Bright and welcoming - or cheap and tacky? Plastic flowers are now adorning Grimsby's A180 flyover

                                            

Cllr Callison - making us proud?

PLASTIC flowers imported from the Far East have been installed in the planters on the A180 flyover in Grimsby.

NELC leader Cllr Oliver Freeston and his Cleethorpes cabinet colleague Cllr Bob Callison have this week been carrying out the work which may provide the springboard for similar initiatives elsewhere in the borough.

Says the latter: "We really wanted to do something that added a splash of colour to welcome drivers as they were coming into Grimsby and Cleethorpes - and these have done the trick.

"Of course, real displays would have been fantastic, but there was no way we wanted to add to water shortages.

"The cost of keeping more displays alive was simply not an option."

He continues: "Brightening up the flyover is just a very small thing and been done with a very small budget. 

"But what it does show is that we can come up with ways of doing things if we work together.

"Over the next few weeks, I am going to be contacting fellow councillors, and others, to start looking at how we can all unite to smarten areas up, to look at things like alley clearance again - and to make us all proud of where we live and what we do."

The Grimsby News says: The two councillors are to be commended for their initiative - but not for their taste. The artificial plants may look colourful now but they will soon enough be darkened by exhaust fumes. Going for the plastic option also sets a disturbing precedent. Is that what we will soon be getting in Pier Gardens and parks in the borough? Those who cherish real flowers, trees and shrubs will hold their heads in their hands and weep - probably enough tears to fill a whole row of watering cans.  

Does this superb tree have to be felled just because Grimsby's United Reform Church doesn't like it?

                                                     

                                                  

A healthy specimen that supports songbirds and other wildlife - but it faces  fatal date with tree surgeon

ANOTHER of Grimsby's fine native English trees is to be felled.

North East Lincolnshire Council has approved an application by the United Reformed Church to "remove to ground level" a healthy field maple growing on land off Weelsby Road in Grimsby.

On what grounds should such a splendid tree  be lost to the Grimsby streetscape?

Church leaders say it is "interfering with BT lines and causing issues for neighbouring properties", but it has provided no evidence of such.

The work is due to be carried out by a locally-based firm, ironically named Grimsby Tree Care. 

The Grimsby News says: It is not surprising that North East Lincolnshire is officially rated one of the most tree-depleted parts of England when it keeps approving their removal. There is no reason why this one should be lost in its entirety when some judicious trimming would suffice. Before it is too late, the decision should be called in for review by the ward councillors.

New wetland nature reserve proposed for Cleethorpes - but would it sit well with new houses all around it?

                                                       

Part of the arable farmland site which has been earmarked for wetland birds - and a huge new housing estate

MORE details have emerged of a new wetland nature reserve proposed for a vast area of farmland  behind Pennells garden centre in  Cleethorpes.

According to agents for landowners Brocklesby Estates, it would  include a 32-hectare permanent wet grassland  to be created by converting existing arable habitat which is currently believed to be unfarmed.

The aim would be to establish a mitigation site for birds. As such, it would be not dissimilar to those created in recent years at Novartis Ings and Cress Marsh, near Healing, but on a smaller scale.

To maintain the sward at a short height (up to 10cm) for the benefit of scarce wading birds and other species,  there would be a late-summer cut of the grass followed  by cattle grazing.

There would also  be 'wader  scrapes' and 'seasonally wet pools' -   with water height to be adjusted to optimum levels by water control measures.

The agents say there would also be perimeter screening (as at Novartis Ings) to reduce visual disturbance, but viewing points would be established to allow birders to watch the activity.

Among bird species the agents reckon could benefit are: Redshank,  Curlew, Snipe, Golden Plover, Lapwing  Green and Common Sandpiper, Spotted Redshank, Greenshank, Teal, Mallard, Yellow Wagtail, Reed Bunting, Meadow Pipit and Skylark.

However, there is no clarity yet on  how the proposed reserve would be managed and maintained - nor whether provision would be made for the birdlife to be actively monitored and recorded .

And there is another  big question mark.

The project is entirely dependent on Brocklesby Estates being granted planning consent to build up to 1,500 houses on adjoining  land with all the disruption that would cause to existing wildlife including locally rare Little Owls, Green Woodpeckers, songbirds, butterflies and several species of bat.

The matter is likely to be determined - but probably not for many months - by North East Lincolnshire Council's planning authority. 

* Humberston parish councillors are due to provide their input on the proposed housing development (see our August 13 report)  at a meeting tomorrow evening (Tuesday August 18).

The vast area of  Cleethorpes earmarked for housing and a nature reserve (image: Gillespies)

                            

Green Sandpipers often benefit from wader scrapes - such as this individual  spotted alongside a pond at the Wigmore Park housing estate in New Waltham

North East Lincolnshire's roads need beauty treatment to restore 'essential oils' and delay ageing

                                                            

Fieldhouse Road in Humberston is one of those that will be closed temporarily 

SURFACE  treatments on some roads in North East Lincolnshire on Sunday 23 August and Monday 24 August.

The work forms part of the council’s e approach to road maintenance- helping to protect road surfaces, extend their lifespan and reduce the likelihood of potholes and cracks developing.

The works are scheduled as follows:

* A16 Peaks Parkway, between Low Farm Roundabout and Weelsby Road - Sunday 23 August, 7am to 11am

* A16 Louth Road, between Low Farm Roundabout and Becklands Roundabout - Sunday 23 August, 11am to 3pm

* A1098 Hewitts Avenue, between Low Farm Roundabout and Peaks Lane - Sunday 23 August, 3pm to 7pm

* Fieldhouse Road, Humberston - Monday 24 August, 9.30am to 3.30pm

The work involves a specialist 'rejuvenation treatment' which aims to restore 'essential oils' within the asphalt.

The treatment is sprayed onto the road surface where it penetrates the aged asphalt and helps maintain its condition for longer. 

A fine grit is then applied to improve skid resistance and absorb any excess material.

The process is quick and efficient, allowing roads to reopen shortly after treatment has been completed.

Temporary road closures will be in place while the work is carried out. Pavements will remain open and access for emergency vehicles will be maintained at all times.

The programme is weather-dependent, and dates or times may change at short notice if conditions are unsuitable.

NELC has not revealed the chemical make-up of the 'essential oils'.

Not quite what was intended as feathered life takes up residence at uncompleted Cleethorpes housing estate

 

The first residents have begun moving in to the uncompleted Strawberry Fields housing development opposite the Tesco superstore in Cleethorpes. But they are pigeons not people. The properties, some without rooves, may also have become home to other wildlife possibly including bats and even Barn Owls. It is unclear when the estate will be completed pending the outcome of  resolution of the financial affairs of the troubled Liverpool-based development company behind the project.                                                       

13-year-old needed facial burns treatment after flares were thrown during England-Argentina screening

                                         

Publicity for the event where 10 under-18s are said to have received burns

IT is touch and go whether the organisation, Lincolnshire Competitions, will be granted a temporary events licence for a firework display proposed at Grimsby West Marsh Community Centre field on November 5.

Police have lodged an objection following trouble at an event organised by the same business in a field  next door to the Morrisons supermarket  on  the evening of July 15  - a public screening of the England v Argentina World Cup semi-final.

In a report, they say: "At approximately 8.30 pm, shortly after the game had started, reports were made  that a number of young people had been injured as a result of  bottles and flare being thrown.

"A total of 10 people, all aged under 18, were reported to have received burns. 

One of these victims, a 13-year-old, had to receive specialist burns care facial treatment out of the area."

There were a number of concerns raised either directly to the police or via North East Lincolnshire Council.

"These included claims  that alcohol was being sold by vendors with no authorisation in place along with under resourced medical provision."  

The police say they are objecting to the granting of a licence to Lincolnshire Competitions for the proposed Guy Fawkes Night on the grounds that, if granted, would undermine:

* The prevention of crime and disorder 

* Public safety

* The prevention of public nuisance 

* The protection of children from harm 

The Chief Constable says he reserves the right to serve further evidence in support of this representation, but a representative  of Lincolnshire Competitions will be given the opportunity to explain why the licence should be granted.

The application is due to be determined at a hearing later this afternoon, Friday August 14.

Farewell to the countryside? Plans revealed for up to 1,500 new homes on farm fields around Cleethorpes

                                      

Hundreds of houses proposed on what is now farmland

PLANS today emerged for up to 1,500 homes to be built on countryside on the edge of Cleethorpes.

The site  earmarked is farmland opposite Beacon Academy and between Pennells Garden Centre and Weelsby Woods.

Agents for Brocklesby Estates, the landowners, say the proposed development, off Humberston Road, would also include:

* A commercial/ shopping/ community centre 

* Public open space 

* Play area

* Landscaping 

* Allotments 

* Sports fields

* Nature reserve

* Roads

* Lighting

No formal planning application has yet been submitted, and there is no clarity over what public consultation, if any, is proposed.

The project would create hundreds of jobs in construction and related employment, but it would change the character of this part of Cleethorpes.

As such it is likely to generate more opposition than support.

More details are likely to be released later.

                                         

Many of the proposed houses will be built on land adjacent to Pennells garden centre

Part of the planned development will be on the outer edges of Weelsby Woods