Councils continue to clash over Usher Gallery’s future

Grimsby voters say they’re losing faith in Boris Johnson – despite MP Lia Nici’s claims the town backs him.

Many of those our Local Democracy Reporter spoke to said it was time for him to go.

Revelations about lockdown parties in Downing Street were too much for some who gave the embattled Prime Minister the benefit of the doubt when he was first elected.

Grimsby MP Lia Nici has thrown her full support behind him, recently claiming he was the ‘best prime minister places like Great Grimsby have had in generations.’

However, voters on the street are less enthusiastic.

One man who said he distrusts both main parties said: “People have been fined for holding those parties in lockdown – he seems to get away with it.

“Lia Nici said that everyone she has spoken to is behind Boris. I don’t know where she’s polled, but she can’t have spoken to anyone around here.

“Conservatives definitely won’t be getting my vote in the next election – I’m not sure who I can trust.”

Paul Fleming said: “He did some good things for Grimsby at the start, but this has overshadowed everything else.

“There’s not a chance I would vote for Conservatives now.”

Sophie said: “He just looks silly now getting caught out. I am sure that he has only relaxed the coronavirus restrictions because of all the news about what he did in lockdown.

“I’m still wearing my mask because I know COVID hasn’t gone away.

“I really doubt the idea that he was the best Prime Minister that Grimsby has had.”

Some still backed him regardless of the recent scandal.

Hayley Clarke said: “He’s got a really tough job and he’s doing his best. Without him, Brexit never would have happened – Teresa May was too much of a ditherer.

“He has done well under the circumstances. We should let him get on with it.

“I’m not a fan of Kier Starmer – did he come to Grimsby this week just because Boris has before?”

However, the new revelations have been a deal-breaker for other voters.

“I’m not happy at all with him. While we couldn’t go to funerals or visit loved ones in hospitals, he was having parties,” one woman said.

“I thought he was alright at first – he handled the first lockdown well and I liked the grants and help for the self-employed he gave.

“Finding out what was actually going on makes you look at him differently.”

A report into the parties is expected to be published within days, and the Metropolitan Police have confirmed they are also looking into potential breaches of COVID rules.

Lia Nici said the outcome of the report wouldn’t change her mind, telling a BBC interviewer this week: “I’ve already decided whether I think Boris Johnson should continue [as prime minister] or not.

“I think he’s the best prime minister places like Great Grimsby have had in generations and he has my whole-hearted support.”

A father was mistakenly mailed hundreds of addresses of parents with young children by North Lincolnshire Council.

The man received more than 200 letters intended for families with three-year-old children.

Instead of being sent separately to the correct addresses, all 208 letters were sent to his home.

They were all for parents with three-year-old children informing them they were eligible for funding, and had the intended addresses printed on them.

The North Lincolnshire dad is worried the details of so many people with young children could have accidentally ended up in the wrong hands.

He said: “I couldn’t believe that little kids’ information was sent out by mistake like this.

“I have two young girls, and I would hate to know that their information had been sent to someone else.

“The envelope was a huge package with my address on, so I assumed it was from work.

“I couldn’t believe when I opened it up and saw the identical letters with over 200 addresses on them.

“As soon as I realised what it was, I considered shredding it. In the end, I contacted North Lincolnshire Council to report it.

“How could a mistake like this happen? I dread to think if it has happened before.”

Letters with addresses of over 200 parents with three-year-old children were mistakenly sent to one home
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He has arranged to hand the letters back to North Lincolnshire Council to ensure that they are disposed of properly.

A spokesperson has promised that the way letters are posted has been changed to ensure it can’t happen again.

They said: “We take data protection very seriously and successfully send hundreds of thousands of letters each year.

“Changes have been made to the post system to ensure no such technical issues happen again and all the correspondence was eventually returned.”

Developers’ plans to build nearly 50 homes in a Lincoln village – delayed for a site visit by councillors – are back up for approval on Wednesday.

Lindum and Acis Group’s plans for 49 homes off Hawks Road, in Welton, appeared before the West Lindsey District Council’s planning committee at the beginning of January.

The discussion was almost scuppered by a complaint, however progressed only to be deferred as members wished to visit the site.

Recommending approval, officers said the plans, which will include a mix of houses as well as bungalows for over 55s along with 12 homes classed as affordable, would provide “effective” use of the land and not create “unacceptable harm”.

The site is allocated for housing in the Central Lincolnshire Local Plan.

Mark Foster, land and planning director at Lindum Homes told the previous meeting the quality of houses was “vitally important” and the layout of the development was “extremely low density – incorporating more open space than required by planning policy”.

How the site could be laid out.

Objectors to the plans, however, said they presented a risk of overdevelopment and would have a long-term risk to the village infrastructure as well as biodiversity, residential amenity, the character of the village and highway safety.

Resident Nigel Heward, said existing infrastructure was “not fit for purpose” and that a lack of footpath provision at the proposed entry was “an accident waiting to happen”.

Lincolnshire County Council, as statutory consultees on highways, had not lodged any objections, but councillors wanted to see the situation for themselves.

As part of the plans the developers will be asked to make a £30,992.50 contribution to Welton Surgery so it can reconfigure its existing layout to create a larger clinical space and more flexibility to manage the projected patient increase.