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Letters to the Lincolnshire Free Pres editor – September 8, 2020




If you can’t keep it looking good, sell it to someone who can

In response to the letter with regards to Moulton park, which was written by John Grimwood, I agree with his comments 100%.

Being born within 100 yards of the park, in River Lane, 82 years ago, I, like John, was able to use the park and Spinney with the permission of the late Joe Ward throughout my young days, along with several other youngsters resident within the village.

I doubt very much if the present council even know that the Spinney comes alive during February/March, becoming a picture to behold as millions of snowdrops bloom there, and not only were we allowed to pick some for our mothers, my late mother May Hipworth was allowed to do the same in her childhood.

Now the Spinney is almost non-accessible, being overgrown, none of which was allowed when it was in private hands.

Also, the pit which is situated behind my current property, was always kept clean and tidy and during the severe winters that we used to get we were allowed to skate and slide with supervision from parents.

But now it has been allowed to be shrouded in overgrown trees and shrubs and it is now overshadowing both mine and my neighbour’s properties, causing the gardens to be denied the light which they should receive.

So come on South Holland District Council. Get your act together and let us see that the area is tidied and cleaned up.

If you can’t keep it looking like it has been over the last 100 years or more then at least sell it to someone that will preserve it for the residents of the village.

Do not look to destroy our park and make it another building site. We have other areas within the village that should be used before looking to build elsewhere.

I would welcome comments from other residents, new or old, with regard to the council’s proposals.

John Sanderson

Moulton

John Elson's Lincolnshire Free Press cartoon.
John Elson's Lincolnshire Free Press cartoon.

Pavement is overgrown and very narrow

I live in Holbeach and like to walk and cycle. On several occasions I have contacted the (Lincolnshire County Council) highways department about the condition of the pavement between Holbeach and Spalding (A151). It is overgrown and very narrow in some places. In one of the conversations I had I was told that if the pavement was 18 inches wide they would do nothing, and overgrowing trees were the problem of the land owner.

They have obviously never tried to cycle between Weston and Spalding – a designated pedestrian/cycle route (signs in place).

It is so narrow in some places you have to get off your bike for your own safety. If a pedestrian meets a cyclist, where does the other one go for safety?

We are encouraged to keep fit. I am nearly 68, live in Holbeach and cycle to Spalding but there is no pleasure in it.

I do drive so see it from all sides, but if you put a sign up to say it is suitable for use in a motor vehicle it has to be fit for purpose, otherwise insurance claims get involved.

It is important that we encourage walking and cycling, but unless the routes are safe and maintained who is going to use them?

Rutland make money from their cycle/walking routes, attracting thousands of visitors.

We do not have Rutland Water but we do have rivers, beautiful skies, and much easy cycling!

Lesley Wallace

via email

Free Press reporter Kat Wakefield took this stunning photograph of the sunset over Moulton last Tuesday evening. (41812536)
Free Press reporter Kat Wakefield took this stunning photograph of the sunset over Moulton last Tuesday evening. (41812536)

Slash and burn not the answer with jobs

The COVID-19 crisis has obviously impacted the finances of many businesses and service providers, that is a fact.

But the reality is that many of those employers with serious cash flow problems now, have enough liquid assets and reserves to weather much of the storm.

There are also firms that have continued to make money throughout the crisis and those that will bounce back quickly.

For example, HSBC has announced tens of thousands of redundancies worldwide, but still make billions in profit. Why should they cut jobs just because profits are down on last year?

A quick analysis of the FTSE 100 shows that many businesses have continued to grow through the crisis and are in a better position now than they were at the turn of the year.

Obviously, everyone thinks of supermarkets when this comes up and (British online supermarket) Ocado for example has seen its share price rise by over 60% in the last six months.

But it is not just companies in that industry that are doing well. For example, Rentokil has seen its share price jump by nearly 30% over the same period and AstraZeneca’s- pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical company has increased by almost 25%.

For many employers a crisis is falling profits and shaky returns for shareholders, but this does not mean that cuts to the wage bill are inevitable.

Often employers look to restructure merely to appease the markets, to show a sign of progress, or their ability to take control in a crisis.

Okay, so profits may be down and the bounce back may take some time, but why does this require permanent cuts to terms and conditions?

In some cases it’s hard to fight job losses and closures when dealing with businesses that were already on the edge, but this does not mean we have to accept permanent cuts to pay, terms and conditions for those that are going to survive.

The economic fall-out of COVID-19 requires temporary solutions, not permanent slash and burn.

It may take a while for the economy to bounce back, but it will take a good working partnership to get back to whatever the normal maybe in the future.

Rodney Sadd

South Holland & The Deepings Constituency Labour Party



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