Opposition members at South Kesteven District Council say there are still questions to be answered over a proposed unveiling event costed at £100,000 for a £300,000 Margaret Thatcher statue in Grantham town centre.
Independent Councillor Ashley Baxter, who called in a decision by leaders to underwrite the event for £100,000 resulting in it being brought back to cabinet on Tuesday, said he was “disappointed with a lack of answers”.
Reports revealed estimated costs totalling £109,490, including more than £50,000 on an “external events organisation”, £24,000 on “essential costs” and £35,000 on further staging and streaming.
Councillor Baxter said there were “legitimate questions about spending and procurement” and hit out at a decision to mute him during the meeting.
The 10ft plinth the 10ft Margaret Thatcher Statue will be placed in Grantham town centre. | Photo: Kylie Warrington
During a question, Councillor Baxter asked whether the external organisation would be appointed by an open and transparent tendering process, but added: “or will the council be using the recent Conservative tradition of awarding contracts to friends and family?”
Council leader Councillor Kelham Cooke took exception and asked him to retract his final comments.
Councillor Baxter did not retract his statement, however, following the meeting said he was not allowed to add any context as he was muted shortly after.
Councillor Baxter has now submitted a Freedom of Information Request to the authority.
Councillor Ashley Baxter, South Kesteven member for Market and West Deeping ward.
He said: “It is not the statue […] that irks me, nor the concept of an unveiling event, rather it is the nonchalant, arrogant and disorganised manner in which the Conservatives seem willing to commit residents’ money to underwrite the event”.
Councillors voted unanimously to move forward with the plans, and said scrutiny councillors would continue to be updated on the progress of the event.
A spokesman for SKDC promised there would be “further discussion”.
“SKDC Leader Councillor Kelham Cooke gave an assurance that those members who asked questions would receive responses in writing,” they added.
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Police are appealing to locate a man captured on CCTV in a pub in Grantham, after a female staff member was reportedly sexually assaulted while on shift.
At around 7.30pm on Wednesday, September 22, a man entered the Old Bank pub on Grantham High Street and ordered a drink from the bar.
After finishing the drink, the man went to the bar and offered a tip. At this point he grabbed a female member of staff with both hands and kissed her neck, before being pushed away and told not to touch her.
Have you seen this man? | Photo: Lincolnshire Police
Police originally released an image of the man in question, but have now published CCTV footage from the pub to try and help identify him quicker.
If you have any information which could help with police’s investigation, contact officers in one of the following ways:
Call 101 and quote incident 381 of September 22
Email [email protected] and use the same incident number in the subject line
Volunteers have again been cleaning up the Sincil Bank area of Lincoln, collecting car tyres, a road sign, shopping trolleys and even a used needle in a bid to make the streets tidier.
The cleanup was organised by volunteers at Sincil Bank Lincoln RiverCare and Litter Pick Group, as an army of people armed with litter picking devices took to the streets of Lincoln on Saturday, October 23.
The litter picks take place monthly, and despite having reduced numbers this time around, the group managed to collect a large hoard of rubbish.
The cleanup team were hard at work again in the Lincoln area. | Photo: Nick Rawsthorne
Volunteers took to the Hermit Street and Portland Street areas first, where numerous empty cans of beer and broken glass bottles had to be cleared from what looked like a party aftermath.
Drug paraphernalia was also found in the area in the form of a used needle, which was safely disposed of due to the health risks that come with potentially coming into contact with used syringes.
What appears to be a party aftermath in the Hermit Street/Portland Street zone. | Photo: Nick Rawsthorne
The items collected include a bike frame pulled from a drain, a games console, two shopping trolleys, two car tyres, a bag of clothes and a television without a screen.
Volunteers meet monthly for the litter pick. | Photo: Nick Rawsthorne
The cleanup operation takes place around the Sincil Bank area of the city. | Photo: Nick Rawsthorne
As well as this, the volunteers collected 45 face masks, 155 cans, 65 glass bottles, 55 plastic bottle containers and 20 bags.
The volunteers were fishing items out of the river. | Photo: Nick Rawsthorne
Perhaps the most bizarre find was a box full of mounted pike heads, which were described as “macabre” upon discovery.
A pretty harrowing find on a litter pick. | Photo: Nick Rawsthorne
Nick Rawsthorne said of the pike heads: “We know Halloween is now very close, but to find a box full of mounted pike heads was totally unexpected. A rather bizarre find and a sad reflection on how some treat local wildlife.”
All smiles for October’s litter pick. | Photo: Nick Rawsthorne
The next litter pick from the group will be on November 20, and to check out more of the great work done by Sincil Bank Lincoln RiverCare and Litter Pick Group, check out their Facebook page.
Teams were leaving no stone unturned. | Photo: Nick Rawsthorne
Another successful meet-up for the volunteers. | Photo: Nick Rawsthorne
A Lincolnshire woman has been cleared of sexually assaulting a man after the Crown Prosecution Service offered no evidence against her.
Cheryl Howarth, 45, of Timms Drove, Low Grounds, near Swineshead, had denied a single charge of sexual assault on a male aged over 16-years-old. The offence was alleged to have occured on August 30, 2019.
Howarth appeared at Lincoln Crown Court on Monday where her case was listed as a ‘backer’ trial. However her trial could not be heard due to other court work.
Andrew Fitch-Holland, prosecuting, said the Crown Prosecution Service had decided to drop the case and offer no evidence on the charge after speaking to the complainant about the further delay.
Recorder Simon King directed a not guilty verdict to be entered against Howarth and told her she was free to leave court.
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