GAME, SET AND MATCH WIN FOR FOR REBEL COUNCILLOR IN BATTLE OF THE WILDFLOWERS

                                                                        

Double triumph for  Steve Beasant at full council meeting

IT'S victory for Liberal-Democrat councillor Steve Beasant over his use of a wildflower backdrop during his attendance at 'virtual' meetings of  North East Lincolnshire Council.

NELC bosses sought  to ban the image of poppies and cornflowers on the grounds that it was insufficiently formal and failed to reflect the dignity of the authority.

But, at tonight's meeting of the full council, Cllr Beasant successfully flouted the  ban.

It was a good night for the East Marsh ward member who went on to secure the unanimous backing of colleagues in his ongoing campaign for  greater investment in parks and open spaces - not just locally but also nationally.

He lamented the fact that, in some parks, equipment and security CCTV is out of service, antisocial behaviour  rife and drug-dealing commonplace.

"They are not safe," he declared. "Our children have been missing out during Covid19 - they always seem to miss out."

Colleagues agreed though some noted that it was generally young people who vandalised equipment.

But there were other strands to the debate - for instance, that parks are important to all generations, not just children, some of whom prefer to stay indoors playing games on computers.

NELC's portfolio holder for children' services, Cllr Ian Lindley, applauded Cllr Beasant's sentiments, but noted that the national bill for tackling Covid was approaching £400-billion.

"The timing for this debate couldn't be worse," he maintained.