Design for the refurbishment of Lincoln Central Market. | Photo: COLC
Five Lincolnshire towns and Lincoln city will get more than £131.1 million towards priority projects as part of the government’s budget this year.
Lincoln, Boston, Skegness and Mablethorpe will all take a share of £175 million allocated to the East Midlands as part of the Towns Fund project.
Meanwhile Grimsby and Scunthorpe will also share in £199 million of funding spread across Yorkshire and the Humber.
The Towns Fund deals are a series of projects aimed at “levelling up” areas.
Here’s a breakdown of how much will be received by each town:
Lincoln – £19 million
Skegness – £24.5 million
Mablethorpe – £23.9 million
Boston – £21.9 million
Scunthorpe – £20.9 million
Grimsby – £20.9
Region’s leaders react
East Lindsey District Council leader Craig Leyland said: “We are delighted to have secured a Town Deal for both [Mablethorpe and Skegness]. This helps us secure more investment in the future.”
Meanwhile, Lincoln MP Karl McCartney said: “As a Towns’ Fund Board, we ranked the projects in order of what we believed was in the best interests of our beautiful city. I am pleased to see a number of them that I particularly supported have been granted funding.”
Jo Walker, Assistant Director for Growth at City of Lincoln Council, said: “It’s fantastic news that Lincoln will receive £19m of Town Deal funding.
“This money, and the projects it will fund, will help make a significant difference in the city as we come out of lockdown and begin our recovery from the pandemic.
“We now await the full detail on which of our projects have been approved. We will then put the wheels in motion to ensure these projects are delivered for the benefit of the people of Lincoln and to help consolidate our position as a leading visitor destination.”
Councillor Rob Waltham, leader of North Lincolnshire Council, said: “These plans have always been about investing in a better future for the people of Scunthorpe and North Lincolnshire.
“These very serious plans for investment across the next five years will create jobs, they will create even better conditions for growth and make the area a more attractive environment for businesses to invest.
“The end result be more highly-skilled, well-paid, sustainable jobs in Scunthorpe for the people who live here.”
Councillor Philip Jackson, Leader of North East Lincolnshire Council, which has not had its funding confirmed yet, said: “I’m delighted to hear that our Town Deal plans have been recognised in today’s budget.
“There’s real optimism for Grimsby’s future, and having a vibrant and enriched town centre that can serve the whole community is significantly important.
“There are many opportunities ahead for us, not least the prominence of our role to the UK’s green agenda, and the additional announcement in the Budget about the Humber bid for Freeport status being approved will only benefit the local area further in terms of local jobs and further investment in the area.”
The projects getting funded
Lincoln
Workers are currently removing the old paving ahead of an upgrade of Speakers’ corner in Lincoln. | Photo: The Lincolnite
In Lincolnshire’s capital, a £31 million wishlist of 14 projects include revamps of the Drill Hall, as well as the Barbican Hotel.
Regeneration of the Central Market in the Cornhill Quarter also features highly on the priority list of projects.
Money is also planned to go towards a new Hospitality Events and Tourism Institute and work in the Sincil Bank Area.
Plans also included the regeneration of a site on Tentercroft Street as well as transformation of Wigford Way through the centre of the city.
Skegness
Visual from the Skegness Foreshore Masterplan.
Projects planned for Skegness include further improvements to the resort’s foreshore, as well as establishing a new further education facility.
Renovations of the railway station and further transformation projects in the town centre are also a priority, as well as a new multi-user trail, a police training centre, a YMCA and development of the Skegness Gateway to the south of the town.
Mablethorpe
Draft plans for the proposed Colonnade in Sutton on Sea. | Photo: ELDC
This money could also go to a new transport hub and works on the colonnade at Sutton on Sea.
A new medical and innovation hub is hoped to focus on attracting healthcare professionals and research.
Money will also go towards the Seal Sanctuary and the National Trust at Sandilands.
Boston
An artist’s impression of Boston’s PE21 Town Centre Regeneration project.
In Boston, the projects include the development of a local radio station and media outlet “championing Boston” and broadcasting information about the town in a bid to “boost” its image.
It also has plans to transform the town centre and key gateway through funding public realm and green space improvements. Money could also go towards investing in “smart home” solutions as well as the conservation of St Botolph’s Church and Library.
Investment in the Trinity Centre will see the building refurbished for better use by church and community groups, while a new Centre for Food and Fresh Produce Logistics is planned.
All of this is on top of regeneration plans across the PE21 postcode and investments in Blenkin Memorial Hall, Shodfriars and Boston Train Station.
Scunthorpe
Designs for some of the plans North Lincolnshire has submitted to the government.
North Lincolnshire leaders are focusing their investments on creating an advanced manufacturing park with 4 million sq ft of space which is hoped to attract world-class engineering firms to the area.
Further development will include the town’s cultural quarter in and around Church Square and progressing work on a health and emergency services hub.
The development of around 500 new homes in the town and a skills development programme will be designed to ensure local people are best placed to take advantage of all the new opportunities.
Grimsby
Designs as outlined by North East Lincolnshire Council for Garth Lane and Frederick Ward Way in Grimsby.
The Greater Grimsby Board’s list of priority projects include the development of a new public square at Riverhead Square – the first phase of which has already started – along with better pedestrian and cycle loops connecting the town to Alexandra Dockside.
The Towns Fund could also go towards the next phase of a new major residential waterfront community off Garth Lane, as well as refurbishment of the Central Library and the development of Victoria Mill Quarter.
The board would also like to complete further regeneration of St James’ Quarter in the town.
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It has been a tragic week with three deaths on Lincolnshire’s roads after two male motorbike riders and a man on a pedal bike lost their lives.
The roads are now busier again after further lockdown restrictions were eased on April 12, but since then three men have sadly died.
A man died after falling from his pedal bike in Branston on Wednesday, April 14 and police said his death is not being treated as suspicious.
On the same day, a 34-year-old male died after a crash involving two motorcycles near Gainsborough.
The man who lost his life in the collision was riding a silver Wuyang motorcycle. The second motorcycle was a blue Suzuki being ridden by a man in his 30s, who was taken to hospital with suspected serious injuries.
A 54-year-old man from North Lincolnshire also died after his motorbike crashed with a Royal Mail post van on the A631 near Glentham at around 4pm on Thursday, April 15.
This comes after it was revealed on March 11 that for the first time in over three decades nobody had died on the county’s roads in the first months of the year, according to Lincolnshire Road Safety Partnership.
Lincolnshire Police revealed earlier this week that between 2018 and 2020 twenty five motorcyclists lost their lives on Lincolnshire’s roads.
There have been 285 coronavirus cases in Greater Lincolnshire and eight COVID-related deaths so far this week – a 7% drop in cases and one less death from the previous week.
The government’s COVID-19 dashboard on Friday recorded 32 new cases in Lincolnshire, eight in North Lincolnshire and three in North East Lincolnshire.
On April 16, three deaths were registered in Lincolnshire and none in Northern Lincolnshire. These figures include deaths both in and out of hospitals, as well as residents in hospitals outside the county.
NHS England reported two hospitals this week so far, compared to none this time last week.
On Friday, national cases increased by 2,596 to 4,383,732, while deaths rose by 34 to 127,225.
In local news, Lincolnshire health bosses expect COVID-19 cases to rise in our region as lockdown is eased, but are optimistic that if numbers are kept low enough, then people will be free to enjoy the summer.
Andy Fox, Deputy Director of Public Health at Lincolnshire County Council, said the lifting of coronavirus restrictions this week had not caused any specific concerns yet.
Since Wednesday, Greater Lincolnshire has again seen a decrease in its infection rates overall, against an increase nationally.
All districts have seen a fall in their rates, except small increases in North Lincolnshire and South Holland. Lincoln has stayed the same and has the lowest rate in the region.
Boston has the highest infection rate of COVID-19 in Greater Lincolnshire and is ranked 9th in the UK.
Here’s Greater Lincolnshire’s infection rates up to April 16:
Greater Lincolnshire’s infection rates from Apr 9 to Apr 16. | Data: Gov UK / Table: James Mayer for The Lincolnite
England’s R number has dropped slightly to between 0.7 and 1 according to the latest data this week. This means for every 10 people infected with COVID-19, they will pass it on to between seven and 10 others.
The new Indian variant of the COVID virus that’s been detected in the UK has all the hallmarks of a very dangerous virus.
It has two new significant mutations in the spike protein that help it infect cells and evade the immune system.
People are “likely” to need a third dose of the coronavirus vaccine within 12 months of getting the first two, Pfizer’s chief executive has said.
Dr Albert Bourla said a booster jab could be necessary “somewhere between six and 12 months” after the second one – and every year thereafter.
Coronavirus data for Greater Lincolnshire on Friday, April 16
Greater Lincolnshire includes Lincolnshire and the unitary authorities of North and North East (Northern) Lincolnshire.
58,919 cases (up 43)
41,028 in Lincolnshire (up 32)
9,275 in North Lincolnshire (up eight)
8,616 in North East Lincolnshire (up three)
2,185 deaths (up three)
1,613 from Lincolnshire (up three)
304 from North Lincolnshire (no change)
268 from North East Lincolnshire (no change)
of which 1,302 hospital deaths (no change)
810 at United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust (no change)
41 at Lincolnshire Community Health Service hospitals (no change)
1 at Lincolnshire Partnership Foundation Trust (no change)
450 in Northern Lincolnshire (NLAG) (no change)
4,383,732 UK cases, 127,225 deaths
DATA SOURCE — FIGURES CORRECT AT THE TIME OF the latest update. postcode data includes deaths not in healthcare facilities or in hospitals outside authority boundaries.
Plans to demolish part of a former play centre and Chinese takeaway to build 41 new student flats, have been submitted to the City of Lincoln Council.
Killingbeck PLG has applied for permission to demolish “most” of the existing facade of the former home of Imagination Station and Big Wok, on Beaumont Fee, and rebuild it as part of the development.
The main hall, a warehouse and a recently built “link block” to the rear of the building will also be demolished, and will be completely replaced with a new extension.
In documents to the council, the applicant describes how the 41”study bedrooms” will be en-suite and open off a central circulation area.
The build will form part of the Iconinc post-graduate residential units development next door and will sit opposite the Park Court student accommodation on Park Street.
It will include 12 apartments on the ground floor, 11 at first and second floor and seven units on the third floor.
How the build could look.
The application said: “There is a clear need for good quality, post-graduate, city centre, residential accommodation and the economic case for the redevelopment of the site is reinforced by the fact the site can be linked with the new Iconic development so amenities can be shared.
“The demolition of the existing property and the proposed redevelopment will bring positive benefits to the area economically and aesthetically.”
As part of the build, residents will gain shared access to existing facilities including the gym.