we are actively supporting.
In the 21st century, it’s vital for any modern home or business.
The onlincolnshire partnership, led by Lincolnshire councils and BT, has been continuing the roll-out of superfast broadband.
The latest phase will see coverage of almost 97% of the county by the end of 2019.
More than 90% of the county can now sign up with an internet service provider and enjoy faster speeds.
Over the last few years, we have had major opportunities to celebrate Lincolnshire’s rich history, with the 800th anniversary of Magna Carta and then with the Charter of the Forest.
2018 will see us marking a different kind of history when we commemorate our aviation heritage as part of events to highlight the 100th year of the founding of the RAF.
Lincolnshire: Bastion in the Air, 1915-18, supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund runs until April 30, 2020.
The project aims to promote the work carried out in constructing aircraft and defending British airspace during the First World War, which led to the formation of the RAF in 1918, and the continuing links between the county and the RAF.
There will be a series of travelling exhibitions throughout the county during the three-year period, as well as two major static exhibitions in 2018 at RAF Scampton and in The Collection Museum.
New Year’s resolutions
On a local level, as I have already mentioned, I am really hopeful that our Fairer Funding campaign will reap benefits for Lincolnshire.
On a national and international level, we all recognise that the Brexit negotiations have been tricky. But this makes it all the more important that our government sticks to its principles and continues to work hard to deliver the best outcome for all of us.
With that optimistic note, I would like to wish Happy New Year to all readers of The Lincolnite!
Martin Hill OBE is the Conservative Leader of Lincolnshire County Council. A former farmer, Martin was elected to Lincolnshire County Council in 1993, representing Folkingham Rural. He became council leader in 2005 and was later awarded an OBE for services to Lincolnshire. Martin lives in a former pub at Kirby Underwood with wife Janice and their irrepressible Patterdale Terrier, Boris.
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.
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.
Cross Keys Bridge in Sutton Bridge, a key connection between Lincolnshire and Norfolk, will close overnight this week for emergency repair works.
The bridge, which carries the A17 road between Lincolnshire and Norfolk, will close from 7pm on Thursday, April 22 to 6am the following day.
This is so that one of the bridge’s hydraulic jacks, which allow it to open and close, can be repaired, and it will have to swing open to allow engineers to access it.
There will be very limited temporary pedestrian access across the bridge while shift changeover takes place from 9.45pm to 10.15pm on the Thursday of the closure.
This is so that workers can park on the opposite bank and walk over to or from work, as there will be no vehicle or pedestrian access over the bridge during the night.
The diversion route overnight will be via the A1101 to Wisbech, then back along the A47 to rejoin the A17, and vice versa.
Karen Cassar, assistant director for highways at Lincolnshire County Council, said: “After noting the fault with the bridge mechanism, it’s really important that we get it repaired as soon as possible to maintain both the A17, and shipping access on the river.
“We’ve tried to minimise disruption by carrying out the works overnight and allowing pedestrian access for those workers finishing their shifts or heading into work around 10pm. However, I appreciate this will still cause delays for some drivers so thank you for bearing with us.”
A man on trial accused of murdering two female sex workers 21 years apart told an undercover officer he had killed a woman.
Gary Allen, 47, is currently on trial at Sheffield Crown Court and is accused of strangling Samantha Class, 29, whose beaten body was found by three schoolchildren on the banks of the Humber at North Ferriby in October 1997.
However, Allen, who previously lived in Grimsby, has denied killing Ms Class and the murder of 38-year-old Slovakian woman Alena Grlakova in 2018.
Grlakova’s naked body was found in a stream in Rotherham in April 2019 after she was last seen on Boxing Day the year before, which she spent with Allen. They had been “casual acquaintances” with Allen paying her for sex.
She was strangled “either by direct pressure or the use of a ligature” and her “body was weighed down in order to impede detection”. A murder inquiry was later launched by South Yorkshire Police in relation to Alena’s death.
Jurors heard how Mr Allen had a “strong dislike of sex workers”. Both women had worked in the sex industry at the time of their deaths.
Mr Allen was first arrested in July 1998 after he was stopped on suspicion of drink driving. During police interviews he told officers he drove to the red light area of Hull on October 25, 1997, according to BBC.
He paid Ms Class £30 for sex, but also told police she “got angry” and he last saw her walking away from his car some time between 12.30am and 1am.
Allen was eventually charged with murder, but found not guilty by a jury in 2000. The court was told he was previously acquitted of Ms Class’ murder in February of that year, but “significantly more evidence” had since come to light.
The court heard that months after his acquittal, the defendant had attacked two sex workers in Plymouth, for which he was convicted.
Two years later, he reportedly told probation officers of his fantasies about hurting sex workers, desiring them as “scum” and the “the lowest of the low”, according to Prosecutor Alistair MacDonald QC.
He also said that a pathologist found Ms Class had been stamped on, strangled with a ligature and run over with a car before her body went int the water. He added that semen found inside her body matched Mr Allen’s DNA.
Humberside Police launched an undercover operation in 2010 and an officer referred to as “Ian” befriended Mr Allen. During their conversations, he told him that he had strangled a sex worker who got angry with him and “dumped her in the Humber”.
Allen also previously admitted to liking blood and enjoying causing pain to his victims, the court heard on Monday, April 19.
Mr Allen, of no fixed address, denies two counts of murder and the trial is expected to last for around eight weeks.
Fantasy Island Skegness has crawled into the ongoing caterpillar cat fight between Marks & Spencer and Aldi by ‘cocooning’ the Crazy Caterpillar ride in solidarity with Aldi.
Supermarket chains M&S and Aldi are currently involved in a legal battle after M&S claimed that Aldi’s ‘Cuthbert the Caterpillar’ cake infringes the trademarks of its own ‘Colin the Caterpillar’.
M&S filed a claim against Aldi in the High Court on April 14, and is suing the budget supermarket as well as demanding that Cuthbert is removed from Aldi shelves.
The company claim Cuthbert shares “substantial similarity” with Colin, and they are pledging to “protect” their Caterpillar cake from plagiarism.
Aldi, which introduced their caterpillar confectionary almost thirty years after M&S did theirs, has been posting a series of memes in response to the lawsuit, demanding that we #FreeCuthbert.
Fantasy Island, the theme park in Ingoldmells, joined in the debate with a tongue-in-cheek move, saying they will close the Crazy Caterpillar ride in solidarity with Aldi and to not offend Marks & Spencer.
The resort created a cheeky post on Facebook with #FreeCuthbert on it, truly showing which side of history it wants to be on.
It’s proved a valuable publicity move for the attraction’s social media page, with more than 4,000 ‘reactions’ to the post.
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