Caroline Johnson: Reach out to an old friend this winter

There have been 333 new coronavirus cases and 20 COVID-related deaths in Greater Lincolnshire on Tuesday.

The government’s COVID-19 dashboard recorded 266 new cases in Lincolnshire, 34 in North East Lincolnshire and 33 in North Lincolnshire.

It’s a positive start of December compared to November 1, when there were 882 new cases. However, deaths are almost three times higher, with seven at the start of last month.

On Tuesday, eight deaths were registered in Lincolnshire, eight in North Lincolnshire and four in North East 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 on Tuesday, including four at United Lincolnshire Hospital Trust and two at Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust.

On Tuesday, national cases increased by 13,430 to 1,643,086 while deaths rose by 603 to 59,051.

In local news, Lincolnshire health bosses say they are confident the county can return to some of the lowest COVID-19 infection rates in England as it heads into 2021. However, they warned that we all need to “work our hardest now”.

Here’s the latest tier 3 Christmas rules for Lincolnshire including social bubbles for the festive period.

Nationally, MPs are set to vote at tonight to approve on the new tiering system set to begin from December 2. Greater Lincolnshire will be in tier 3.

Pubs which only sell drinks, also know as “wet pubs”, will be unable to open if they are in tier 2 or 3. Boris Johnson will offer a one-off payment of £1,000 in December to support them.

Lincolnshire’s cases up to December 1 (recent five days incomplete).

South Kesteven District Council leaders have agreed to set aside £100,000 to unveil in Grantham town centre a controversial statue of former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.

The council’s cabinet voted in favour of underwriting the costs of the event for the £300,000 statue, but leader Kelham Cooke said he was “extremely confident” that “the cost of the event will be fully met through voluntary donations”.

“I do understand that there is a great debate about the legacy of Baroness Thatcher,” he said, pointing to recent stories in local and national media and social media criticism, including 14,000 people wanting to attend an egg-throwing event.

“However, what cannot be disputed is that this major event provides a fantastic opportunity for the Grantham community to celebrate its heritage and to promote the district of South Kesteven to both national and international audience in what is the most challenging periods of our lifetime.

“At the end of this, holding a major event at this scale and maximising the opportunities for our local economy is, I believe, the right thing to do for our community and our businesses.”

Cabinet members were keen to lavish praise on the Iron Lady.

Council cabinet members from top left councillors Annie Mason, Robert Reid, Dr Peter Mosley and leader Kelham Cooke all spoke in support of the plans.

Councillor Robert Reid said the negative rhetoric around the Grantham daughter “hurt me to listen”.

He praised her for putting the economy back in order, getting rid of the “old guard grandees” and putting “Britain back on the map”.

“The event will give us a national platform for the town of Grantham where I smile in respect at the Roberts grocery store, each time I pass,” he said.

He emphasised the council was underwriting the event, adding that “there won’t be any catering costs for the public purse – I can see to that”.

Councillor Dr Peter Mosley said the statue would “start conversations” about who Thatcher was and what she represented.

“It’s not very often a small town in Lincolnshire can lay claim to the first female prime minister and some of the great successes that she had.

“I appreciate there are people that see her as a divisive figure and look negatively on it, but I very much think that that we should be celebrating this.”

The plinth the Margaret Thatcher Statue will be placed upon. | Photo: Kylie Warrington

Other leaders called for local retailers to be involved as much as possible.

Councillor Rosemary Trollope-Bellew said: “If we could just take the politics out of this and look at look at this event as the first woman Prime Minister who came out of Lincolnshire out of the small market town of Grantham and think of how this will enhance particularly our visitor economy.”

Councillor Ray Wootten also looked to highlight the former PM’s successes, including reduced unemployment.

He said there was interest in why the town did not celebrate her more.

“Although a controversial figure to some, she is nevertheless viewed favourably in history alongside Sir Winston Churchill,” he said.

“She put the great back into Great Britain and restored pride in being British. The statue once erected will do the same for our great town of Grantham.”

Sculptor Douglas Jennings applying the finishing touches to the stature when it was created.

Independent councillor Ian Selby said he was not arguing against the statue, but questioning the use of £100,000 of taxpayers money for the event.

He called on members to hold a referendum on whether people in the town wanted the statue.

“If local people turn around and say that they want the statue, nobody has the right to vandalise it, if it’s the wishes of local people to have it, those should be respected,” he said.

“However, if local people say no they don’t want it, that should also be respected. If you do not get the statue endorsed and [build it…] it’s asking for trouble.”

The cabinet voted unanimously to approve the recommendations.

Lincolnshire will move into tier 3 restrictions from Wednesday, as the UK moves out of the national coronavirus lockdown.

It kicks in at midnight on Wednesday, December 2, with all retail and hairdressers opening among other sectors.

Areas in tier 3, Greater Lincolnshire included, will not be allowed to have hospitality venues open, including pubs, restaurants and cafes, unless it is for a takeaway or collection service.

Accommodation such as hotels, B&Bs and guest houses must also stay closed, barring exceptional circumstances.

These exemptions include if someone is unable to return to their main residence, using it as their main residence or needs it to attend an event such as a funeral or work, among others.

The government has now published its rules for areas based on what tier they are in, with all still being advised to follow the rule of ‘Hands. Face. Space.’

Tier 3 doesn’t allow for anyone to meet socially indoors with anybody you don’t live with or have a support bubble with, unless legal exemptions apply.

You must also not meet people in a private garden or most outdoor venues, but the rule of six does apply in areas such as parks, playgrounds, outdoor sports facilities and public gardens.

There are exceptions to the rule of six in outdoor public spaces, where you can gather with more than six people, some of those include:

• For work or providing voluntary services
• For education, childcare and training
• For supervised activities for children who were under 18 on August 31
• For parent and toddler groups up to a maximum of 15 people (under-5s don’t count towards the limit)
• For children who have separated parents or guardians
• To allow contact between birth parents and children in care
• For organised sport and physical activity, including elite sports
• If you are attending a funeral (maximum of 30 people) or wedding (up to 15 people)
• Providing emergency assistance or seeing someone who is dying

The Christmas exemptions

These rules do not apply for the Christmas period, with some rules lifted between December 23 and 27.

In these dates, you can form a Christmas bubble with people from up to three households, but must not change your bubble or be in more than one.

The only exception to this rule is for children under 18 who have separated parents that will not be in the same Christmas bubble.

You can travel between tiers for the purpose of meeting with your Christmas bubble, and you can meet them in private homes, places of worship or public outdoor spaces.

You can also form a different Christmas bubble to the people you normally live with, as long as you don’t exceed the three household rule.

University students are being given a travel window to get home for Christmas, with mass testing starting in Lincoln on Monday.

If these rules are broken, police can issue people with a first time offence fine of £200, doubling for further offences before reaching a maximum of £6,400.

Anyone involved with holding an illegal gathering over 30 people can be fined £10,000.

To read the full list of guidelines, visit the gov.uk website.

The High Street could be on the verge of collapse, as retail giant Arcadia fell into administration, putting some 13,000 jobs at risk and Debenhams is shutting down.

The retail empire owned by Sir Philip Green owns the Topshop and Topman brands, as well as Burton, Dorothy Perkins and Miss Selfridge among others.

Arcadia operates from 444 sites in the UK as well as online, and currently has more than 9,000 staff on furlough.

It has faced major financial damage from non-essential retail stores being forced to close as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

Debenhams on St Mark Street. | Photo: Emily Norton for The Lincolnite

The fate of Debenhams was sealed after JD Sports pulled out of talks to rescue the retailer from collapse.

Now, 124 stores will close and more than 12,000 staff are likely to lose their jobs as administrators try to find a buyer.

Talks began after Debenhams slashed more than 2,500 jobs across the UK in August amid slow sales figures post-lockdown.

Arcadia went into administration after rejecting a £50 million loan offer from Frasers Group, a high street rival of Philip Green’s.

There is now growing pressure on Mr Green to fund the future of the company’s pension scheme, valued at around £350 million.

Deloitte has now been drafted in to find a buyer for the company and help keep the businesses running.

Matt Smith, joint administrator at Deloitte, said: “Arcadia sits at the heart of the high street, and has been striving to combat the impact of COVID-19 throughout this year.

“Now the effect of the lockdowns, combined with broader challenges facing bricks and mortar retailers, have resulted in a critical funding requirement for the group and today’s administration.”

No redundancies have been made as yet, and the stores are expected to open and trade as normal once lockdown is lifted on Wednesday.

Orders made online over the Black Friday weekend will be honoured, according to administrators.

The writing was on the wall

Colin Davie, the county councillor in charge of economic development, said: “We all know that the high street was already in decline but COVID-19 has accelerated that process as online shopping has increased at a furious pace.

“The current high street, as we knew it will not return. We need to work at pace and redesign our high streets so they are full of local shops and businesses offering products and services which are not available online.

“They need to become destinations in their own right, rather than places we pass through.

“We need to start the process of getting people living in apartments on high streets above the reduced retail space below and we need to support these local businesses to digitise so they can compete with major online retail.

“I fully recognise that absentee landlords demanding sky high rents and the business rates regime is a physical barrier to retailers wanting to even be on a physical high street and government needs to urgently review their position in these regards.

“The announcement of this morning will sadly not be the last.”

All Greater Lincolnshire MPs, except Lincoln MP Karl McCartney, voted in favour of the government’s latest three-tier lockdown.

Some 291 MPs voted in favour of the new system and 78 voted against the proposals, marking the Prime Minister’s biggest rebellion so far.

In Greater Lincolnshire, which is set to be in tier 3 — the highest restrictions — 10 MPs voted in favour, and Karl McCartney, MP for Lincoln, voted against, by proxy.

Here’s how each MP voted:

• Karl McCartney, Lincoln – No (Proxy vote cast by Stuart Andrew)
• Victoria Atkins, Louth and Horncastle – Aye (Proxy vote cast by Stuart Andrew)
• Gareth Davies, Grantham and Stamford – Aye
• Sir John Hayes, South Holland and the Deepings – Aye (Proxy vote cast by Stuart Andrew)
• Caroline Johnson, Sleaford and North Hykeham – Aye (Proxy vote cast by Stuart Andrew)
• Sir Edward Leigh, Gainsborough – Aye (Proxy vote cast by Stuart Andrew)
• Matt Warman, Boston and Skegness – Aye (Proxy vote cast by Stuart Andrew)
• Lia Nici, Greater Grimsby – Aye (Proxy vote cast by Stuart Andrew)
• Andrew Percy, Brigg and Goole – Aye (Proxy vote cast by Stuart Andrew)
• Martin Vickers, Cleethorpes – Aye (Proxy vote cast by Stuart Andrew)
• Holly Mumby-Croft, Scunthorpe – Aye (Proxy vote cast by Stuart Andrew) 

Data: GOV UK / Table: The Lincolnite

During a seven-hour debate in the House of Commons, Sir Edward Leigh, MP for Gainsborough asked the Prime Minister, if he “will look at this personally in the case of Lincolnshire and [if] they will do their level best to get us out of tier 3 by Christmas”.

Martin Vickers, MP for Cleethorpes highlighted that in Greater Lincolnshire, “hospitals are not necessarily in the same constituency or council area as the infection rate” and that people in one district go to hospitals that are in other districts to their own.

He added: “We do need more support particularly for costal areas.”

However, Prime Minister Boris Johnson claimed: “This is not another lockdown nor is this the renewal of existing measures in England,” but “we cannot afford to relax”.

He added that everyone “will be free to leave their homes for any reason” once the tier system is enforced.

The PM said he appreciated “people’s feelings of injustice” but “there is an end in sight”.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock added “we can see that this virus is coming under control” but added “we’ve got to beat it together.”

Later in the afternoon, while the debate was ongoing, Edward Leigh added that: “The Health Secretary has written to me today guaranteeing that Lincolnshire’s tier status will be reviewed in two weeks’ time — and that areas within the county will be assessed individually rather than just Lincolnshire as a whole.”

Tier 3 begins from tomorrow – here’s what tier 3 means for Greater Lincolnshire.

A 30-year-old man has become the fourth person to be charged with the murder of Marcin Stolarek in Boston in January.

Artur Klosowski, of Witham Place in Boston, was arrested on October 26 in the Republic of Ireland before being brought back to the UK.

He was charged with murder, assisting an offender and preventing lawful and decent burial of a dead body, after Marcin Stolarek, 46, was found dead in South Forty Foot Drain on January 12.

Klosowski appeared at Lincoln Magistrates Court on Tuesday, December 1 and is due to appear at Lincoln Crown Court on Wednesday.

It now means that four people have been charged with Marcin’s murder, as well as a further charge for Adam Maksajda, 34, of Blacksmiths Grove, Fishtoft, who has been charged with perverting the course of justice.

Adam Kaminski and Justyna Swiatek, both 27 and of Union Court, Boston, were charged with murder alongside Lukasz Ferenc, 28, of Windsor Bank.

They are all due to face trial at Lincoln Crown Court on Monday, January 4.

Detective Chief Inspector Karl Whiffen said: “This continues to be a detailed and lengthy investigation, in which our objective has always been about bringing justice for Marcin’s family.

“The arrest and charge of Artur Klosowski comes some months after Marcin’s body was found, but it’s vitally important that we pursue those who we believe are responsible for his death.”

Officers are now appealing for further information, saying that even the smallest detail could prove crucial in the case.

If you know anything that could help in relation to the incident which caused Marcin’s death, call police on 101 and quote incident 312 of January 12.

Alternatively, you can email [email protected] and quote the same incident in the subject box.