Crews attended the scene near Boultham Park
A tunic jacket belonging to a firefighter was stolen while they were dealing with a suspected arson attack at a Lincoln allotment.
Lincolnshire Fire & Rescue were called out shortly before 5pm on August 10 to a field fire on the allotments off St Peter’s Avenue, not far from Boultham Park, in Lincoln.
Crews from Sleaford, Gainsborough, North Hykeham and Market Rasen attended the scene. They used three main jets, four hose reels and beaters to extinguish the fire.
A firefighter putting out there fire in Lincoln. | Photo: Submitted
It resulted in fire damage to approximately 800 square metres of grass and stubble field in two fields.
Lincolnshire Fire & Rescue believe both this blaze, and number of fires on the same day at Greetwell Quarry off Carlton Boulevard, were started deliberately.
Jon Henderson, Community Fire Protection Manager at Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue, said: “Deliberate incidents like these are reckless and put a strain on fire and rescue resources. They can easily escalate and cause serious damage. As shown yesterday, these two fires took up eight fire appliances for several hours, meaning we could have been delayed getting to other incidents.
“I would appeal to parents to know where their children and teens are when they go out during the summer holidays and be vigilant in preventing them causing harm and damage in our communities.”
15:38 @SleafordFire @GainsboroughFRS @NHykehamFire & @marketrasenfire attended a field fire off St Peters Avenue in Lincoln. Approximately 40m X 20m of grass and stubble damaged by fire, extinguished using 3 main jets, 4 hose reel jets and beaters.
— Lincs Fire & Rescue (@LincsFireRescue) August 10, 2022
Lincoln Police posted on social media saying: “If it wasn’t upsetting enough that the fire is suspected to have been set deliberately, someone has stolen a tunic jacket belonging to one of the firefighters attending the scene whilst they were working hard to deal with the fire and protect the public.
“This important piece of personal protective equipment helps keep the wearer safe from injury whilst dealing with fires and other incidents. Without it they can’t do their job safely and there is a significant cost which ultimately is borne by the public to replace such an important item.
“We’ve included images of a similar jacket and hope that the people of Lincoln can come together to help find this important piece of equipment. Please call 101 with any information or if the item is found.”
A spokesperson for Lincolnshire Police later issued a statement to The Lincolnite, which said: “We can confirm that we have received a report that an arson has taken place in fields off St Peter’s Avenue in Lincoln just after 4.30pm yesterday (10 August).
“A large area of two fields were damaged in the fire, but thankfully on this occasion nobody was reported to have been injured.
“We have also had an arson confirmed in grassy land off Carlton Boulevard, Lincoln in recent days. The fire led to damage of a very large area of grass, and again we are thankful that nobody is reported to have been injured.
“We are keeping an open mind about the incidents, including whether there are any links.
“We are asking parents and carers to know where their children are, and to ensure that they educate them about the risks and consequences of causing harm and damage in our communities.
“We would appeal for anyone with information, CCTV, dashcam, or mobile phone footage of either incident to come forward to help us with our enquiries. Any piece of information could help us identify the person or people responsible. Please call 101 with information if you can help with our enquiries.”
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Helping the future of food production in the UK
The Hub at the South Lincolnshire Food Enterprise Zone. | Photo: Stuart Wilde
The future of food production in the UK has taken a step forward after the official opening of the South Lincolnshire Food Enterprise Zone (FEZ).
An event to mark the completion of the first phase of the FEZ took place at the recently opened site just outside Holbeach on Thursday, September 22.
The first phase of the FEZ includes the University of Lincoln’s National Centre for Food Manufacturing (NCFM), Lincolnshire County Council’s Hub for Agricultural Businesses and The Institute of Technology Digital Food Manufacturing Centre.
Professor Neal Juster, Vice Chancellor at University of Lincoln, Councillor Colin Davie (Lincolnshire County Council), Professor Val Braybrooks (National Centre for Food Manufacturing), Pat Doody (Chair of the Greater Lincolnshire LEP) and Councillor Nick Worth (South Holland District Council) at the opening of The Hub. | Photo: Stuart Wilde
Jayne Almond (Food and Drink Federation) and Sharon Blyfield OBE (Coca-Cola) unveil the plaque at the Centre of Excellence in Agri-food Technologies. | Photo: Stuart Wilde
The developments represent over £16million of investment to support Greater Lincolnshire’s agri-food sector and help position it as the UK Food Valley, a top 10 global centre for international food trade.
It also represents an effective partnership between the University of Lincoln, the Greater Lincolnshire Local Enterprise Partnership, Lincolnshire County Council and South Holland District Council.
Left to right: Jayne Almond, Jill Coyle, Donna-Maria Lee, Sharon Blyfield OBE, Mark Corbett (Food and Drink Federation) and Peter Agnew from Princes Foods. | Photo: Stuart Wilde
Sam Norman (OAL) and Donna-Maria Lee (Bakkavor) cut the ribbon to officially open the Food Manufacturing Digital Technologies Centre. | Photo: Stuart Wilde
Councillor Colin Davie, Executive Councillor for Economy, Environment and Strategic Planning, Lincolnshire County Council, said: “Investing the time and money into creating the South Lincolnshire FEZ, which holds such importance nationally, shows how dedicated Lincolnshire County Council is to supporting the fastest growing sector in the county and the UK.
“Our Hub building reduces risk and uncertainty for new businesses looking to become established or grow. We want to go much further than simply letting this space though, and have created a dynamic business environment for our tenants and the wider business community.
“As the name The Hub implies, we want this space to be the focal point for a range of business to business events and support, offered by a team of extremely knowledgeable Growth Hub advisors.”
Guests at the launch were able to tour the facilities and see students at work. | Photo: Stuart Wilde
Councillor Nick Worth, Deputy Leader of South Holland District Council, said: “The progress we are seeing with the Food Enterprise Zone is fantastic news for both south-east Lincolnshire and Holbeach.
“The agricultural and food sectors are of critical importance to the UK as a whole, so to have one of the most important food industry sites really taking off in South Holland presents such opportunity for our local businesses and residents.
“The site is also a vital part of our wider plans to develop and regenerate Holbeach. I very much look forward to seeing the success of the FEZ continuing to build and grow over the coming years.”
Jayne Almond from the Food and Drink Federation cut the ribbon to officially open the Centre of Excellence in Agri-food Technologies. | Photo: Stuart Wilde
Jayne Almond from the Food and Drink Federation meeting a robot. | Photo: Stuart Wilde
Jayne Almond, Director of Policy and Corporate Affairs at the Food and Drink Federation, said: “It was an honour to open the first phase of the Food Enterprise Zone here in Holbeach, south Lincolnshire. I’m excited to see how local and national food and drink companies use the expertise in cutting edge, pioneering technology and innovation on offer to grow their business and increase their productivity.
“The local area will also hugely benefit from the skills and business support the zone has to offer and I’m looking forward to returning to the Food Enterprise Zone in the coming months to see the growth of the project.”
Sharon Blyfield OBE from Coca-Cola was among the guests. | Photo: Stuart Wilde
Murray Graham and Jill Coyle from Nestlé UK at the launch event. | Photo: Stuart Wilde
Rising energy bills, pay levels and contract costs, along with emergency repairs, taking their toll
City Hall, off Orchard Street. Photo Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
There will be tough choices ahead, as the City of Lincoln Council faces a £1 million shortfall in its budget.
The authority’s executive on Monday, October 3, will be told that a combination of factors including rising energy bills, pay levels and contract costs, alongside emergency repairs to Yarborough Leisure Centre, will add up to a “significant” £1,035,000 shortfall.
The figure equates to around 12% of its original £8.907940 general fund revenue budget approved earlier this year.
It means the council will have to revisit their plans, with leader Ric Metcalfe admitting “it is likely we will be unable to carry on delivering everything we currently do to the same level.”
According to the report, gas prices for 2022/23 have increased by 70% since April this year, when the budget began, while electricity prices are estimated to increase between 80-100% from October – a total of around £197,000.
Meanwhile, front line service contacts for waste and street cleansing have seen a 5.4% increase equating to £97,000 and staff pay is set to increase by 10.5% – around £585,000.
Repairs to Yarborough Leisure Centre are currently forecast to cost £319,000.
The report warns that the council will not be the only one suffering, and that residents and businesses will also be impacted, which could lead to “an increased demand for council services, as the more vulnerable in the city look for support and a reduction in both income for services and collection rates”.
In a statement, Councillor Metcalfe said that “so much has changed in recent months that we are required to revisit our plans”.
“We have been affected by ongoing global events, rising inflation, increased demand for services and pay and price inflationary impacts on external contracts,” he said.
“Like every household and business in the city, we are struggling with the issue of rising costs.
“We are also finding it more and more expensive to provide the services that people need at a time when our budgets are under such significant strain.”
He said the hikes meant the council would need a new plan to reduce costs in order to ensure it maintained “a sustainable financial position over the coming months, while still delivering support to communities to help them through these unprecedented times”.
“We will do all we can, as quickly as we can, to ensure we maintain a tight grip on our finances in order to deal with the challenges ahead,” he said.
“While we want to protect services as much as we can, with the cost increases we are facing, it is likely we will be unable to carry on delivering everything we currently do to the same level.
“In the absence of additional financial support from central government, we will be forced to consider the range and level of services that we are able to continue to provide.”
No decisions have yet been made on what this would mean exactly for services, with further reports due to go before future meetings once councillors have a grasp of the implications.