Former Boston Borough Council leader Michael Cooper has rejoined the party.
As thoughts turn to Christmas and the end of another year looms I have looked back at some of the main events of 2018.
At the time of writing 2018 still has a little while to run, but it is surprising at how much to date has been achieved; in fact too much for me to detail it all here, so these are our headlines.
The year kicked off with the council’s continued efforts to improve conditions for people living in rented accommodation.
The council was among the first to take on new responsibilities for issuing its own penalties to owners of unfit private rented accommodation that previously had to go through the courts.
Also in January the cabinet approved £100,000 worth of outdoor leisure improvements at play areas across the town.
Before the month was out a start had been made on the £1 million Boston Barrier scheme – the biggest flood alleviation project in Europe. And we heard that our bid for Government cash to help build new homes had been successful with a £3.5 million award.
February blew out with disruption to refuse collections caused by the Beast from the East with unusually low temperatures and snowfall. Despite appalling conditions our bin men battled through to get all collections back to normal early in March.
Refuse was again making headlines in March when the borough council was at the head of a campaign to keep battery “bombs” out of the rubbish collections. Batteries in Boston’s recycled collection were believed to have been responsible for three fires.
Residents were asked not to put batteries or any electrical items in any of their waste collections – a campaign taken up later in the year across the county.
April and we backed the Boston Standard petition campaign to try to get a share of new roads cash from Government to speed up the distributor road scheme for Boston.
I joined volunteers to help with the 11th annual Big Boston Clean-up. I was heartened by the enthusiasm of all those who turned out, but saddened by the volume of litter still being dropped in our streets.
The Boston Marathon – the flattest marathon on Earth – was another huge success with record numbers taking part.
Boston’s “special relationship” with its twin, Laval, in France, was marked in its 60th anniversary year.
New play facilities for children with disabilities were unveiled in Central Park in May. And the dredger Gypsey Race arrived in The Haven to begin work on the river bed in connection with the Boston Barrier construction.
In June the courts caught up with a clutch of fine dodgers who had not paid up after being caught littering by the council’s enforcement officers. They ended up paying more than £500 for trying to dodge a £75 fine for littering.
In July around 1,750 people attended when the Vikings set up camp in Central Park for a historical re-enactment weekend.
Central Park, Boston
A borough council employee saved five kittens he found dumped in a litter bin. Homes were found for all of them.
The fun continued in July and August with free beach days at Central Park and the popular Get Cycling Roadshow returned to the Market Place.
Pilgrim Hospital chiefs faced a three-hour grilling from councillors and the public at a meeting called by the council to discuss proposals to reduce some health services.
The MP handed the residents’ petition to the Transport Minister, making the case for Boston to have a share of new road-building cash.
New artwork was unveiled on the side of a council vehicle to mark the centenary of the end of the First World War. The silhouette of a Tommy with bowed head by a barbed-wire barricade amid a shower of poppies was suggested by the Boston branch of the Royal British Legion.
The council’s events team scored another success when an outdoor screening in Central Park of The Greatest Showman was a sell-out.
An announcement from music store giant HMV that it was returning to Boston was greeted with enthusiasm.
An initiative to inspire students to consider a career in engineering was launched by the council with a special inventing day at MetsaWood.
September was rounded off with Boston receiving its fourth gold in-bloom award plus four more top environment awards.
October and new litter bins were being installed in the town centre. The 90 new bins costing £22,410 are especially adapted to deal with cigarette litter.
I officially declared open the new food service station at Sutterton roundabout – Greggs, Burger King and Subway. And with more to come it’s an upgrade to services for residents and visitors on the move.
Local Democracy Week was a great success with younger residents coming to the council offices to find out how things operate.
The centenary of the end of the First World War was marked with a rededication of the First World War Centenary Memorial in Boston’s Memorial Gardens – part of the Remembrance Day service.
The council’s environmental services and efforts to keep Boston clean and tidy were shortlisted for a national award – finger crossed for the overall winner announcement early in 2019.
Season’s greetings to all borough residents.
Boston Borough Council leader, Michael Cooper
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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.
There have been now been more than 10,000 COVID-19 cases in Greater Lincolnshire since the pandemic started, as 341 new cases and 10 deaths were confirmed on Tuesday.
The latest UK coronavirus dashboard figures as of Tuesday evening showed 176 new cases in Lincolnshire, 66 in North Lincolnshire and 99 in North East Lincolnshire.
It takes Lincolnshire’s cumulative total since the pandemic began to 10,178 cases. There have been 5,586 cases confirmed in October alone.
The number of people who have died with coronavirus in Greater Lincolnshire’s hospitals has now passed 300.
NHS figures reported six COVID-related deaths at hospitals across Greater Lincolnshire, including four at United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust and two at Northern Lincolnshire and Goole Hospitals Trust.
The government’s coronavirus dashboard, which includes those both in and out of hospitals and those of residents in hospitals outside the county, showed 10 new deaths in the figures, with nine in Lincolnshire and one in North East Lincolnshire
Nationally, cases increased by 22,885 to 917,575, while deaths jumped by 367 to 45,365.
A chart showing Lincolnshire’s case numbers up to October 27.
Lincolnshire is currently still on the medium (tier 1) level for the the new three-tier lockdown system of COVID-19 risk, which means it has no extra restrictions on top of the nation-wide ones.
However, Lincoln could be in discussions over tier 2 (high) restrictions by the weekend, health bosses have said.
Coronavirus data for Greater Lincolnshire for Tuesday, October 27
10,178 cases (up 341)
6,513 in Lincolnshire (up 176)
2,013 in North Lincolnshire (up 66)
1,652 in North East Lincolnshire (up 99)
461 deaths (up 10)
311 from Lincolnshire (up nine)
95 from North Lincolnshire (no change)
45 from North East Lincolnshire (up one)
of which 301 hospital deaths (up six)
160 at United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust (up four)
6 at Lincolnshire Community Health Service hospitals (no change)
1 at Lincolnshire Partnership Foundation Trust (no change)
134 in Northern Lincolnshire (NLAG) (up two)
917,575 UK cases, 45,365 deaths
DATA SOURCE — FIGURES CORRECT AT THE TIME OF the latest update. postcode data includes deaths not in healthcare facilities or in hospitals outside authority boundaries.
Lincoln could be in discussions over tier 2 (high) restrictions by the weekend, health bosses have said.
Lincolnshire County Council’s public health officials are advising that the city — at least — could be put into a higher tier as numbers continue to rise across the county.
Lincoln’s rate of infection per 100,000 of the population alone rose from 154.1 on October 16 to 213.5 on October 23, just above the England average of 212.5.
The city has had 1,063 cases since the pandemic began, with the number on Monday increasing by 59.
How cases have increased in the city of Lincoln up to October 26.
The county’s Outbreak Management Board, which includes representatives from councils, health and other response bodies, will meet on Wednesday to discuss the next steps.
Neighbours Nottinghamshire on Monday confirmed that Nottingham city along with the districts of Rushcliffe, Gedling and Broxtowe face tier 3 lockdown from midnight on Thursday — though Newark on the Lincolnshire border will stay in tier 2 for now.
Lincolnshire’s neighbours in Nottinghamshire and South Yorkshire have much higher COVID-19 infection rates. | Data: GOV UK
Lincolnshire County Council’s assistant director of public health Tony McGinty said Lincolnshire was “fairly close” to having similar conversations.
“If you look at the numbers in some of our districts we probably are going to be wanting to talk about taking additional measures over the coming week or two,” he said.
“Some of those numbers […] are looking quite difficult.”
He added: “Lincoln is having some particularly challenging times at the moment with its numbers […] for me at the moment, the district I’m spending most of my time talking to colleagues about and talking to City of Lincoln Council colleagues about is Lincoln.”
He said local and national leaders may want to have that conversation “over the coming days or weeks”.
The restrictions for tier 2 – high – lockdown.
Lincolnshire is tier 1 – medium – lockdown.
Lincolnshire is currently still on the medium (tier 1) level for the the new three-tier lockdown system of COVID-19 risk, which means it has no extra restrictions on top of the nation-wide ones.
If that decision is made to move up a tier, the next steps will include discussions over what the additional measures will mean and what extra funding will be made available.
A 12-year-old boy from Boston said he was mind blown when he was cast alongside Anne Hathaway, Chris Rock and Stanley Tucci in The Witches, which is now available in the UK to watch on streaming platforms.
Codie-Lei Eastick starred as Young Watson alongside Will Ferrell in the film Holmes and Watson in 2018 when he was 10 years old, and The Witches, which is based on Roald Dahl’s classic book, is his second big break.
Directed by Robert Zemeckis, the film was released in USA last week and on Thursday Codie-Lei had a virtual private premiere with LA manager, James Symington of Symington Talent Management, and his parents Grant and Lucy.
The film has skipped cinemas and is available to purchase and rent for £15.99 on services in the UK, including Sky and Amazon Prime and iTunes Store.
In the film Codie plays the role of a greedy and lonely child Bruno Jenkins, the sidekick of Hero Boy Jahzir Bruno, and they have to stop the witches from turning them into mice.
Last spring Codie, talent agent Abi Kingsley-Parker and his dad Grant went to Warner Bros Studios to meet director Robert Zemeckis and some of the team before doing screen tests at the studio.
Filming took place at the Leavesden studios over several months last year.
Codie told The Lincolnite: “When I found out I’d got the part it was amazing because I have always wanted to be an actor. I was mind blown, going all over the house and I nearly stubbed my toe in the excitement.
“I got to work with more Hollywood actors and to meet a famous director. Getting to work on scenes with Anne Hathaway was incredible.”
Codie working on his script for the test casting.
After recently watching a premiere with his family, Codie said: “It felt weird because I would never have imagined being on the Hollywood screen, but it felt good. I watched it with my family and we all enjoyed it.”
Codie’s passion for acting and performing started when he was only three years old as he loved dressing up as superheroes and re-enacting scenes from films around the house.
He joined a local theatre company when he was six and UK talent agent Abi Kingsley-Parker, who was teaching at the academy at the time, invited him to further pursue his passion with private acting training at her one-to-one drama school AKP Performing Arts.
Codie-Lei Eastick. | Photo: Teele Photography
After Holmes and Watson and The Witches, Codie is now working with the UK talent agent doing auditions and warm-up training, and has another exciting project in the pipeline.
He will play the lead role in an upcoming animation series about football, although the title and further details are currently being kept under wraps.
Abi, who launched AKP Management Agency in May 2018, said: “Codie-Lei is an absolute joy to work with and has me laughing all the time!”
Other young Lincolnshire actors from the agency enjoying success include Stephen Thompson, who recently appeared on BBC’s Casualty, Freddie Garnham who wrapped a short film, and Olivia Boyne, who has been working on an exciting project set for film festivals next year.
Abi added: “My private drama school AKP Performing Arts and agency AKP Management Agency run side by side, many of my students are now also represented by the agency and it’s great be able to support so much local talent as well as international actors also.”
Five more schools and one nursery in Lincolnshire have positive cases of coronavirus on Tuesday.
Lincolnshire County Council said on October 27 that it is working with 94 schools with COVID-19 infections.
It is also working with 11 nurseries, with Young Tots Nursery in Lincoln the most recent addition.
The latest schools to be added to the county council’s list are Caistor Grammar School, St Thomas’ CE Primary Academy (Boston), White Wood’s Academy (Gainsborough), Scotter Primary School and Village pre-school at Manor Farm (North Hykeham).
Hawthorn Tree School (Boston), Woodlands Academy (Spilsby), Springwell Alternative Academy (Grantham), St George’s Academy (Ruskington) and Little Learners Pre-School (Lincoln) are the schools currently closed, according to the county council’s list.
Meanwhile, some 176 students and staff at the University of Lincoln have tested positive for coronavirus. The number of students at Bishop Grosseteste University currently self-isolating due to a positive test result has risen to 12.
Tony McGinty, consultant in public health, said: “As of this Tuesday, Lincolnshire’s Health Protection Team is currently working with 94 schools that have had confirmed cases of coronavirus.
“All schools continue to report the situation to us and are taking action to limit the potential spread of the virus when schools return – this will mean some pupils and staff self-isolating as a precaution where necessary during half term. Because of the length of isolation periods involved this may affect return to school for some people.
“Like the rest of the country, Lincolnshire has seen case numbers rise in recent weeks, and an increasing number of schools affected.
“However, the majority of schools will fully open next week, and those affected are working really well to limit both the risk of the virus spreading and the impact on the pupils’ education.”
Schools with current confirmed cases (new in bold at the top):
Caistor Grammar School
St Thomas CE Primary Academy, Boston
White Wood’s Academy, Gainsborough
Scotter Primary School
Village pre-school at Manor Farm, North Hykeham
Lincoln College
Queen Elizabeth High School, Gainsborough
Hackthorn Primary School
Kesteven and Sleaford High School
Lincoln Castle Academy
Lincoln Carlton Academy
Bluecoat Meres Academy, Grantham
Kesteven and Grantham Girls School
Barrowby Primary School
Billingborough Primary School
The Priory Academy LSST
Priory Ruskin Academy, Grantham
Boston College
Hawthorn Tree School, Boston (closed)
Caistor Yarborough Academy
Haven High Academy, Boston
Malcolm Sargent Primary School, Stamford
St George’s Academy, Sleaford
St Peter and St Paul Academy, Lincoln
Kirkstone House School, Baston
Stamford Endowed Schools
Manor Leas Junior School, Lincoln
St Hugh’s Catholic Primary, Lincoln
Ermine Academy, Lincoln
St Giles Academy, Lincoln
Branston Community College Academy
Grantham College
Kelsey Primary School
Birchwood Junior School, Lincoln
Great Steeping Primary School, Spilsby
Walton Academy, Grantham
Woodlands Academy, Spilsby (closed)
Skegness Academy
Blyton Cum Laughton Primary School
Castle Wood Academy, Gainsborough
The King’s School, Grantham
Westgate Academy, Lincoln
William Farr School, Welton, Lincoln
Sir William Robertson Academy, Welbourn, Lincoln
Kisimul School Acacia Hall, Freisthorpe
Leslie Manser Primary, Lincoln
Lincoln St Christopher’s Special School
Long Sutton Primary School
Market Deeping Community Primary
Springwell Alternative Academy, Grantham (closed)
St Nicholas Primary, Boston
Community Learning in Partnership, Gainsborough
Grantham Preparatory International School
Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Horncastle
St Michael’s Primary School, Thorpe on the Hill
University Academy Long Sutton
Denton Primary School, Grantham
Bridge House Independent School, Boston
Charles Read Academy, Grantham
De Aston School, Market Rasen
The Lancaster School, Lincoln
The St Sebastian Primary School, Grantham
Waddington All Saints Academy
Bourne Academy
Claypole Primary School
St George’s Academy, Ruskington (closed)
Swinderby All Saints Primary School
University Academy Holbeach
Carre’s Grammar School, Sleaford
Louth Academy
Boston Grammar School
Hartsholme Academy, Lincoln
Lincoln Christ’s Hospital School
Harlaxton Primary School, Grantham
Holbeach Primary Academy
Priory Pembroke Academy, Cherry Willingham
Little Learners Pre-School, Lincoln (closed)
The Deepings School
Spalding High School
Manor Farm Academy, North Hykeham
Scampton Primary School
Sutterton Fourfields Primary School, Boston
St Botolph’s Primary School, Sleaford
Fleet Wood Lane Primary School, Spalding
King Edward VI Academy, Spilsby
Kirkby on Bain Primary School
Spalding Parish School
The National Junior School, Grantham
William Alvey School, Sleaford
Barnes Wallis Academy, Tattershall
Bourne Grammar School
Spalding Academy
Tedder County Primary School, Ashby de la Launde, Lincoln
Alford Primary School
Public Health are also aware of the following 11 nurseries with positive cases (new in bold at the top):
Young Tots Nursery, Lincoln
Town and Country Kiddies Nursery, Louth
Seashells Nursery, Mablethorpe
Angels Childcare, Lincoln
Little Learners Nursery, Skegness
Nutwood Day Nursery, Lincoln
Clarence House Day Nursery, Grantham
Little Acorns Day Nursery, Boston
Elsaforde Nursery, Sleaford
Sunflowers Nursery, Saxilby
Mon Ami Day Nursery, Alford
North East Lincolnshire
There are 31 schools, pre-schools/early years and other education settings with active cases in North East Lincolnshire, according to the latest available data provided on Monday.
The list includes the following schools with active cases:
Tollbar Academy
Grimsby Institute
Ormiston Maritime Academy
Cleethorpes Academy
Franklin College
Healing Science Academy
Humberston Academy
William Barcroft Junior School
Humberston CE Primary School
Signhills Academy
Havelock Academy
Weelsby Academy
North Lincolnshire
There have been at least seven schools with cases in North Lincolnshire since term restarted.
However, North Lincolnshire Council said it was unable to provide any data regarding schools in the region with coronavirus cases.
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