Code of conduct

I attended the hearing into Cllr Rawson MBE's alleged breach of the Code of Conduct.
It was decided by the panel to allow the appeal.

The full result is here:
Click here.

Remembrance Sunday

Yet another year has passed and another Remembrance Day. Once again Rev Middleton gave the sermon, there was a good turnout from villagers to thank those who gave their all for us.

With proud thanksgiving, a mother for her children,
England mourns for her dead across the sea.
Flesh of her flesh they were, spirit of her spirit,
Fallen in the cause of the free.
Solemn the drums thrill; Death august and royal
Sings sorrow up into immortal spheres.
There is music in the midst of desolation
And a glory that shines upon our tears.
They went with songs to the battle, they were young,
Straight of limb, true of eye, steady and aglow.
They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted,
They fell with their faces to the foe.

They shall not grow old, as we who are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We shall remember them.

They mingle not with their laughing comrades again;
They sit no more at familiar tables of home;
They have no lot in our labour of the day-time;
They sleep beyond England's foam.
But where our desires are and our hopes profound,
Felt as a well-spring that is hidden from sight,
To the innermost heart of their own land they are known
As the stars are known to the Night;
As the stars that shall be bright when we are dust,
Moving in marches upon the heavenly plain,
As the stars that are starry in the time of our darkness,
To the end, to the end, they remain.

By-Pass consultation

LINCOLN SOUTHERN BYPASS PUBLIC CONSULTATION 2




The southern bypass will not be started until after the eastern bypass is complete. We are looking at ten years at least for that. Whatever is "decided" now, how much of a change is there going to be in policy in ten to twenty years time?

Edit after the presentation: The projected date for completion is 2023. Presumably that is if all goes to plan, the chances are slim to none that this will ever get off the ground, and all the breast beating going on is a complete waste of effort. It matters not a jot what is said now, there is only the slightest chance that there will ever be a completed bypass, much less a bypass that pleases anyone who has an interest now.

Bus routes

As most people know by now, the 1A bus is soon to stop running. It's the one that goes around Kennedy Road and Bentley Drive etc. The bus company claim there is no call for it and the route 1 which runs every half hour will be suitable. Route 1 comes from Waddington and turns right at St John's Road and then on to the stop at the John Bull via Sleaford Road. I have had a few calls from residents asking the Parish Council to do something about it. I have asked the Clerk to enquire if there is a grant available to keep the 1A running or if we could persuade one of the other companies to start the route again. I have had one price from Dunn-Line, £80 per day to run once around 9.30 into Lincoln and back at 12 o'clock, returning directly to Lincoln and back again at 3 o'clock. I think there is little chance of that being a viable proposition. It would be cheaper to tell residents to get a taxi and bill the council. There is a rumour that the free bus pass that many residents use is financed by the bus company and not by District or central Government, which makes such routes as the 1A uneconomical, as bus companies no longer receive payment for taking free passengers. We shall have to see if there is in fact anything we can do.

So, on again to the Bowling Green, I think what we have built is a very expensive five-a-side football pitch. There have been few people using the green, none at all for the last 10 days at least, I must say the response is disappointing considering the amount of work that went into getting the green, other greens around Lincoln and the local villages seem to be in regular use, I know they are used by league bowlers and BBH has not entered a league, but there must be some leisure bowlers around surely?

Bowlers are keen?

I seem to be becoming a bit of a grouch.
On Saturday night around 11 o'clock the local brain dead decided to throw a couple of hundred stones onto the green, the much trumpeted CCTV was as much use as a chocolate tea pot as the floodlights don't work. The only way I know it was around that time is because the camera was focused on a streetlight and jumped out of line at 11 o'clock. This would be when the litter bin was thrown at the pole and it knocked all three cameras out of focus. If I had realised they were so delicate I think we may well have had second thoughts about them, £15,000 seems a lot for what we have so far seen.
So, on to the green, it was obviously put out of action on Saturday night, on Monday the stones were still on the green, so there had been no one bowling on Sunday. Have we really wasted all that money on a white elephant? I know people have other things to do, but after all this time wanting a green is there nobody keen enough to play on it?

Bowling green

So we have the new green that has been much wanted for the last four years at least. It's now been finished almost a week. The bowls club, we are told, has over sixty members. The only people to use the green has been four youths with a football. No further comment.

A Bowling Green at last.

On the 20th of May the bowling green finaly opened, the weather spoiled it but there was a good turnout to see Billy Jackson play the first bowl.

Rec Ground Again

We had the hand gate locked from 1st May by a security firm, 9pm to 7am. This weekend, someone bashed the padlock and bent it so that it could not be locked, the gate had been locked Monday to Thursday, then left open Friday and Saturday. We received e-mails from the nearby residents complaining about all the noise and trouble. The claim was that the locked gate had worked in keeping trouble at bay from Monday, disregarding the fact that there is not usually a problem anyway during the week. We apparently are now at fault for allowing our lock to be vandalised thereby letting the youths use the field again. Now, since it is our property that has been vandalised, I can't quite see that it is our fault. A phone call or e-mail informing us that the lock was broken would have been far more useful than a rant two days later. If, as has been claimed, there is widespread drinking and driving, as well as noise and nuisance then surely a call to the police and action from them would be the correct procedure.
Just to put another slant to the picture, we have also had an e-mail from a resident complaing that the gate is locked when she wants to walk her dog.
Does anyone have a direct line to Solomon?

Litter picking

We had a go at cleaning up the village today, not a lot of interest from the general public, 5 turned up. It's a pity those who mob the council when they want something are not public spirited enough to turn out to help.
We collected around 25 bags of rubbish in a couple of hours, and could have gone on and collected more, where does all that grot come from? Cans and sweet wrappers for the most part but some bin bags full of household waste were found which surely ought to have gone in the wheelie bin. There will have to be a few letters to local business' to clear up their own patch, a few minutes per day would be enough to keep things tidy.

Making Bracebridge Heath Gala Day Work

The 17 June, 2006 will see our 7th Gala Day, and to date we have had six successful Gala Days.

The organising group with one exception remains the same. For Gala Day to survive long-term actual organising work needs to be shared out. At present it is reliant on too few individuals. There are areas where work can be shared.

It has been said, ‘We’re a big village, it’s right we have a Gala’. On the day we have most of our organisations involved. Gala has so far has been well attended.

Anyone can help as much or as little as they want, in particular, extra help during Gala Week — that’s the week before Gala and a couple of days afterwards. Our present helpers are for the most already members of village organisations and it would be useful to have helpers with few of those commitments.

Gala Day happens only because of a joint effort.

If you are willing to get involved please contact either Bill Rawson, Chairman, on 527963 or Alan Clark, Secretary, on 872552.

Alcohol Bans

There was a talk on alcohol bans given by Insp Keys:

The first ban in NK was in North Hykeham, when alcohol was banned in parks and open spaces. Youths would congregate in certain areas and generally make a nuisance of themselves, so a ban was put in place. The trouble was then moved to other places, not eliminated, but could not be confined to any one area. Youths would congregate near seats and lights having been moved from parks.

It is up to Parish Councils to consider the problem, anti alcohol bans may not be the solution. For instance, a ban in parks may prevent youths from drinking, but also means that families out for a picnic may not drink either, a ban on the recreation ground would prevent drinks being consumed on Gala day. The law as it stands can prevent under 18s from drinking; if the trouble is mainly from under 18s then a ban will make no difference.

Consider where drinkers will go if banned from an area, will the new meeting place be acceptable to residents or will there be greater problems? Parish Councils should try to identify where the alcohol is being bought and pressure shops to prevent sales.

If there are more things for youngsters to do, then there will be less trouble, it is often a good move to involve them in projects, find out what they want and work with them. The banning of over 11s in green spaces is one thing that could be overturned, often all that is needed is space for a kick-about which is banned in BBH except for the rec ground.

There is a scheme to issue all households with a red card, advising on youth problems and suggesting that parents should take a greater interest in what their children are up to.

ASBOs can be issued but are sometimes seen as a badge of honour, unacceptable behaviour warnings can be issued to offenders and their parents and in the most severe cases, tenants can be given an eviction order. There are other measures that can be taken against owner-occupiers.

Planning oddities

We have all seen the development at 91 Grantham Road, where Cartwrights and the garage used to be. The original plans were quite bizarre and were not passed, then the second set was agreed. Perhaps NK thought the plans were OK or perhaps it was just that they were better than the first set. Since the development started there have been a few changes in the plans, none of them major but I wonder if the whole plan would have passed if these changes were in the original drawings. Small things, like the block paving which is now tarmac, the hedge that was to be retained and enhanced but has now been grubbed out, enclosed spaces for the wheelie bins that have disappeared, a disabled access no longer there, less parking space etc. All minor, but the little embellishments that might have persuaded the planning department to allow the development.
Another odd thing, you recall the application for outline planning by the tennis club was turned down as it would be impossible to have a six metre splay on the exit road. The development is nearing completion and the exit is simply a drop kerb, no splay of any description.

Bowling Green

At the rec ground tonight, I noticed the diggers have arrived to make a start on the bowling green.




















Wed 11th,
Arrived to find the area fenced off, and a lot of noise. On checking, the noise was from the farm workers cutting the hedge in the field by the side of the rec. I bet we get complaints though.

Tuesday 24th,
Another pic, showing drainpipes and trenches, wonder if this will ever be flat?


Friday 10th March