Emily Norton: Oliver! – The chance of a lifetime

Lincolnshire long-distance runner Sam Atkin has been forced to bow out of the men’s 10,000m with an achilles injury, just 5k into the race.

It’ll be a big blow for the Grimsby-born athlete, who has spent so long training for the event, and at one point in the race was even in fourth place.

Speaking after the race, Sam told The Lincolnite: “It was playing up yesterday really bad, and it played up last night.

“The therapists got it moving again, but it was all over the place out there with everyone slowing then starting up. I must have got tripped so many times which did not help it.”

In the end, the race was won by Ethiopian Selemon Barega and Great Britain’s other hopeful, Mark Scott, finished 14th.

Speaking to The Lincolnite earlier this month, Sam’s parents told how he joined Grimsby Harriers at a young age, winning every race he ran in, before eventually moving onto Lincoln Wellington at the age of 15 because he was getting so quick that he would win adult races.

Sam Atkin, representing Team GB, and his twin sister Jen, who is the current Miss Great Britain.

His next big step came at 18-years-old, when he was offered a scholarship in Idaho in the United States of America.

Sam currently lives and trains in Idaho, meaning his contact with his family has been limited, particularly due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sam qualified for the Olympic Games in dramatic fashion, after narrowly missing out on the 5,000m qualifying time, which is his preferred event, but then went on to run the now 5th fastest 10k in UK history.

Vietnamese street food restaurant Pho will open in Lincoln’s Cornhill Quarter in mid to late August.

The signage is up at the restaurant, which is located next to The Botanist, and work is ongoing ahead of next month’s big opening. There will be 50% off food on some soft launch dates, due to be announced before the official opening day.

The chain eatery, which is run by founders Stephen and Jules Wall, will bring its fresh and healthy Vietnamese dishes to the Cornhill Quarter. Pho specialises in the national dish of Vietnam of the same name as the restaurant, which is a rice noodle soup.

Pho will also serve food including wok-fried noodles, decadent curries, spicy salads, fresh juices, and a selection of Vietnamese beers, cocktails and hand-picked wines. The menu at Pho is even accredited by Coeliac UK (about 98% is gluten-free) and over a third is suitable for vegans.

It’s Pho’s first new restaurant since the pandemic began will create around 20 new jobs in Lincoln.

People are being encouraged to sign up to the Pho newsletter as subscribers will be the first to hear about the launch dates and be in with a chance to book 50% off tables.

Founder Stephen Wall told The Lincolnite: “After the challenges of the past 18 months, it’s even more exciting than usual opening up a new restaurant.

“We’re looking forward to bringing the Pho experience to this great city and welcoming the people of Lincoln through our doors in a few weeks’ time.”

More than £52 million will be invested in multiple flood defence projects across Greater Lincolnshire.

The £52,776,209 for Greater Lincolnshire is part of a record investment of £76.3 million for 2021/22, which will benefit more than 50 flood schemes in Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire.

Homes and businesses are to be better protected from flooding and coastal erosion as part of the Flood and Coastal Erosion Investment Plan published on Thursday, July 29 by the government and Environment Agency.

Further action includes improvements to flood insurance to help encourage installation measures such as air bricks and flood doors.

The investment in Lincolnshire includes natural flood management in Swaton, and Saltfleet to Gibraltar Point beach management. An interactive map is available here detailing the location of the various schemes.

Natural flood management – Swaton

This £1 million project will use natural flood management techniques to hold back water and reduce the flood risk to three villages historically impacted by flooding.

The Environment Agency is working closely with farmers to install attenuation ponds and swales on their arable land. This will slow the flow of water by storing it and letting it slowly seep into the soil.

It is hoped that the construction of the project will be completed this winter. The work will then be monitored for three years by Heriot Watt University to assess how well the features are storing water and how much flood risk has reduced.

Saltfleet to Gibraltar Point beach management

A massive £8.5 million will be invested this year, including the annual beach nourishment scheme and repairs to the hard sea defences along 26 miles of the Lincolnshire coast.

This will reduce the risk of tidal flooding to more than 30,000 homes and businesses, 19,000 static caravans, and 35,000 hectares of land.

Investigations into the condition of the sea walls will inform the long-term investment strategy for future flood risk management.

It is part of a £860 million of national investment, which will be spent in 2021/22 boosting design and construction of more than 1,000 schemes across England. It is also part of plans outlining £5.2 billion of investment over the next six years.

The funding will be accompanied by a consultation in the autumn. The government will look at how to better protect frequently flooded communities and consider how to strengthen the assessment of local circumstances when allocating funding during the six-year plan.

The government will also bring in tighter guidance for planning authorities. More than 97% of planning decisions for residential properties were made in line with Environment Agency advice in 2019/20.

However, the recent review of decisions by Defra, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, and the Environment Agency also found that 866 homes were granted planning permission contrary to Environment Agency advice.

The Environment Agency is set to release further details of exactly where the rest of the money will be spent, in the coming days.