Readers’ views on LincsOnline news
Your views are on a collection of issues in the news this week, including traffic problems, waste, the postal service and pylons.
If you would like to share an opinion, whatever the news topic, please email news@lincsonline.co.uk with your name, address and a daytime phone number.
But before we turn to those that arrived this past week, here’s a topical cartoon by John Elson.
Why wasn’t traffic flow improved years ago?
It seems that new traffic management officers in Grantham have made it possible to make traffic run more smoothly at the Station Road/Wharf Road etc major junction roadworks using a few “tweaks” to the traffic lights system there.
So why didn’t LCC (Lincolnshire County Council) use such people in Grantham years ago to improve our many traffic flow problems? Traffic now seems to run more smoothly along Wharf Road towards Harlaxton Road than it has done for years. Maybe similar adjustments could be made at the notorious Manthorpe Road/Belton Lane Junction and at the three sets of lights in Springfield Road where there are many traffic delays at busy times.
Can we all look forward to better traffic management throughout Grantham now that new traffic management officers have been deployed here? Or are they only a temporary measure to appease local people for a short time?
Lynda North
Grantham
Get on top of waste issues
It would appear that the magic fairies at South Holland District Council have been out and about. Green Lane and surrounding areas have received a clean up! Wow!
How would it be if SHDC could really get on top of the waste issues in town. Trouble is, in my opinion, that Spalding Town does not have anybody on SHDC. SHDC is overrun by executives on high salaries (shared between SHDC, East Lindsey, Boston etc. etc.) who have a comfortable armchair job on a huge salary.
We should work towards a Spalding Town Council, with elders who have life experience, a mayor to oversee the work of the council, some ward constables (not police constables with powers of arrest) in each ward, equipped with a helmet, visor, body armour, truncheon, CCTV and pepper spray, who could patrol their ward, knock on doors and tell the population how to behave. I have said before, that a warden is a guardian. Advise the population of the behaviour expected of the local residents of Spalding.
I would like to know what the executives of SHDC do for a living. Are they employed on a huge salary to sit behind a desk and think of ways to raise more taxes from the population, or do they actually work towards a providing a cleaner, nicer environment for everybody to enjoy? But let’s not forget the disaster of the White Elephant Bridge at Pinchbeck (Lincolnshire County Council)! Planning, environment, flooding – Incompetence? You tell me.
Answers on a postcard please
Paul Matten
Green Lane, Spalding
Crossing closure is a fiasco
The uproar has not died down, nor will it, until the decision to close the rail crossing to pedestrians is reviewed and reversed. Residents’ lives have been affected adversely by the Rutland County Council and Burmor Construction decision. There was no consultation about this measure, only a very last-minute notification. Proper and timely consultation would have revealed the numerous problems for residents, schools, emergency services and other bodies and the outcome may have been very different.
Network Rail is happy for pedestrians to use the crossing, in fact, it states that it is safer for people to do so. Closure invites trespassers, which they do not want. The closure was instigated by Burmor Construction, agreed by highways and put in place.
I have had no satisfactory answer from highways and planning to my question: Why is it perfectly safe for the owners of properties on Brooke Road, numbers 41 to 85, to walk to and from their houses on a daily basis and for other members of the public to walk up to the crossing and back, but it is deemed unsafe for pedestrians to cross the crossing?
The construction site itself offers no danger to the public walking past it as it is sealed off from all except their vehicles and workers. Before the closure, all cars and pedestrians passed it unscathed. The pavement is several metres from the site. As for the roadworks, there has been little or no activity – certainly there were two weeks of inactivity immediately after the closure on July 22 – and when there is any activity, it takes place several metres away from any pedestrians on the pavement. Even when a digger is working with a lorry beside it, the work is confined to the verge and possibly one lane of the road, well away from the other lane and the pavement. A more robust cordon could be put in place if there were any risk involved. It is common for roadworks to take place near pedestrians. Roads may be closed but pavements are open for pedestrians. Often pedestrians are rerouted onto a temporary footpath in the road – surely putting pedestrians at greater risk than is the case here?
At present, a man is employed to spend most of the day sitting waiting for the odd vehicle accessing the site before moving a traffic cone and replacing it. He could be more gainfully employed if he were to be alert to pedestrians using the pavement if there were any fear of machinery nearing the pavement.
I have urged the council and Burmor Construction to take heed of my points, but to no avail. This is not simply what Burmor Construction might consider to be a mere ‘inconvenience’ but a major shift in the lives of residents. Parents who would normally take children to school on foot now have a much-extended walk. Elderly and disabled people may not be able to take this more extended route and may well get into their cars, which will add to the congestion already experienced on the main rail crossing. Many elderly residents are cut off from quick and easy access to their family or carers.
The railway crossing and highway do not belong to Burmor Construction but to the council and to the people of our town. Why should we be dictated to by a construction company? They should be complying with our needs and demands, not the other way round. Brooke Road and its neighbourhood are not an extension of their site, although they may choose to use it as such.
Had there been a timely and proper consultation period of at least 12 weeks, followed by timely notification, this complete nonsense could have been avoided.
Ann Lewis
Brooke Road, Oakham
Postal delivery is shambolic
On September 4, I received 10 letters in a single post. They were variously dated between August 21 and August 30, with most sent well before the latter date. This experience points to the shambolic state of the Post Office but also to the existence of a policy of intermittent 'gathered' delivery of post in Rutland. Ten letters do not arrive in a single delivery by accident.
Since Rachel Reeves is desperate for windfall taxes can I suggest one? An 80% windfall tax on the uber-profitable parcel delivery arm of the Post Office until it does the day job of delivering letters on time for six days of the week. That should focus the mind of management.
Steven King
Lyddington
Police presence during nights
Some while ago, an article was in the paper about some serious media and public questions that were posed to Lincolnshire Police.
Very unsatisfactory answers were given by the police to the multiple ram raids that have taken place throughout the county, all which have appeared unsolved and have gone very quiet in public.
My question is: How many officers were actually on duty at night covering the Bourne and Stamford areas, and what size is the area of their patrols?
I believe both towns during the night hardly receive any police cover at all - something the public is unaware of, but the criminal gangs that are, do what they like.
For example, the ram raid on the Sterling Road shop in Stamford happened in the early hours of the morning on a busy road on one of Stamford’s largest housing estates.
A very noisy JCB telehandler, that was previously stolen, was then presumably driven through the town during the early hours to get there.
When the police were called, what was the response time and where did the officers respond from?
If a murder was about to be committed in Stamford in the early hours and a distress call was made, then that kind of response would be unacceptable.
Marc Jones, the police and crime commissioner for Lincolnshire, needs a few straight questions asking, at the very least, and MP Alicia Kearns needs to be asked her view about the lack of any cover. I am fed up with hearing excuses from the chief constable and Mr Jones.
Lincolnshire County Council has the power to call the chief constable in for answers and so does Alicia Kearns. What's the hold up?
Gene Plews
Witham-on-the-Hill
Campaign to curb motorbiking
It was good to see a successful initiative by the police and crime commissioner for Rutland, Rupert Matthews in reducing car cruising activities around the county.
Could I now ask if he could mount a campaign to curb the Sunday motorcycle groups who ride at very high speed on the Oakham Bypass between Ashwell and Langham roundabouts? Once past Ashwell l they hit the gas and streak up the railway bridge, slowing for the showground roundabout then again streak up to the Langham junction.
Name and address withheld
Support our fight against pylons
Bearing in mind the recent debate on the Great British Energy Bill in Parliament and the current and future party conferences taking place, NoPylonsLincolnshire group would like to bring to our elected leaders’ attention our strong objections to the National Grid Grimsby-Walpole proposal.
Our Group has 4,100 members who reside in the constituencies that you represent. We sincerely hope that you will be vocally proactive in supporting our members objections when attending the debates and conferences.
Listed below are just some of the objections and concerns of our members:
A complete and total lack of the BIG picture is being given to us. Added to this, there seems to be an inability for anyone to give us information and answers to questions when requested.
No ‘overall’ plan has been given to residents that encompasses all the infrastructure proposals planned for Lincolnshire. It’s published in dribs and drabs, so it’s impossible for communities to see the full scale of infrastructure being proposed.
Grimsby - Walpole proposal is a 87-mile swathe, comprising 420 pylons, each 50 metres. A huge project to thrust upon a predominantly linear rural and marshland area.
It seems that overhead lines are being treated as the default option. We have not been offered any meaningful choice eg offshore grid or underground using ATP cable plough method.
The current costings being put forward by National Grid, do not adhere to the Treasury green book, so they are not a true reflection of the final cost.
Additional infrastructure, both future and current, that will connect to sub-stations eg solar farms, battery storage. These large scale proposals will cover upwards of 25,000 acres of land some of which are currently used for livestock, dairy farming, cereal and vegetable production.
Size of sub-stations (there’s 5 planned on G-W route) which will be a blight on the countryside and be impossible to mitigate within a rural flat landscape and areas of AONB.
Loss of grade 1,2,3a arable land during construction and once erected, along with disruption to farmers trying to tend their animals and crops.
Impact on Food security - Lincolnshire produces 30% of UK’s vegetables, 20% sugar beet, along with fruit, ornamental crops and livestock which need grazing land. This land feeds the nation and provides employment for local people.
Impact on already depleted wildlife in the country. Loss of habitat especially during construction with haul roads, construction traffic, destruction of vegetation not only in fields, but also along verges. The area is home to a variety of birds, bats, great crested newts, otters, badgers etc. disruption to their breeding and migration could cause lasting damage.
Destruction of trees and hedgerows, some of which have been established for decades some trees for hundreds of years. This will be especially relevant when construction is in progress - any replanting will take decades, even generations to replenish… and let’s remember - this vegetation is the lungs of the planet absorbing co2.
Disruption to the everyday life of communities during construction. People travelling to work, hospital appointments, school along with visitors getting from A to B etc
Impact on Lincolnshire country roads which are totally unsuitable for heavy machinery, some are only single track and a large percent are already in urgent need of repair.
Adverse weather has resulted in river and surface water flooding which has proved challenging. Sluice gates, flood embankments, flood walls, ditches and dykes play a vital role in protecting Lincolnshire. Disruption by filling in or re-siting ditches and dykes along the route during construction, or after construction, could have disastrous consequences for the area.
Fresh Concrete used to bed in pylons is alkaline and corrosive and can pollute watercourses. Concrete also emits Co2 into the atmosphere and because concrete is a hard surface, it contributes to surface run-off that may cause soil erosion and flooding,
Impact on tourism - tourism is an important revenue stream which employs local people.
Danger to low flying aircraft; light aircraft in particular. We have several flying clubs in the area, as well as RAF stations which regularly train over the area.
Health implications particularly the electromagnetic interference that can effect medical devices- pacemakers, ECG monitors, defibrillators etc.
Noise emitted by pylons, which will be amplified in Lincolnshire’s quiet countryside.
Interference on emergency service radios, which could delay emergency vehicles response times.
Because we are a rural area, The Air Ambulance is used in extreme emergencies. Pylons and pylon lines, could potentially make it more difficult for them to land near the emergency, therefore result in them losing crucial minutes.
Impact on property prices, making it more difficult to sell or obtain a mortgage. In a housing crisis, this could make it impossible for homeowners wanting to downsize.
Finally, the energy produced by the proposal will not benefit Lincolnshire. Our countryside is being desecrated and used as an energy highway, to supply the needs of the Midlands and South of England.
Other issues
Ineffective initial consultation - Communities were not aware of meetings until they’d passed; Timings made it impossible for some people to attend as they were at work; the online survey was overly long, complicated and kept crashing; One of the website addresses for putting forward written survey submission was wrong; Once surveys were sent, respondents had to click on an email to confirm the submission- this was going into peoples junk folder and therefore wouldn’t be counted; The on-line survey closed before the cut off time and it was only after a member of NoPylonsLincolnshire reported this, that it was rectified and re-opened.
Some villages recent scoping reports were rejected, as NG said they would only accept villages with parish ‘councils’, some smaller villages have parish ‘meetings’ so they couldn’t put forward their reports, despite the swathe going passed their villages.
NG has consistently refused to acknowledge and publish results of the public consultation held 6 months ago, despite being contacted on numerous occasions by this group.
NoPylonsLincolnshire group request a Pause, so that alternative methods can be investigated (off-shore and underground using ATP cable plough method) along with obtaining long term, up to date costings, which adhere to the Treasury Green Book.
Thanking you in anticipation of your current and future proactive vocal support.
NoPylonsLincolnshire
