Council says it shares frustrations over Long Sutton's Bull Hotel - and reveals £1.7 million 'levelling up' cash bid
Council bosses say they 'share the frustrations' of the people of Long Sutton about The Bull Hotel - which won't be getting any of the Government's 'levelling up' funding.
Lincolnshire County Council finalised a shopping list of schemes to put forward for the Community Renewal Fund this week.
A frustrated Long Sutton councillor called for The Bull to be put forward as a way to finally fix a building that has become an eyesore.
However, it's now been confirmed that the money cannot be spent on buildings in this way.
A spokesman for South Holland District Council said: “The council shares the frustrations many residents in Long Sutton have regarding the future of the Bull Hotel. We are in contact with the building’s owners and should any external funding become available which is suited to assisting the owners in bringing the property back into use, we will work with them to do so.”
Long Sutton district councillor Andrew Tennant is not satisfied that the authority is doing enough to find a solution for The Bull.
The town's conservation area is on Historic England's Heritage At Risk Register - and people in the town are worried that the state of The Bull is letting Long Sutton down.
Coun Tennant said: "It’s got to move on. They need to be more proactive - that’s the polite way of putting it.
"As an authority we are not taking enough notice of conservation areas and listed buildings.
"In theory, they should be the jewels in the crown and not the grot spots.
"To be honest it’s not just Long Sutton - there are similar issues rolling on for so long in Spalding too."
The Government has pre-selected Lincoln, Boston and East Lindsey as 'priority places' for money - but the county council still wanted ideas from across Lincolnshire for a shortlist.
The authority is bidding for up to £9 million from the fund and wants to find ideas worth £500,000-plus to boost the economy post-Covid.
The fund is open to voluntary and community sectors as well as education, local councils and business support organisations.
In a statement on Friday, South Holland District Council said it is working with the Greater Lincolnshire Local Enterprise Partnership, Lincolnshire County Council, University of Lincoln and Boston College on a bid for about£1.7million as part of the Community Renewal Fund.
The council said: "The bid is aimed at paying for business support activity during 2021/22 to support the food sector across Greater Lincolnshire, but with a particular focus on South Holland and South East Lincolnshire, given the size of the food business cluster in the district.
"If successful, the funding will cover the cost of business support and development advice for food businesses, small grants to support food businesses to develop new ICT and reduce their carbon footprint, and funding to support those seeking employment in the food sector, including school leavers and those currently unemployed, to develop the necessary skills that they may require.
"The bid links into a wider piece of work around the development of the food cluster in Lincolnshire, given its role as a major driver of employment locally."
