Letter writers from Stamford, Spalding, Grantham and Rutland share their views with LincsOnline
Readers have had plenty to say on what’s in the news.
Here we share some of the letters, emails and comments that have come in over the week, including this reader picture.
Send your letters to: news@lincsonline.co.uk
City of Culture awaits
I attended the public consultation on the proposed planning application for 165 houses to be built on Brooke Road, Oakham.
These questions spring to mind. A bit 'tongue in cheek '
When can we expect to get City Status? When can All Saints Church enthrone a Bishop so it can be called All Saints Cathedral?
With the latest revelations about making the Rutland Museum becoming a Cultural Centre, Oakham could then become the City of Culture in the future.
Well it's just a thought!
Joyce Lucas
Oakham
We have a strong sense of identity but no voice
Rutland, England's smallest county is known the world over.
We have a strong sense of identity and locals take great pride in their county.
This very genuine sense of affection is frequently scorned by the media who frequently portray our county as quaint and privileged.
A tragedy, because at one time it was quite natural to take an interest in your surroundings, now it's regarded as eccentric.
Having made no mention of it in the Labour manifesto our county is to be swallowed up by Leicester to form a mega council. It's not just us, other rural borough councils are facing the axe too. On our doorstep Melton Mowbray, Market Harborough and Stamford.
None of these councils are in special measures, indeed they have met all their targets ironically it is the authorities they are to be amalgamated with that haven't!
I attended the second of two public meetings organised by our MP Alicia Kearns.
Our county council was informed of these changes just prior to Christmas; the deadline is set for March!
No funds have been made available for a referendum on these fundamental changes or to pursue the possibility of the merger of rural boroughs with shared experiences of a rural economy.
I would like to make it clear that I am not affiliated to any political organisation.
I do, however, want to bring to everyone's attention that our future is being decided and we have no voice.
We currently have 27 councillors representing our needs. Under the new regime we would have two!
Chrissy Payne
South Luffenham
Areas should not be linked
I respectfully respond to Mr David Popple (letter last week ‘Stamford and Rutland should be linked’).
South Kesteven District Council is without doubt the much larger future primary partner with Rutland in any future merger discussions. It is true that is was Rutland which chose to dump Leicestershire to stand alone, and they now therefore must never be allowed to use SKDC taxpayers for its financial shortfalls now.
Alicia Kearns (MP) also represents parts of South Leicestershire, residents in SKDC should note.
The truth is, much higher council taxes would indeed be forced onto all SKDC residents to make up the perennial Rutland rural under funding and its tiny tax base, SKDC residents won't agree to that - fact.
Much bigger cross county local issues surely exist than just trying to justify it with small talk about joined up tourism, and links to William the Conqueror.
Rutland by far has the superior maintained roads, whilst rural and town roads in SKDC are left in an appalling state.
When the Government gives out any future road maintenance grants to whoever is now running us,will our new partners in Rutland want to support their fellow residents living in what's now SKDC getting all the funding spend priority on all of its current third world roads?
Lincolnshire police county boundary runs into hundreds of miles of already non patrolled areas, hence the early hours and brazen unsolved shop ram raids that have taken place all over the county all unchallenged,will this service improve working with the tiny Rutland force?
Who gets the majority of health funding priorities in the future, and how does it affect all local doctors surgeries in both counties, if Rutland already cannot cope with high end adult social care and children's services costs, or even keep a tiny village library open, or sports and fitness facilities?
Name and address supplied
Attraction loss would be a tragedy
Barnsdale Gardens is a major attraction in Rutland having been established 40 years ago by the late Geoff Hamilton attracting millions of viewers on his programme on the BBC show Gardeners’ World and has continued to progress successfully by his middle son Nick Hamilton and his expert team with volunteers. About 30,000 visitors visit these gardens each year spreading its special message all over the globe. The thought that this iconic garden may go as the result of the impact of an ill conceived solar farm will be a great tragedy for all. Please object to these plans .
Jill Lessey
Stretton
Keeping us safe
It is the first duty of a government to keep its citizens safe.
Since 2015 previous Conservative administrations have promised to deliver up to 20,000 new prison places by the mid 2020s; that would be now. In July 2022 the Prisons Reform Trust established that 2239 new places had been built, or just 11% of what was promised. This is just a repeat of the fiction that was the 40 new ‘Boris hospitals’ that were unfunded.
Now people will be familiar with the situation that the Labour Government inherited in July 2024, of a prison service within days of being full. Consequently, an early release scheme had to be introduced to stop the collapse of our justice system.
This was only a stop-gap and in early September 2024 the Ministry of Justice committed to a programme to build 14000 more prison places by 2031, initially investing £2.3bn in prison expansion in 2024/25 and 2025/26, together with further sums of £220m and £300m for additional maintenance, based upon then available advice.
In December 2024 the National Audit Office reported that since 2019, the backlog in maintenance alone in the prison estate had doubled to £1.8bn, thereby immediately damaging the government’s plans to increase capacity and improve living conditions.
This demonstrates, firstly, that Chancellors cannot forever delay essential maintenance in the public estate to pay for electoral cuts to our taxes, and secondly, delay only serves to increase the bill we all have to pay.
Coun Ramsay Ross
Leader of the Labour Group, Rutland County Council
Where is the town council going?
Reading the Mercury last week made me wonder where Stamford Town Council is coming from - or going to. Common sense might be with one or two, but certainly not all the members.
Oak trees across the meadows footpath to form an archway? Put your thinking caps on - or dunce’s hat, if one fits.
Our Meadows serve throughout the year, giving so much pleasure and entertainment to all.
In current financial circumstances such a brainless idea is mind-boggling and the open aspect of the meadows would be ruined.
Money has to be spent on our lovely amenity but not with the thought that ‘we still have a lot of cheques in the book, so we must have plenty of money’.
We do have the Skells Trust, hopefully being used sensibly and as Mr Skells desired, to keep our town at a high standard.
Town council, prove yourselves to be worth your position and maintain what we have to a high standard.
John Judge
Brooke Avenue, Stamford
Generosity deserves support
In these hard times and worry about costs, isn’t it great to see the great Nene Valley Railway company dropping its charges by some 20 to 25%. Online ticket prices are extremely attractive. There is a reduction of £11 on a family ticket of two plus three kids!
The steam marvels Britannia and Flying Scotsman are coming soon. Their generosity deserves our support!
Barrie Church
Uffington
Plans should be opposed
I firmly believe that the plans to increase the population of Baston by up to a third should be opposed at every turn, for the sake of both the village at the wider locality.
In drawing up plans to fulfil the government housing quota for South Kesteven, a planning officer saw fit to identify farmland alongside the A15 on the western site of Baston as a possible site for 86 new homes in order to help meet the district target. Wates Development is now talking about potentially boosting that figure to 250.
I have always believed in the principle that rural communities like Baston should be increased in size only to accommodate their natural growth, and not purely for the benefit of landowners and developers to make large profits and those in power to fulfil artificial quotas.
The addition of so many extra homes, whether it be 86, 250, or some midway figure, will place a burden on existing resources such as local medical facilities and school places which are already stretched to their limit and in cases beyond.
Traffic levels on the A15 will be markedly exacerbated, worsening the problems of turning in and out of Baston crossroads, which lacks traffic lights, and the adjacent Baston Fields estate. The building of vast new housing estates to the south west of Bourne over the past two decades has seen, in my opinion, the town become a dormitory suburb of Peterborough with a marked increase of traffic using the A15 through Thurlby and Northorpe, Baston and Langtoft , seven days a week.
The published map of the larger housing estate scheme shows a through route between the A15 and Greatford Road – which has all the hallmarks of a potential rat run worsening the busy traffic on King Street as motorists bid to avoid the crossroads. What on earth has happened to the Government aim of “net zero” by cutting carbon emissions?
Lincolnshire has been described as a “bread basket of England” because of its rich expanses of prime agricultural land. Should such acres be sacrificed en bloc – or should we look elsewhere to build necessary homes, such as brownfield sites, smaller infill sites or on the edge of conurbations and towns where sufficient resources and source of employment are available?
I am in no doubt that that this threat to Baston and its environment will be shared by many other communities in south Lincolnshire, especially in view of the call by Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, who is also Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, for 1,500,000 new homes to be built nationwide.
Once farmland is built on, or worse still, used for quarrying (a potential threat of this sort was faced by the same site a few years ago), it is lost to food production forever.
I call on civic representatives at all levels, from Government ministers and MPs down to county, district and parish councillors to look in far greater detail at the widest implications of such development schemes, and block them where necessary.
Robin Jones
Baston
Improvements are being made
Spalding is not dying! With regards to the recent article suggesting Spalding is dying, I totally disagree, based on the evidence of progress being made generally throughout the town.
There are many exciting things to look forward to, now and in the future, that will help to generate growth in the local economy which will attract new quality retailers to the town, replacing others that have closed.
Obviously these changes have and still are slow to materialise, but with the goodwill and efforts of like minded local people who want to improve Spalding, they are busy working behind the scenery to make this progress to ensure change and the necessary improvement will happen.
The incremental improvements we see in Hall Place are a good example of progress — that all contribute to the general vibe of the town — with the installation of the new street furniture and planters and the beautifully designed seating area near the town bridge is definitely an improvement that will help attract visitors to the town.
Then there is the resurgence of the annual flower parade, involving all age groups, which no doubt will attract many tourists,
Also there is a very exciting vibrant art scene emerging here, with 30 artists, professional and amateur, exhibiting at the local Sessions House this February which will be open to the general public to view their artwork.
We look forward to more cultural events like this in Spalding,
Hopefully the old Johnson hospital will be considered to house all the arts events and workshop/classes one day.
This will certainly put Spalding on the cultural map.
Unfortunately at the moment Spalding lacks the amenities where artists are concerned with little opportunity to show their work in public due to lack of galleries and purpose built arts venues.
Hopefully this will change soon.
Joan Smyth
Woolram Wygate , Spalding
Give political party a chance
Why is Spalding town dying? Simple — we’re all broke, no money.
Old people have been robbed by this Labour government — heating allowance, more council tax, higher food prices in the shops in Spalding,
The answer is to get rid of this useless government who spend all our money on immigrants, eight million pounds a day.
Until we stop the boats things will only get worse, so next time don’t vote Labour or Tory, I say vote Reform.
Give our new party a chance.
The old two party way is dead!
So if you want towns like ours to survive, kick out John Hayes and next time vote Reform.
Name and address supplied.
Medical facilities are much-needed
It looks like another old part of Grantham might succumb to greedy bulldozer developers. Manthorpe Road has suffered numerous demolitions in the last 20 years with the resulting block of flats erasing a graceful Victorian residence at Lodge Way and an executive housing estate replacing a nurses hostel opposite the old hospital which is now also under threat. If history repeats itself yet again, as at Lodge Way, an inspection will deem our hospital a health and safety risk. Whatever happens the ULHT must keep control of this asset for the benefit and welfare of Grantham's population which means, after bulldozing, adding or replacing much needed medical facilities and not adding to Manthorpe Road's residential and traffic overload.
Rod Hatherill
Lodge Way Grantham
Send your letters to: news@lincsonline.co.uk
