North Kesteven District Council will throw their weight behind county council highways objections to the City of Lincoln Council’s Western Growth Corridor plans this week.
The city council submitted the plans for 3,200 new homes on land west of Tritton Road in early 2019, and later revised them to include a number of bus, pedestrian and cycle only routes.
However, Lincolnshire County Council objected to the Western Growth Corridor in November due to concerns that it could make “already difficult congestion far worse”.
A report before North Kesteven District Councillors at 2pm on Thursday backs comments from Highways England and Lincolnshire County Council Highways that “matters have not been satisfactorily addressed with both consultees objecting at this stage”.
The authority’s planning committee will be recommended to “welcome and support” the early delivery of the 3,200-home plan, but adds “it is apparent that certain unresolved issues remain.”
“Whilst the council recognise that we are not a statutory consultee […] we nevertheless wish to highlight our concerns about the proposed development and its impact on the highway network and settlements within North Kesteven, in particular the Skellingthorpe Road/A46 roundabout and Lincoln Road,” said the report.
They said the issues need to be “fully addressed” before a decision is made.
There are also concerns over flood risk and drainage issues, affordable housing, gypsy and traveller pitches and the visual amenity of the empty land.
The latest masterplan for the Western Growth Corridor showing the bus-only routes.
County council highways bosses are worried that only minor junction improvements would be made on Doddington Road to deal with extra cars, and said it would add an “unacceptable amount of traffic to an already congested city”.
The city council said it would fully consider the points raised and respond in due course.
It is estimated the WGC could generate up to £22 million per year for the Lincoln economy.
The first phase would see 300 new homes built off Skellingthorpe Road. It is hoped work will start in 2021.
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Family-run The Pet Vet will open a new surgery at the Carlton Centre in Lincoln on Friday.
The ribbon to officially open the new 5,500 square foot independent surgery will be cut by members of Lincoln City Football Club at 2.30pm on Friday, October 29. Local animal charities and businesses, and even the fire service, will attend the opening day.
The Lincoln surgery is fully equipped with seven consultation rooms, three operating theatres, a dental theatre, and imaging suite, separate dog and cat words, and vast amounts of parking.
The Pet Vet already has established surgeries in Barnsley, Doncaster, and Rotherham, with Lincoln part of a plan to expand across the region. The surgeries are all equipped with the latest technology, including CT scanning capabilities.
In addition to general practise and preventative healthcare, The Pet Vet also offers advanced care in orthopaedics, soft tissue surgery and dentistry.
The Lincoln surgery is offering all new customers a free first consultation and half price vaccinations until the end of 2021.
A care home near Lincoln will close due to difficulties recruiting care and management staff.
The Old Rectory in Saxilby, which was rated ‘Good’ this year by the Care Quality Commission, is in the process of rehoming the 18 residents before it closes its doors.
It is working with Lincolnshire County Council officials to do so.
Some 32 staff, and remaining residents, were informed of the decision this week. Some staff will move to the sister home Wispington House Care Home in the village.
Owners, who have run the facility since 2012, said continuous pressures on recruiting care staff and management positions made it impossible to stay open.
The home will remain open until a place can be found for all residents
Owner Brij Patel said during the past two years there has been “a rise in external influences which have made it increasingly difficult to sustain high standards – with the near impossibility of recruiting and retaining care and management staff compounded by Brexit and the Covid-19 pandemic.”
“We have worked tirelessly during the 18 past months to overcome various difficulties,” he said. “But regrettably, unsuccessfully, and now unfortunately this has left us in a position without any alternative but to close the home.
“This is not a decision that we took lightly, and we fully appreciate that this will come as a shock and disappointment to our staff, our residents and their loved ones. We are however, committed to manage the process as smoothly and fairly as possible.
“We can now focus our staff, resources and expertise on Wispington House and ensure that we deliver the quality of care the residents and their families deserve.”
The decision comes days after the Care Quality Commission released a report revealing that health and social care services are “under greater strain than ever”.
The report said care workers are suffering under a tidal wave of “anxiety, stress, exhaustion and burnout” post COVID-19.
Across England, numbers of unfilled jobs are rising month on month, the researchers found, from 6% in April to more than 10% in September.
The Government recently announced a new £162.5 million workforce retention and recruitment fund to bolster the dedicated care workforce – but critics say it may too little too late.
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