Fund should be shared fairly
Long Sutton Parish Council wish to advise that they are disappointed that they have not been advised of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund consultation until June 22 when they were indirectly advised.
The council have made it known to ward members of their disappointment that SHDC did not send the council details directly.
As one of the largest settlements in South Holland, Long Sutton has seen a large increase in development but with no means of providing additional facilities for the ever increasing population despite several unsuccessful requests for S106 funding from SHDC.
The council’s only means of providing facilities is by the parish precept and seeking funding from other sources which are scarce and difficult to access.
In addition, any available funding always seems to be spent in and around Spalding with no benefit to Long Sutton which is situated over 16 miles away or other parishes.
Long Sutton Parish Council kindly request that in the light of this they feel the fairest way to distribute the funding would be to divide the £2.7m for the South Holland District equally between all parish councils dependent on population rather than allow SHDC to distribute the funds as they wish.
By dividing the funds in this way it would enable each parish to make grants to organisations in their parish and/or fund local projects.
For example, in Long Sutton the council is working in partnership with a local group to provide a Wheels project for our young people which will be inclusive to all and provide a much needed community space for youngsters of abilities.
The project has been ongoing for over a year and little progress can be made because of the difficulty in sourcing funding.
By distributing the Prosperity Fund equally over the entire district it would give such projects a much needed boost, rather than the district council having to deal with numerous individual applications from many organisations.
All parish councils have (or should have) a model grant scheme to administer grants and so it would be fully transparent.
It would also cut administration costs because the council could distribute allocated funds to local groups
All parishes struggle to access grants and many of the play areas and facilities for the young and old are now outdated and not fit for purpose. Such funding would give all parishes the chance to improve such facilities.
In addition, unlike other parishes in Norfolk and other counties/districts, South Holland District Council have not adopted the Community Infrastructure Levy which would mean funds from development would be paid directly to parish councils.
Despite requests from Long Sutton Parish Council, SHDC remain reluctant to move from the S106 funding despite their statement in the SELLP to look at CIL once it was established.
The council hope that their suggestion is carefully and seriously considered as it is the fairest and most transparent means of distributing the funding equally.
Karen Treacher, Clerk, Long Sutton Parish Council
Sausage roll inflation is too much
I do like a sausage roll. My friends (well ok, friend), would tell me that I like sausage rolls a bit too much.
You can tell by looking at me these days.
I especially like those little sausage rolls you can get from Curtis & Sons at the top of Broad Street in the centre of Spalding. Six for £1.80 and absolutely delicious. So today when I’d finished my business with Flowers & Things (another excellent Spalding business), I decided to detour and get a few sausage rolls.
Now I know there’s a cost of living crisis on – so it says so in the papers – and things are going up in price; but I was still surprised when the lady behind the counter at Curtis’s told me the price had gone up to £1.99.
“Fair enough”, I thought, “they’ve got to cover their costs somehow.”
“Oh OK,” says me rolling my eyes, “I’ll have six then.”
“Actually you get five for £1.99 now.”
Five doesn’t work for me. In my family six equals two each and five means that someone only gets one, so next I’m asking how much it costs for six. The answer to this is £2.79. Now even with my poor grasp of maths, I can work out this is a price rise of well over 50 per cent.
How is this reasonable?
Needless to say that in the future I’ll be voting with my feet and avoiding business that are using the “cost of living” crisis as a disguise to increase their profits at the cost of the customer.
The well-known national chain down the street (they also do vegan sausage rolls so I hear), will be getting my business where savoury snacks are concerned in future, rather than the supposedly deserving local business.
Leigh Rogers (via email)
PS The sausage rolls also seem to have less meat in them than the last batch of six I bought.
Thank you for handing in my bag
I left my handbag at Morrisons earlier in June, and to my amazement, a lady had handed it into customer services.
I am very grateful for this and would have liked to say thank you in person, however you did not leave your name or contact details, but thank you all the same. All the best.
Sharon Drake (via email)
Drivers need to slow down
When cycling past Bakkavor’s site this morning coming to work, on the road because most of the cycle paths are not fit for purpose around Spalding, two individuals pulled out immediately in front of me within feet not yards, nearly hitting me, then another pulled out then stopped immediately in front.
Then it was like wacky races heading down towards the power station, well in excess of the speed limit.
I choose to cycle to work for all the right reasons – health, environment – but around Spalding, especially this end of Spalding, you take your life in your hands.
I believe some education by these companies is needed, along with a police presence in the early morning to see this stupidity and put a stop to it before someone gets seriously hurt.
Jim Thackray, GM/Transport Manager, CPT Distribution LTD, Enterprise Way, Pinchbeck
Free bus travel for care leavers
At Barnardo’s, we know from our direct experience of supporting young people leaving the care system across the East Midlands that one of the greatest challenges they face at the moment is the high cost of transport.
There are currently over 80,000 children in care in England and every year over 10,000 of them leave the system – and are expected to live more or less independently.
Living on your own can be difficult without the support of friends and family nearby, which is the reality for many of these young people. From our rural areas to our large towns and cities, it can be even harder to get around the region if you are struggling to make ends meet.
That’s why Barnardo’s has launched its new Transport For Freedom campaign, calling on the Government to support and fund free bus travel for care experienced young people up to the age of 25 in England.
Extending free bus travel is a simple thing the Government can do as part of its ‘levelling up’ agenda and would make a big difference to young people who have had a tough start in life and need a bit of extra help.
Older and disabled people are already entitled to free bus travel through the English National Concessionary Travel Scheme. Given the clear benefits that providing free bus travel could have for care leavers including improving access to employment, services and reducing loneliness and isolation we believe there is a strong case for investment in a national scheme for care leavers.
We are delighted to have the support of Stagecoach for our campaign. We know there is support throughout the bus and transport industry which is why we are also urging the public to sign the Barnardo’s petition.
Lynn Perry MBE, CEO of Barnardo’s
- Send your letters by email to [email protected] or to The Spalding and South Holland Voice, 2 Goodison Road, Lincs Gateway Business Park, Spalding, Lincs PE12 6FY. Letters should be no more than 300 words long and will be cut at the editor’s discretion. Please provide your name and address. Anonymous letters will not be printed unless the author can provide a valid reason for their details to be omitted.
