Lincolnshire councils get extra £8.3m COVID relief funding

Two men have been charged after a police officer and a woman were seriously injured on Friday night in the village of Welton near Lincoln.

It happened at around 8pm when Lincolnshire Police were called to the Black Bull pub after a drunken man allegedly assaulted a woman, injuring her face.

The suspect and another man left the pub and caused disorder at the Welton Social Club shortly afterwards, police said.

When officers arrived, a struggle reportedly ensued and a male police officer was assaulted, causing serious head injuries.

He was taken to hospital, where he remains for treatment.

The two men aged 24 and 32 were eventually arrested and on Saturday night Lincolnshire Police named and charged them.

Daniel Plackett, 32, of Scothern Lane in Dunholme, has been charged with three offences:

• Assault Occasioning Actual Bodily Harm (AOABH)
• Assault on Emergency Worker
• Resisting Arrest

Steven Rogers, 24, also of Scothern Lane in Dunholme, has been charged with one count of Grievous Bodily Harm (GBH).

They both remain in police custody to appear before Lincoln Magistrates’ Court on Monday, September 20.

Superintendent Lee Pache said: “There are many words I could use to describe this incident and the people who have assaulted our officer and the female member of public, but not one of them could adequately describe my anger, disgust, and shock at what has taken place.

“Today we have a member of the public who will be in considerable discomfort and will undoubtedly be shaken up, to her we say we are doing all we can to make sure those responsible are held to account. And we have a police officer who is lying in a hospital bed, seriously injured.

“This incident has sent shock waves through our force because we’re a tight-knit one and the friends and colleagues of our officer are not only worried about him but are saddened and go out to work today with heavy hearts. Every day they put themselves in danger, usually in defence of complete strangers, and should never have to pay this price as a result.

“We are working hard to establish exactly what has happened and to anyone we might not have spoken to, or is anyone has any footage of either incident, we’d be grateful to hear from you.”

A former Lincolnshire lorry driver has been jailed for 12 months for sexual offences against children in the 1970s.

Lawrence Burman, 75, of Beck Side, Hibaldstow, pleaded guilty to four counts of gross indecency against a child and two counts of indecent assault against a child, St Albans Crown Court heard.

The offences relate to three children, aged between eight and 13 at the time they were abused by Burman.

The court heard how Burman used to work as a lorry driver for a firm in Hemel Hempstead. In 1970, he carried out a sexual act in the presence of one victim while they both sat inside his cab.

Burman then went on to commit several offences near Berkhamsted between 1972 and 1978. One offence was also committed in Lincolnshire.

Detective Constable Laura Chillingworth, from Hertfordshire Constabulary’s historic child abuse investigation team, said: “Burman arrogantly believed he would get away with his actions, thinking his victims would never reveal what happened to them. However, their courage in coming forward meant he did have to face the consequences of what he did all those years ago.

“On arrest, he denied the allegations and claimed his victims were lying, but later pleaded guilty to all charges.

“Child victims of sexual abuse never forget what happened to them. They have to learn to live with it, but understandably it often has a hugely negative impact on their self-esteem and their mental health.

“I hope the conclusion of this investigation and its outcome finally gives all three of them a sense of closure on the past.”

Burman will be on licence on his release from prison.

Three-quarters of the 600 complaints over the past six years about an “horrendous stench” from a Skellingthorpe factory were sent to North Kesteven District Council in 2021, a Freedom of Information request by The Lincolnite has revealed.

It comes as residents continue to demand action about the problem plaguing the village, particularly on Jerusalem Road, where people have had to endure smell and noise coming from the near by A Hughes & Son rendering plant for several years.

Residents have been raising the issue for years, with The Lincolnite repeatedly pressing the council and the factory for answers. Two residents recently said the smell did improve for a while, but the problem certainly hasn’t gone away.

A Freedom of Information request sent to the district council, asked for the number of complaints between the start of 2015 and August, 9 2021. Data between August 9 and September 15 was later provided by the council.

There have been a total of 600 complaints between the start of 2015 and September 15. Of these, 452 were during 2021, which represents 75.3%.

The original data showed 353 complaints were received between the start of 2015 and August 9 this year. The figure then shot up by 192 in the short space of time between August 9 and August 17, and up another 55 by September 15.

A map created by a resident, with responses from more than 70 people, to visualise the spread of the smell.

The Lincolnite also asked, via the Freedom of Information request, what action has been taken by the council against site owners Leo Group, and A Hughes & Son, during this time, including any fines and written warnings.

No action has been taken against Leo Group, while environmental permit holder A Hughes & Son got a formal written warning in relation to odour emission on August 3 this year. On the same date, a formal written warning in relation to particulate emission was issued to the company.

Then on August 20, a Request for Information Notice was issued. The council says the company has supplied the detailed information required by the council and within the prescribed timescale.

The factory is located on Jerusalem Road in Skellingthorpe. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite

The council said: “Given the substantial volume of information submitted, this needs to be reviewed which will take some time. The aim of the exercise is to fully understand the procedures in place on site and assess these in accordance with industry guidance.”

The Lincolnite contacted A Hughes & Son for a comment, but there was no response at the time of publication.

One resident said black smoke can be seen every day in Jerusalem Road.

Resident Joff Burr said: “We had weeks with no smell, even recently when we had all that sun, but this week it is back. It felt like since the last Lincolnite story the smell went away, but now it is back again. They [the factory] must have some sort of control over it.”

Fellow Skellingthorpe resident David Crockatt said: “It has been better recently. We had last weekend when it was bad for a few hours, then it improved slightly, but we are still trying to put more pressure on the district council about this issue.”

Meanwhile, a resident, who wished to remain anonymous, created a map from more than 70 responses, to visualise the spread of the smell the factory produces, saying “a picture is worth a thousand words” – view the map here.

The rendering plant is located on Jerusalem Road in Skellingthorpe. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite

In February this year, plans were unanimously approved to demolish the existing animal by-products processing plant and build a new processing plant at the farm.

Meanwhile, we reported in May Lincolnshire County Council will consider a re-submitted application for a controversial animal rendering plant in nearby Norton Disney.

Lincoln Proteins Ltd resubmitted its planning application for the facility at Villa Farm in Folly Lane after it was previously refused in February 2020 amid concerns over heritage and location. Previous plans also prompted protests by residents who campaigned to “say no to the stink”.

Visit Lincoln will undergo a rebrand to incorporate the whole of Greater Lincolnshire, expanding the organisation’s geographical footprint.

Visit Lincoln’s new name will be Destination Lincolnshire and will be business focused, to build an engaged tourism, hospitality, leisure and retail community across Greater Lincolnshire.

The award-winning destination management organisation formed in 2012 and has supported a visitor economy growth of 30% to the city of Lincoln since it formed.

The transition to Destination Lincolnshire will be led by businesses, with representation from local authorities involved in the Towns Fund initiative as well as other schemes in Lincolnshire.

There will still be a commitment to Lincoln, as a continued investment in Visit Lincoln allows it to remain an internationally recognised brand.

All marketing activity including the website and social media will remain as Visit Lincoln, along with consumer facing brands such as Taste Lincolnshire and Cycle Lincolnshire.

The organisation’s evolution has been backed by councils across Lincolnshire, and has also developed a partnership with the University of Lincoln’s tourism research observatory which champions research and a data-led approach in the tourism sector.

Speaking about Destination Lincolnshire, Kate Ellis, strategic director for major developments at City of Lincoln Council, said: “Over the last 10 years Visit Lincoln has played a critical role in transforming the city’s tourism offer and international profile.

“Given the impact of COVID we need a much more collaborative approach to rebuilding the visitor economy led by the private sector. By working together we’ll be championing the recovery of the sector much more effectively then if we do it alone.”

Charlotte Goy is the Visit Lincoln CEO. | Photo: VL CIC

Charlotte Goy, chief executive at Visit Lincoln, explains: “Destination Lincolnshire will focus on building an engaged and resilient visitor economy across Greater Lincolnshire.

“Tourism, incorporating retail, leisure and hospitality has been most affected by the pandemic; and Destination Lincolnshire brings forward a new structure which is business led and across a wider geographical footprint.

“Our growth is supported by businesses and operator within the sector who want to see a joined-up approach, and together we’ll champion new packages, digital innovation and collaborations that have not been possible before.

“Destination Lincolnshire will also deliver against the Government’s key visitor economy priorities which include sustainability, skills, inclusive tourism and the levelling up agenda which include the multi-million-pound Town Deals across Lincolnshire.

“We’re at the beginning of this journey, and we will be asking people to help us shape Destination Lincolnshire into an organisation that can support all levels of the visitor economy, from sole traders right the way through to the local enterprise partnership.”

Lincolnshire County Council hopes to get a court order to remove an abandoned trailer of rotting rubbish in Lincoln – if it can’t find the deceased owner’s relatives.

The trailer, described by the county council, as a “wooden caravan-like structure” has been parked on Ripon Street for two years or longer according to a local resident.

The county council stuck a notice letter to the trailer in March this year, stating it was an obstruction to the highway and needs removing within 28 days, which has still not been done. However, commenters on The Lincolnite’s story earlier this week flagged up that the trailer’s owner had died, including one person who said she’d “reported it to the council after the family cleared his flat out”.

The Lincolnite contacted the county council to ask for clarification on the situation and a spokesperson said: “We’re still looking for the current owner’s family and alongside that we’re hoping to secure a court order to allow us to move it, should no living relatives be found.”

Karen Cassar, assistant director for highways at LCC, previously said the council was trying to find out who now owns the trailer to avoid local taxpayers having to pick up the bill for moving it.

She said: “We appreciate this is a nuisance for local residents. We want to make sure as much of your money as possible goes into maintaining and improving our roads.”

The council has not set an exact deadline in its search for the owner’s family, but once the court order comes through a more accurate timeline will be known.

The trailer is full of rotting rubbish. | Photo: Submitted

A notice from the county council was stuck to the trailer stating that it needs removed within 28 days, but this was back in March 2021. | Photo: Submitted

This comes after a concerned Lincoln resident contacted The Lincolnite calling on the county council to take action, saying he has never seen the area so filthy in more than half a century.

And the trailer full of rotting rubbish isn’t the only issue on Ripon Street, as there also appears to be a problem with fly-tipping and overgrown weeds, which City of Lincoln Council says it tackling.

The weed spraying programme is ongoing with Ripon Street scheduled to be sprayed in the next two weeks.

The city council added that Ripon Street and that general area is ‘subject to a significant amount of fly tipping, which is why we try to check and clear all streets around there at least weekly’.