A new planned shopping village has been praised by councillors for helping to ‘revitalise’ an ‘eyesore’ in the town centre – however they have called for an alley to be closed off as part of the development.
Councillors on the planning committee this morning (Tuesday, June 26) discuss the plans to build 14 new shops and 15 apartments in the town in the NCP car park area between Wide Bargate and Red Lion Street.
The plans will see 36 Straight Bargate and two Wide Bargate, which are currently vacant according to the council report, demolished to create a new pedestrian route from the Centenery Methodist Church to Central Park and Strait Bargate.
Agent Peter Scrafton told councillors this morning that there was ‘renewed interest’ in the site and called on them to harness the opportunity to provide a direct link from a rejuvenated environment to Central Park.
The NCP Car Park the development will be built on.
Councillors at this morning’s meeting mainly spoke positively about the development.
Councillor James Edwards said it would ‘help revitalise an area where some buildings have fallen into a sorry state of repair’.
Claire Rylott was pleased small businesses were being encouraged in the town, blaming empty shops on high rents and private investment companies.
She said:”I think such small shops within town will encourage new businesses.
“Let’s get some new business and let’s get moving on it,” she added.
Councillors, however, raised concerns over the use of the alley under 4 Wide Bargate once the new development and pedestrian route was created.
Chairman David Brown and vice-chairman Sue Ransome raised concerns over anti-social behaviour taking place and called for it to be closed off.
The alley below Wide Bargate, which councillors raised concerns over.
Councillor Stephen Woodliffe urged councillors to err on the side of caution, he raised the state of high streets across the nation, and added concerns that gambling businesses might move in.
He believed the council was not thinking about the current decline in high streets nationally.
“Shopping itself is changing rapidly and I don’t think new shops small or large are the way forward,” he said.
Councillors however, pointed to other successful developments, with council leader Michael Cooper pointing to Stockton-Upon Tees which he said was ‘bucking the trend’ with a similar development to this, Coun Jonathan Noble said Louth’s ‘small, niche shops’ were also proving a success.
The development would see a total of 19 parking spaces created for residents of the apartments and the church.
The park would be accessed by a gate which could be locked similar to others.
A section 106 agreement could see the applicant driver up to three units of affordable housing, either on site or through money provided to the council in order to provide the housing elsewhere.
Councillors also granted listed building consent to refurbish a property on Wide Bargate and demolish part of the Methodist Church wall to replace it with a new one.
The centre has received objection from Pescod Square which says it does not reflect changes to the high street over the past five years and will only see a relocation of existing stores.
Centenary Methodist Church has also objected to the alteration of their boundaries and the development’s effects on future plans such as an ‘emergency night shelter as a separate entity’.
No objections had been made from
Councillors have now voted on the application, to be approved subject to a number of conditions including a gating order – 12 in favour, one abstain.
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A 35-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of possession of drugs with intent to administer them at a Lincoln night club.
Police arrested the 35-year-old in the early hours of Friday morning after “swift and proactive” work in partnership with staff at a nightclub in the city, officers and CCTV teams.
The man was arrested on suspicion of drug possession with intent to administer them, in light of recent drink spiking incidents in the city.
It has sparked outrage, with a boycott of nightclubs and bars planned on Wednesday, October 27 to raise awareness of the issue.
Marc Jones, Lincolnshire Police and Crime Commissioner, said the arrest was ‘superb’ and should send a ‘huge signal’ to any would be criminals.
A superb arrest! We cannot accept people being unsafe when they go out with friends for a drink. This arrest should send a huge signal to those would be criminals who look to prey on our community in this despicable way. https://t.co/dBaebzqbq4
South Kesteven District Council officers will try to block plans to build more than 200 new homes in Stamford.
The authority’s planning committee will be asked to consider an application from Vistry Partnerships, Cross Keys Developments, Wm Morrisons and New River Retail to build 213 homes on land north of Uffington Road on Thursday.
However, officers have said the proposal is “of poor quality design and layout, falling well short of an acceptable standard” and that it “fails to suitably reflect the gateway location to the town”.
“The proposed density is excessive for the context, resulting in deficiencies in public open space and landscaping provision and in dominant and incongruous buildings at the site entrance which is a key entrance point to the town,” said a report before members.
“Furthermore, the proposal, considered together with the submitted masterplan and design code fails to demonstrate that the wider site allocation would be developed holistically and with provision of suitable connections to the surrounding area and town centre.”
They added the loss of employment land was not “adequately justified”.
How the site would be laid out.
The new homes would include a mixture of one and two-bedroom apartments and two to four-bedroom houses. The plans would also see 136 of the properties (64%) allocated as affordable.
Objections from Stamford’s town council and civic society along with several residents raised concerns over the impact on local infrastructure, noise and light, drainage and highways.
In documents to the council, the applicants said the proposals would contribute “a range of high-quality new homes on a redundant brownfield site, to meet the demand for housing supply in the region”.
They added it would connect pedestrian links, create access to public transport, and incorporate existing green infrastructure.
“It will provide a range of new homes, in a coherent layout and of a style that will create a unique sense of place,” they said.
Around 150 homes in a North Lincolnshire village have been protected from tidal surges and sea level rises after work finished on a £14m flood defence scheme.
The major investment in South Ferriby also protects 3,000 hectares of agricultural land and vital infrastructure, including the A1077 and the Scunthorpe to Grimsby railway line, which carries 20% of the UK’s freight.
It is estimated the work will prevent £248m of potential economic damage over lifespan of the defences.
The project stated in April 2019 and has seen around 3km of new and raised defences built between Ferriby Sluice and South Ferriby village, including embankments, flood walls, de-mountable barriers and flood gates.
The 13-metre flood gates slide across the A1077, closing in 15 minutes, and are the first of their kind in the country to operate across an A-road.
The scheme was completed this summer is being officially by Environment Agency chief executive Sir James Bevan today.
The new defences are now higher than the water level seen in the devastating tidal surge of December 2013. That means local communities are now protected from a similar event.
The height also takes account of climate change predictions up to the 2050s.
| Photo: DC Imaging
Kate Halka, operations manager for the Environment Agency, said: “This marks an important milestone for the community. 150 properties, vast areas of agricultural land, and key infrastructure on which local people and the economy depend are now better protected from tidal flooding and sea level rise.
“We understand the devastation and heartache flooding brings, and have worked tirelessly with our partners to bring this scheme to South Ferriby.
“Of course, it’s impossible to completely eliminate the risk of flooding – people should always make sure they plan for the worst and sign up to receive warnings – but we can manage that risk, as we have here.
“The results will benefit people, properties, livelihoods, the environment and the economy for years to come.”
Further work is now under way to install ‘property flood resilience’ measures to around 20 homes in Winteringham.
Low-lying communities along the Humber are at risk of tidal flooding and sea level rise, with South Ferriby experiencing significant flooding in 1953 and 1987. But it was in 2013 that the most recent event hit, when the most severe tidal surge in 60 years struck the east coast of Britain.
The resulting flooding affected 129 properties in South Ferriby and 13 in Winteringham, alongside 1,000 hectares of agricultural land that took at least six years to recover. A main route – the A1077 – was closed for four days and the CEMEX cement plant was put out of action for a year. The damage is thought to have cost the economy £50bn.
Councillor Sara Haddon, chairman of the South Ferriby Parish Council Flood Protection Committee, said: “Residents of South Ferriby Sluice are delighted that the new defences are now complete. Memories of the 2013 floods are still raw and the new defences mean that they can sleep easy as we approach the coming winter.”
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