Elizabeth Fish

St Barnabas Lincolnshire Hospice is getting ready to open up its 26th shop in Lincoln later this week.

The charity shop will open on August 16 in a newly built unit on Wragby Road, near the entrance to the Tesco supermarket.

St Barnabas was awarded the space after they won Tesco’s ‘Yours for a Year’ competition.

The staff have decided to celebrate the opening of the new shop at 10am with a special ribbon-cutting ceremony, featuring the City Sherriff and Lady.

Additionally, there will be a number of family events, such as raffles and games, plus sweets and balloons giveaways. All will be hosted by Barnabas Bear, the charity’s mascot.

Phil Brandon, Commercial Manager for St Barnabas Lincolnshire Hospice, said: “This is a brilliant location for our new shop and puts us right in the heart of the community we serve.

“The expansion of our retail shops division will mean that we can raise awareness of our organisation whilst allowing us to generate vital funds to continue caring for people across Lincolnshire.”

St Barnabas Lincolnshire Hospice are also appealing for more volunteers to join their team in the new store.

The charity particularly aims to help young people aged 16 – 25 work towards retail qualifications, so are encouraged to apply.

Phil Brandon added: “We can’t thank Tesco and the people of Lincoln enough for giving us this opportunity.

“We have had nothing but kind words and support from our local community, from the point of winning the competition to readying ourselves for the official opening.

“Our wonderful team of staff and volunteers are eagerly looking forward to welcoming each and every supporter into our new shop and begin raising even more money for hospice care.”

More people are now choosing to use the Hykeham train station, according to new statistics.

The figures from Access LN6 found that in the last four years, passengers have more than doubled.

The passenger counts for July 2014 saw on average 143 people per day boarding or leaving trains at Hykeham Station, whereas in 2010 this figure was only 64.

The Access LN6 team believe that the recent improvements made to the station have helped, plus working with local businesses and residents to encourage more people to use the train.

Local resident Andrew Abbott travels from Hykeham to Nottingham on the train. He said: “The improvements at Hykeham Station are great.

“The free parking makes it easy and convenient, and the new cycle storage means more people can bike to the station and then catch the train.

“Hopefully, these improvements will encourage more people to travel sustainably,” he added.

Councillor Richard Davies, Executive Councillor for Highways and Transportation at Lincolnshire County Council, said: “One of the main objectives for Access LN6 was to increase rail patronage at Hykeham Station.

“By March 2015, our target was for 96 people per day to be using the train, so we are delighted with the latest figures which show that not only have we achieved this, but exceeded this target eight months in advance.”

Access LN6 travel advisors have visited 10,000 homes in the area to talk about all the different sustainable travel options in LN6.