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| Pictured are the 80 or so footballers aged 11 to 19 who took part in a tournament held last Friday at Clee Fields on Ladysmith Road, Grimsby. The event was funded by the Police and Crime Commissioner on behalf of Humber Violence Prevention Partnership. There was also support from North East Lincolnshire Council. The tournament was won by one of the Immingham teams. Photo: NELC |
TAXI drivers have responded with dismay to a North East Lincolnshire proposal to allow an unlimited number of Hackney Carriages to operate in the borough.
At a meeting today, councillors will be recommended to remove the existing limit - currently 220 - on Hackney Carriage numbers.
In a representation to the authority, Wayne Crouch and John Broadbent of the NEL Hackney Carriage Association state: "There are too many taxis already - the existing limit should be kept in place.
"The borough is already overprovided - there is no need to allow the numbers to increase in an uncontrolled way."
The statement continues "The job of being a Hackney Carriage driver in North East Lincolnshire is not the bonanza that many think.
"The sector is under increasing pressure from rising costs.
"Knowing that the proportion of work (income) available to each driver will reduce as numbers rise will militate against investment in higher quality vehicles.
"Mobile phones, ride-hailing apps and Private Hire customer apps have all impacted the fares available to the Hackney Fleet.
"The practice of hailing a taxi in the street - an important revenue source - has completely disappeared.
"Then there is the spectre of Uber operating in our area, adding uncertainty and further pressure on incomes."
The statement goes on: "Knowing that the proportion of work (income) available to each driver will reduce as numbers rise will militate against investment in higher quality vehicles.
"It can be very difficult to find a place to wait on the allocated rank spaces as things stand.
"More taxis will only exacerbate the problem and lead to road congestion, increased air pollution, possible conflict with other road users and unpleasant interaction with traffic wardens, police and council officials; none of which is in anybody’s interest.
"The borough is overprovided with taxis and there is no need to allow the numbers to increase in an uncontrolled way. "
Members of NELC's public protection committee are due to discuss Hackney Carriage provision at a meeting this evening in Grimsby Town Hall.
* Photo: Petar Milosevic via Wikimedia Commons
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| November is main pupping month for grey seals |
Not all seals are stranded - many are simply resting, and disturbing them can be dangerous and sometimes even fatal to them.
Says a NELC spokesperson: "Seal sightings are common at this time of year as the winter pups begin to move further from their breeding ground at Donna Nook and come to rest locally.
"Newly-independent seals can happily swim up to 60 miles a day, which can take them as far as the Netherlands.
"If resting seals are disturbed, they can become distressed which can damage their health and use up vital energy they need to get home.
"Seals are also wild animals and they can carry diseases and cause injury to people if they feel under threat. They do have a nasty bite.
"Repeated disturbance can seriously affect a seal’s energy, and a seal on the beach may have many encounters with several people over one day.
"When seals are flushed into the sea, they may be injured from stampeding, gashing their bellies on rocks, tearing skin on sand or ripping out claws.
Cllr Henry Hudson, NELC's portfolio holder for the environment, says; "While the young seals are still finding their way around, we are more likely to encounter them on our beach which is their natural habitat.
"“They need to be left alone to rest after a hard day’s swimming and fishing until they’re ready to return home by themselves.
"They can be dangerous if they feel threatened and members of the public should keep away and please keep their dogs on leads."
Anyone who sees a seal in distress should contact the Resort Safety Team at 01472 323356.
Keep a watch from a safe distance and try to keep other people and dogs away until assistance arrives.
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| What a cutie - but seals can bite strongly if they feel threatened by dogs (photo: NELC) |
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| The holiday is being put on by Yorkshire-based company Cairngorm Travel |
THERE are still places available on a four-night mid-January 2025 holiday to Kingussie, near Aviemore, in the Scottish Highlands - with coach pick-ups in Cleethorpes, Grimsby and probably Immingham.
Most of those who have so far booked on the holiday are going for the fresh Highland air, magnificent mountain scenery, convivial company - and the chance to watch red squirrels and scan the skies for golden eagles.
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| Red squirrel - often seen around the hotel |
For those not particularly keen on walking, there is a railway station a couple of minutes' walk away from the hotel with services to Pitlochry, Perth and Inverness for shopping, sightseeing and/ or monster-hunting.
There is also a bus stop outside the hotel with regular services to ski-town Aviemore.
The dates are: January 14 to January 18, 2025.
The holiday includes:
* Coach trip to and from Kingussie with pick-ups in Cleethorpes, Grimsby and probably Immingham
* Four nights at the Duke of Gordon Hotel, with five-course candlelit evening meals and full Scottish breakfasts
* Live evening entertainment
* Optional nature-watching walks within a five-mile radius of the hotel
The price: £259 each for the holiday for couples/ two persons sharing a room.
There is a single person supplement - but this is being waived for the first 10 singles to make a booking.
As with similar trips in April 2023 and May this year, the holiday is being put on for birders by the long-established Yorkshire-based company Cairngorm Travel (01405 761334) in conjunction with the Lincolnshire Bird Club.
The holiday is not in the company’s brochure, but more details about the Duke of Gordon hotel can be found at the Cairngorm Travel website. cairngorm-travel.co.uk
The booking number for the holiday is 01405 761334.
The name of holiday is SB25-1/ Scottish Bird Safari January.
The previous two holidays - in April 2023 and May this year - to the same destination were really friendly, enjoyable events, and January's event should be similar.
More information from LBC secretary James Wright at Secretary@Lincsbirdclub.co.uk
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| A crackling log fire awaits . . . |
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| The Duke of Gordon Hotel |
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| The small town of Kingussie near Aviemore |
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| The River Spey runs a short way from the hotel |
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| Always a warm welcome in Kingussie |
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| The premises in Cross Street, Cleethorpes, of Stephens & Drew. If customers are feeling peckish after their eye checks, there is a Chinese takeaway next door |
IT'S the end of the road for a much-loved Grimsby firm that last year celebrated its 75th anniversary.
Optometrists C . A Segal, which has premises on Cleethorpe Road, is to merge with its Cleethorpes counterpart, Stephens & Drew, on Monday November 18.
The news will sadden many of the former's clients, but they will be relieved to know that the two optometrists, Jennifer Reeves and Amy Ellis, have agreed to move Stephens & Drew, which is located at 9-11 Cross Street, Cleethorpes.
This is in order , to "provide the same friendly service and care" that customers have come to expect.
The Grimsby firm was set up in 1948 with Carol and Clive Segal taking over the business in 1970.
In a letter to Segal customers, Stephens & Drew, which was established in 1958, describe the change as "exciting" and have pledged the "best possible eye care."
As a goodwill gesture, new Segal customers are being offered a 10 per cent discount on complete spectacle frames at their next appointment.
Three years after the idea was first conceived, a Royal Navy memorial was today unveiled opposite The Knoll in Pier Gardens, Cleethorpes. It has been created by Grimsby firm Blackrow Engineering. About 300 people attended the ceremony which included speeches, prayers and a hymn, Eternal Father. Among attendees were some currently serving in the Royal Navy plus veterans. Also present were the Mayor of North East Lincolnshire, Cllr Steve Beasant, and Grimsby and Cleethorpes MP Melanie Onn.
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| A 'landmark' tree - the sycamore is located in the garden of 4 Queens Parade but some of its branches overhang the car park of The Waterfront apartment block behind |
THE future for a 'landmark' tree off Cleethorpes seafront could suddenly become a whole lot uglier.
The 70-year-old sycamore, in the garden of a house behind The Waterfront apartment block, is both in magnificent condition and in magnificent shape.
As well as being of intrinsic beauty, it attracts songbirds - robins, goldfinches, blue tits and other species.
But it is the activities of these same birds that have caused a problem..
Some residents at The Waterfront are so resentful of droppings landing on the tops of their parked cars that they have demanded that overhanging branches are removed even though this would inevitably put the tree at risk of becoming damaged and misshapen.
The demand has dismayed Katie Teakle, of neighbouring 4 Queens Parade, who has a stake in the matter - she is the proud owner of the tree .
Says she: "The magnificent shape of the tree is what gives it its exceptional beauty.
"What is more it has been here since many decades before The Waterfront was built. It is habitat for many species of bird.
"This sycamore does not need to be butchered - it is a landmark tree, appreciated and admired by residents and visitors alike.
"Only two parking spaces are affected. Why could they not be relocated elsewhere on the site?"
Ms Teakle is so anxious to protect the health and shape of the tree that she has offered to part-pay for the cost of car port which would shelter the car tops from droppings.
But from accepting her effort to find a compromise, The Waterfront Residents' Association has not only rejected her proposal but it has also engaged the services of a Grimsby tree surgeon who is due on site on November 11.
Given that the sycamore and its integrity are covered by a tree preservation order, could North East Lincolnshire Council come to its rescue?
Possibly yes.
There is likely to be a meeting among officers next week to determine whether lopping can proceed as requested by the Waterfront residents or whether Ms Teakle's arguments should prevail.
If they are uncertain how to determine the application, they have the option to defer it until the next NELC planning committee on November 27 when councillors will decide.
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| Gated entrance to The Waterfront carpark |
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| A smattering of white - the car most affected by the birds' droppings |
