Lincolnshire County Council will be the first authority in the UK to dip into a £52.6 million financial volatility reserve in order to support local businesses.
The authority’s executive on Tuesday agreed to put aside £12 million from the reserve for local businesses facing difficulties in the COVID-19 pandemic, alongside another £200,000 for an emergency flood response scheme.
A further £10 million will also be taken from the council’s capital programme to help repair rural roads.
The £12 million business funding breaks down into:
£7m grants for business not receiving government help whatsoever — including businesses started during the pandemic and those who have taken bounce-back loans from the government
£1m for vouchers of £1,000 to help businesses get onto digital platforms — e-commerce, contactless payment and websites
£1.5m for village businesses and local initiatives — £3-25,000 grants covering 75% diversification funds adapting to COVID-19/Brexit challenges
£2.5m for investment funds for rapid growth — mainly for young businesses with “great ideas” (grants between £25-75,000)
Executive member for economic development, Councillor Colin Davie said there were 43,0000 small business in the county, who “are the backbone of our economy”.
“They are the best of our county and they represent the opportunity of the future,” he said.
“We know that will be a high demand for the grant, and we may not be able to help everybody that makes an application, but if there was ever a time businesses in Lincolnshire needed our help, it’s now.”
Councillor Colin Davie, Executive Councillor for Economy and Place at Lincolnshire County Council. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
At the end of January, furlough take-up was 10.7% – around 35,700 people – below the national average of 12.6%.
The authority has so far handed out £227 million of grant funding, but says up to 2,000 businesses have been unable to claim support.
Councillor Davie’s proposals were backed by council leader Councillor Martin Hill, who said: “It has been exceptionally stressful for small businesses.
“Although the government has been very generous and given huge sums of money to support businesses […] there are unfortunately still some businesses which have fallen through the cracks and we need to support them.”
He added: “It’s not just about supporting those businesses to make sure they do survive, but also that they are in a good place to actually expand and invest.”
Councillor Richard Davies, executive member for highways, said the spend “sends a really powerful message that Lincolnshire County Council, with its financial reserves […] is in a position when times are very tough to candidly get the chequebook out.”
He said the £10 million for roads would go to the “core network” of roads which were the “lifeline of our communities”
“I’m afraid it’s fair to say that some of our smaller rural roads, while incredibly important for connecting our more isolated rural communities, are in need of some support, and I think now’s a great opportunity,” he said.
Lincoln High Street | Photo: The Lincolnite
Following the meeting of the executive, Katrina Pierce from the Federation of Small Businesses told a press conference the move was an “incredible intervention” from the county council.
“It’s the first scheme of its kind in the entire country and I think this really blazes a trail, and we are going to be pushing very hard for local parties across the UK to follow suit.
“What councillors have shown here is incredible leadership, and a definite recognition of the agony and frustration that so many business owners across the country have faced since the outbreak of COVID-19 and they can clearly see that many can wait no longer. “
The budget changes, along with proposals already agreed to increase council tax by 1.99%, will go before scrutiny committee before going to a vote at Full Council on Friday, February 19.
Once agreed, the grants will be offered in a staggered approach, with bosses hoping to start the first batch at 12pm on Tuesday 23 February, followed by the other schemes in early March.
Spotted an error? Please notify us by selecting that text and pressing Ctrl+Enter.
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.
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.
A local family business is preparing to open another Greek takeaway after leasing a new premises in Birchwood.
The Papadopoulos family moved to Lincoln around 10 years ago before purchasing The Plough pub in Nettleham in 2015, from where they serve food including Greek cuisine.
They also own the Greek2Me takeaway next door and the family will open a second in a unit formerly occupied by an Indian takeaway at the Birchwood Shopping Centre by the end of April. It will serve Lincoln, Skellingthorpe and other surrounding villages.
Greek2Me has taken over a premises formerly occupied by an Indian takeaway at the Birchwood Shopping Centre.
The Greek2Me business was born after the family from Rhodes moved to Lincoln.
Christos and Joanne Papadopoulos had worked as servers at Carluccio’s in Lincoln and wanted to bring their own authentic Greek food to the city.
Spryos Papadopoulos, who manages the Nettleham takeaway, started working in the food industry around two years ago and has been helping his parents alongside his brother George.
They also previously owned a premises at Burton Waters, although this is still in the family and owned by another relative and now called Greek House.
Inside Greek2Me’s new premises in Birchwood.
Spryos told The Lincolnite: “We’ve had a lot of people asking us if can deliver around the North Hykeham and Birchwood area and the new takeaway will hopefully open us up to the rest of Lincoln.
“In the future we are also hoping to open other takeaways elsewhere in the county or even away from Lincolnshire.
“It feels amazing that we will be opening a new takeaway and we’ve had really good feedback from people on Facebook.
“We will be bringing good quality food to make people happy and give them a new experience.”
The new takeaway will initially create 2-3 new jobs, with a scope for more in the future.
Euromillions winner Matt Topham caused a fatal crash when he took his eyes off the road to retrieve his two-year old’s teddy bear while he was driving, a jury was told on Monday at Lincoln Crown Court.
Topham, 31, who won £45 million in 2012, was approaching a left hand bend on a country road near Louth, Lincs, on Christmas Day 2019, when he turned round to look for the teddy in the footwell of his BMW X6 and veered into the opposite carriageway.
The jury at Lincoln Crown Court was told that the child was upset and crying because of his teddy, but rather than stopping his vehicle to find the bear Topham continued to drive.
As he went into the bend his car struck an oncoming Ford Fiesta head-on, the court heard.
Mary Jane Regler, 75, who was a front seat passenger in the Fiesta, was killed as a result. Her husband Rodney, who was driving, was seriously injured.
The couple were returning home after visiting their son for a family Christmas Day dinner.
Topham and his wife were in separate vehicles, and heading for home after visiting his wife’s parents at their home at Rushmoor Country Park, near Louth, when the collision occurred, the jury heard.
Michael Cranmer-Brown, prosecuting, told the jury: “It is accepted that the collision was entirely the fault of this defendant.
“On his own admission in interview, for a few seconds leading up to the collision he did not have his eyes on the road and he was not actually looking where he was going.
“As a consequence of not looking where he was going, as he was approaching this right hand bend his BMW crossed into the opposite carriageway and collided with the Fiesta causing the death of Mrs Regler.
“The driving of Mr Regler was not in any way responsible for the collision.
“The defendant’s account is that his attention was diverted by his looking behind him into the rear passenger footwell so as to retrieve his two-year-old son’s teddy bear.
“He took a conscious decision to look behind him. He took his eyes off the road.”
The prosecutor said that the child was crying due to his teddy being missing.
“The defendant tried to find the teddy bear by putting his arm behind him and stretched back into the passenger footwell.
“He turned his attention from the road to look behind himself into the footwell to try to find the teddy, plainly not looking at the road and where he was going.
“Once he found it he passed it to his son. He said he couldn’t be sure how long he was looking behind him.
“The defendant said that when he turned his attention back to the road to his horror, he found he was driving into the path of a vehicle coming in the opposite direction. It was Mr Regler’s Ford Fiesta.”
Mr Cranmer-Brown said Topham tried to swerve out of the way but it was too late to avoid a collision.
“Mr Regler coming in the opposite direction had no chance to react. He was driving at a steady speed between 30 and 40 mph. He was suddenly confronted by headlights on his side of the road right in front of him.
“He recalls saying out loud ‘For Christ’s sake he’s on my side of the road.’
“Mr Regler could do nothing to avoid a collision.
“The impact occurred wholly on the eastbound carriageway which was the correct carriageway for Mr Regler.”
Mr Regler, 77, survived but suffered serious injuries including fractures to his right heel and ankle, a fractured sternum, fractured ribs and three cracked vertabrae.
Mr Cranmer-Brown said that after the collision both drivers were tested and the results showed alcohol played no part in the collision.
Rodney Regler, in a statement read to the jury, said: “Even though it was a 60 limit I was only doing 35 to 40 mph. There was no traffic and we were idly chatting about what we were going to do when we got home.
“It happened so quickly. I wasn’t aware of any headlights until they appeared right in front of me.
“I turned sharply to the left towards the verge.
“It all happened so quickly. There were no other vehicles around.
“It’s simple. The other car was on my side of the road and I had no chance to react to avoid a collision.”
The jury was read details of police interviews in which Topham admitted he was at fault saying “I turned round to get the teddy and that was my mistake.”
Matthew Topham, 31, of Swinderby, Lincolnshire, denies causing the death of Mary Regler by dangerous driving on Christmas Day 2019.
The jury has been told that he admits the lesser charge of causing her death by careless driving.
Topham also denies causing serious injury to Rodney Regler by dangerous driving.
The charges follow the head on collision on Louth Road, North Cockerington, near Louth. The trial continues.
Boyes is hopeful of remaining in Lincoln as it continues the search for a new location after the closure of its store in the city.
The family-owned discount store located in the City Square Centre started to wind down in January this year and became more and more empty as the weeks went by before it closed for good in February.
However, W Boyes and Company is still hopeful it can remain in the city and is looking for a new store location.
When the firm was contacted by The Lincolnite for further information it said it had no comment to make at this time.
There are plans to demolish the City Square Centre, which now appears to be completely shut. | Photo: The Lincolnite
Lincolnshire Co-op already previously closed its own store in the centre, as well as the pharmacy, and moved them to a nearby location in the Cornhill Quarter area of the city.
The Post Office also closed at the centre on February 23 before relocating and opening in Unit 7 at the Stonebow Centre later the same week.
A spokesperson for Lincolnshire Co-op previously said: “The City Square Centre has been earmarked for development for several years as part of the Co-op’s long term approach to provide a further range of amenities for the local community.
“We plan to apply for planning permission to replace the centre with a new building in keeping with the rest of the Cornhill Quarter.
“We have been working with tenants to support them in finding alternative premises during this time. We look forward to sharing further development news in the near future.
“We have also been exploring options for the post office for some time and are working with Post Office Ltd to identify a new location for this service.”
Whatsapp
