More Communities Offered Access to Super-fast Broadband

As more of Conservative-led West Lindsey District Council’s services being accessed online, such as paying for services and reporting issues – improving access to the internet is important.

The rural nature of the district means internet provision is sometimes patchy and limits resident’s access. Last year, the council teamed up with Quickline Communications to install wireless internet in thirty community buildings, known as hubs. Following the successful take up of the scheme, a new deal has been signed with the company to extend provision.

Conservative Deputy Leader of the West Lindsey, Cllr. Mrs. Anne Welburn said:

“Accessing services online is becoming more and more part of our everyday expectations. A lot of us already do internet banking and pay our bills online. Now we as a council want to put customers at the heart of our services and give access online for those customers that want to use it. Extending the wi-fi provision will reduce the number of ‘notspots’ and open up online services to more people.”

Mrs. Manjeet Gill, Chief Executive of the Council commented:

“We have been working to improve communications for our residents and I am delighted that the second phase of the scheme can now get underway.

“To compliment this we are also making improvements to our web site, including new electronic forms to make it quicker and easier for residents to access services online.”

Mr. Steve Jagger, Managing Director of Quickline said:

“Village halls provide a community hub of activity for rural communities and it is fantastic the council has invested additional funds to improve communications. I am delighted that we are able to offer wireless broadband which can reach locations that traditional telecoms are unable to reach.”

District Councillor for the Nettleham Ward, Cllr. Giles McNeill welcome the news saying:

“I know that in Nettleham, the Village Hall Committee are eager to access the benefits that this scheme should provide. Giving local residents high speed internet at a key community venue, like the Village Hall, can be an important step to ensure that our community is digitally inclusive.”

Other initiatives are being explored, and local businesses are urged to contact Steve Bolan on 01427 676551 for more information. For further information on Quickline, call 01482 247365 or visit www.quickline.co.uk.

Massive Turnout Expected for Public Meeting Tonight

Nettleham Parish Council will be holding an extraordinary meeting tonight at Nettleham Village Hall, Brookfield Avenue commencing at 7:30pm.

The meeting is to consider proposals by Lincolnshire Police and G4S to build a new 'deployment base'/'custody suite' at the Police Headquarters site on Deepdale Lane, Nettleham.

Lincolnshire Police and G4S have been allocated half an hour to make a presentation, this will be followed by a twenty minute question and answer session. Following this residents will have an opportunity to make their views known, a period of forty minutes has been allocated for this. Finally the Parish Council will consider what preliminary position they wish to take pending a formal planning application being presented to West Lindsey District Council.

The meeting is expected to be attended by a large number of local residents, with estimates suggesting a turnout of around 300. Nettleham Village Hall has a capacity of 180, so plans have been made for an overflow area outside where local residents will be able to hear the discussion taking place inside the Hall. At the Village Hall Committee meeting on Monday night plans were put in place to ensure that refreshments would be available and there would be volunteer stewards available to manage car parking. Local residents are urged to make their way to the meeting on foot, where possible, as parking will be exceedingly limited.

The Parish Council's meeting follows on from a two-day exhibition of the plans held at the Old School, Mill Hill earlier in the month. The view that emerged from this consultation was that a significant number had concerns about the proposal.

Tonight will be a further opportunity for the Police to explain in detail how the concerns of local residents can be dealt with. The greatest fear local residents have is that those released will be free to enter the main body of the village. Despite reassurances by senior members of the force that released prisoners would be returned to 'where they came from' the legal basis for this is unclear. Many residents will want a specific reassurance on this particular matter.

Local action group S.O.L.V.E. (Save Our Local Village Environment) have presented a list of fourteen specific, detailed questions which the Parish Council will expect answers to.

Expected to be attending tonight is the Acting Chief Constable Neil Rhodes on behalf of Lincolnshire Police together with a significant portion of the local press.

Refurbishment Continues at Nettleham Village Hall

The refurbishment of Nettleham Village Hall is continuing apace with the Village Hall Committee agreeing to refurbish the hall's kitchen at their meeting on Monday evening.

Nettleham Village Hall, located near the village centre, on Brookfield Avenue, has already seen a substantial improvement with the completion of the new £85,000 pitched roof being jointly funded by Nettleham Parish Council and The Village Hall Committee. Disabled toilet facilities have been introduced and the ladies and gentleman toilets in the foyer have been refurbished too.


In the Lounge, windows have been replaced with double glazing and a new ceiling with better lighting has been put in place, paid for by funds from West Lindsey District Council's Councillor Initiative Fund and money available to County Councillors to spend in their divisions from Lincolnshire County Council. A further significant improvement has been replacing the interconnecting, concertina door which separated the Lounge from the Hall with a new solid, dividing door mechanism. This has reduced noise transmission between the two rooms allowing both spaces to be rented out to different clients concurrently.

Village Hall and Cricket Club Recieve Cash Boost

New covers will keep the cricket pitch, at Mulsanne Park, Nettleham, dry before important games thanks to Conservative-controlled West Lindsey District Council.

Nettleham Cricket Club was in need of some new covers, after the previous covers got damaged last season.  Mr. David Wheatley, Secretary for Nettleham Cricket Club, said the money is much appreciated.

"We are extremely grateful to West Lindsey District Council and in particular Cllr Ray Sellars for providing a £500 grant towards replacement covers.

"The covers were more than 15 years old and unfortunately couldn’t be used any more. It means a lot to us and our many players."

The club was awarded a £500 grant from the West Lindsey Councillor Initiative Fund, re-introduced by local Conservtives some years ago aftter being cut by the previous Liberal Democrat administration. The funding is available to all thirty-seven district councillors who are allocated £4,000 to spend over two years on projects in their ward.

Nettleham Village Hall has also received a grant of £1,500 to replace ceiling and lighting within the Hall's Lounge, which needed renewing after the flat roof leaked.

Phil McGuiness, who is on the Village Hall Committee, said:

"We are really pleased with this money because it has allowed the work to be done. This has made the hall more appealing for people and will help us to be a venue of choice for people who are hiring venues for weddings and parties. The place looks outstanding."

Cllr. Ray Sellars, Liberal Democrat (Nettleham Ward), who is a member of the Village Hall Committee was really pleased that he could help out with local causes.

"It is always good to be able to give help where it is needed, and to help a club which encourages children from a young age to adults to play sports is good news.

"I was also really pleased to be able to help the Nettleham Village Hall. It is a very busy place and the activities that are on offer there entertain all ages."

The village hall has a busy timetable of events and activities, but if you would like any further details or information, please contact Mrs. Sheila McGuiness, Booking Secretary on (01522) 822315.

For more details on Nettleham Cricket Club and how to join go to http://www.nettlehamcc.co.uk/

Boundary Planters & Village Hall Blamed for Best Kept Village Failure

Above: Nettleham's score sheet
(click to enlarge).

Nettleham Village Hall and the Planters at the village limits are to blame for the failure of Nettleham to make it through to the second round of judging in the Lincolnshire Best Kept Village Competition.

As reported on this blog (here) Nettleham fell out of the race to be named Lincolnshire's Best Kept Village in the third category; Large Village or Small Town earlier this month. Hard work by the staff of Nettleham Parish Council has led to the release of the score sheet months before it would normally be available. One judge comments:

"First impression were good, but the appearance of the Village Hall and the flower boxes at two approaches to the village were noticeably disappointing."

Nettleham Village Hall is currently scheduled for major renovation works this August with a new roof and new toilet facilities. Nettleham Parish Council is committing the majority of the funding for the project (£60k-£70k) whilst the Village Hall Committee is contributing around £20,000.

The wooden planters, installed at a number of the entrances of the village, a few years ago, were done so without the fulsome endorsement of the Parish Council at the time. However, councillors were, narrowly, minded to approve the scheme. The matter was discussed at some length at the May meeting of Nettleham Parish Council's Property Committee.

Parish Council to Object to Rugby Club's Proposal

Nettleham Parish Council last night agreed to formally object to the proposal by the Lincoln Rugby Football Club, in their role as a statutory consultee.

At a packed meeting held in the village hall, Parish Councillors voted 4 to 3 (with two abstentions) on a proposal to object.

At the beginning of the meeting Cllr. Terry Williams, Chairman of Nettleham Parish Council, made introductions and welcomed the large number of the public who had made the effort to attend and participate.

Cllr. Williams gave a brief summary, by way of a background, to the activities that had led to the meeting last night.

Ultimately, despite pleas from the Chairman that all councillors should attend only seven participated in casting a vote one way or the other. Cllrs. Sellers and Hill were away on holiday and Cllr. Mrs. Davidson was absent on urgent business. Cllrs. Frith and Leaning both abstained as is their tradition in matters relating to planning.

The vote in the end was very close and represented very much the clear division that exists within our community between the 'yes' and 'no' camps.

I believe that the Parish Council will ultimately struggle to provide a substantive set of planning reasons for objecting. For now however all eyes turn to West Lindsey District Council's Planning Committee who will make a decision now expected as late as Wednesday, 3rd February 2010.

Parish Council's Decision Day for Rugby Club's Planning Application

This evening Nettleham Parish Council will meet to consider the planning application, submitted to West Lindsey District Council (the Planning Authority), by Lincoln Rugby Football Club at a  meeting being held at the Village Hall, Brookfield Avenue, Nettleham from 7:45pm.

The Rugby Club's proposals first came to light earlier in the year when members of the Parish Council were notified by the Chairman of the Parish Council, Cllr. Terry Williams, that an article would be going in the Nettleham News regarding a proposed development and that an extraordinary meeting would be convened.

Whilst the Parish Council received a considerable amount of criticism for arranging a meeting for mid July - shortly before the school holidays began - at every stage the Parish Council attempted to conduct itself in an open, transparent and accessible way. Unfortunately because of timing, notice of the meeting went out between issues of the Nettleham News meaning that the council's preferred method of publicity was not an option.

Local resident Mr. Steve Perkins, took it on himself to arrange a public meeting in early November and a petition collected indicated that those attending were 96% against and 4% in favour (sample 104). This contrasts sharply with the poll conducted on this blog where figures at the close of the poll showed only 14% against and 85% in favour (sample 171).

The Parish Council's determination is taken in the light of severe troubles at West Lindsey District Council's planning department which has seen one officer put on suspension, at least one officer has left their post, a political storm which is threatening the stability of the ruling Conservative administration & leadership and one Liberal Democrat councillor who is believed to have resigned because of the problems in planning.

Tonight's meeting is expected to draw a considerable crowd. Mr. Perkin's meeting drew a crowd of over 100 and the parish council expect the venue to be swamped by interested parties. The meeting had to be moved following the interest in this issue.

All eyes this evening will be on the Parish Council's decision.

Report on Lincoln Rugby Club Residents Meeting

Update to Opposition to Lincoln Rugby Club Mobilises - Update 3, Opposition to Lincoln Rugby Club Mobilises - Update 2, Opposition to Lincoln Rugby Club Mobilises - Update and Opposition to the Lincoln Rugby Club Mobilises.

Readers of this blog will be aware of the Lincoln Rugby Football Club's intention to develop a site on Lodge Lane. An ad-hoc meeting of local residents was held at the Village Hall, Brookfield, Nettleham at 7:30pm on Tuesday, 3rd November 2009 on the matter of the Rugby Club plan.

It is understood that over two hundred people attended. The man who convened the meeting was a Mr. Steve Perkins, a local resident who lives near the proposed site on the poacher's meadow development. Mr. Perkins is reported to have said he was trying to be even handed about the issue but critics suggest his comments were those of a man opposed to the proposal. To Mr. Perkins credit he certainly was very effective in getting people to attend, even if his presentational style was not too good, unfortunately several people walked out after a about twenty minutes.

The meeting had a very lively atmosphere and on a number of occasions Cllr. John Evens, attending of the Parish Council's behalf, provided clarifications and explained to his best ability the Parish Councils position.

A number of key points were raised during the meeting by the residents.

1. The issue of noise pollution which does not seem to have been covered in the proposal in any detail, deciduous trees will eventually reduce noise as they mature, but this is only when the are in leaf during the summer months, not winter when rugby is played.

2. The issue of traffic turning out of Lodge Lane.

3. Planning creep; the potential for future change of use for residential use.

4. The current West Lindsey District Council Planning Notification states that residents should register any concerns by the Wednesday, 11th November 2009. Ian Dickinson at the district council's planning services has said that submission will be accepted up to the meeting of the Planning Committee on Wednesday, 6th January 2010.

6. It was observed that the Extraordinary Parish Council Meeting in held in July, which resulted in a poor turnout, could have been publicised more widely. Local residents reported that not many people knew about the meeting on Wednesday, 25th November 2009 until Mr. Perkins notices which were hand delivered to homes in Nettleham. It was felt that putting up notices throughout the village was not sufficient.

7. Those present were asked to complete a short questionnaire indicating there support or opposition to the proposal. After the meeting closed at around 9:00pm Mr. Perkins indicated that around 92% of respondents attending the meeting were against the proposal.

What is clear following this meeting is that interest in this issue has been galvanized. The Parish Council has therefore decided to move the venue of their meeting to the larger Village Hall for the meeting on Wednesday, 25th November 2009.

A video package of the public meeting organised by local resident Mr. Steve Perkins on 3rd November 2009 is available here.