Motorist fined after CCTV captures him chucking McDonald's food bag out of car window in Grimsby

                                        

The littering incident was captured on CCTV

A MAN has been fined for throwing litter - thought to be a McDonald's brown bag - out of a car window on a Grimsby street.

North East Lincolnshire Council's CCTV system captured the incident on Park Street.

Following investigation by the Environmental Enforcement Team, the man was identified and issued a £150 fine for breach of Section 87 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990.

A fine was issued and was paid in full a few days later. 

Those who do not pay the fine can be summoned to court as part of the Single Justice Procedure (SJP).

This allows magistrates’ courts to deal with minor offences  efficiently and quickly.

The man has not been named.

NELC cabinet member Cllr Ron Shepherd (Con, Scartho) commented: "Littering is not something the council take lightly -  this incident is the perfect example. 

"The authority will not tolerate anyone flouting the law."

                                       

Cllr Shepherd - tough approach to lawbreakers

                             

Up to 50 Travellers' families set up impromptu encampment in Grimsby play area

Travellers have chosen a leafy site in Grimsby to park their vehicles

 

A GRIMSBY play area has become home to as many as 50 Travellers' caravans and other vehicles over the Bank Holiday weekend.

The families have pitched up on the field and kiddies' play area at the junction of Cleethorpe Road and Victor Streeet.

Some may have relocated from the car park behind the cinema in Cleethorpes where a few caravans  were parked earlier in the week.

It is thought their arrival is what prompted the closing of some roads and car parks in other parts of Cleethorpes at the start of the weekend.

It is anyone's guess how long they will choose to stay in Grimsby. 

So far, there has been no statement from North East Lincolnshire Council about whether there will be any response to the Grimsby arrival.

Closed - one of the car parks on Cleethorpes foreshore

Access barred - the scene near the Humberston end of the Tetney Trail bridleway  

Above and below - signage yesterday morning on the the approach road to the Humberston Fitties car park 

                                                                              

It's keep calm and carry on for NELC cabinet as leader pledges 'stronger economy and safer community'

                                 

Cllr Swinburn - he continues to enjoy full confidence of his cabinet colleagues

  

A CALL for the resignation of  a senior member of North East Lincolnshire Council's cabinet has fallen on deaf ears.

The authority's main opposition Labour Group demanded the resignation of Cllr Stewart Swinburn in the wake of never-ending delays in the renovation of Grimsby's historic Corporation Road Bridge.

But at this evening's AGM of the council, it was confirmed that Cllr Swinburn would remain as portfolio for infrastructure and transport.

His brief  will also include responsibility for housing.

The full cabinet line-up for the following year is as follows: 

* Cllr P Jackson – Leader and Portfolio Holder for Economy, Regeneration, Devolution and Skills

* Cllr S Shreeve – Deputy Leader and Portfolio Holder for Health, Wellbeing and Adult Social Care

* Cllr M Cracknell – Portfolio Holder for Children and Education

* Cllr S Harness – Portfolio Holder for Finance, Resources and Assets

* Cllr H Hudson – Portfolio Holder for Environment and Net Zero

* Cllr S Swinburn – Portfolio Holder for Housing, Infrastructure and Transport

* Cllr R Shepherd – Portfolio Holder for Safer and Stronger Communities

* Cllr H Dawkins – Portfolio Holder for Culture, Heritage and the Visitor Economy

Expressing full confidence in his team, Cllr  Jackson insisted: "We will continue to press on with our priorities this year.

"We will deliver on our promises to help create a stronger economy and a safer  community."

New Cleethorpes Coastal Ranger Josh Forrester keen to fly the flag for wildlife and its precious habitat

                                           

Josh - eager to 'sell' the positives of safeguarding wildlife habitat on Cleethorpes foreshore

       

A NEW Coastal Wildlife Ranger has been appointed in Cleethorpes to engage with the community in celebrating and protecting the unique beauty of our coastline.

Born and bred in Grimsby, Josh Forrester’s background as a data analyst combined with a self-taught knowledge and enthusiasm for wildlife protection - plus his cheerful and engaging personality -  should stand him in good stead in his new role.

A seaside resort such as Cleethorpes is unusual in having a coastal  nature reserve that is central to a  tourist resort -  a situation which has its tensions.

On the one hand, there is the legal obligation for North East Lincolnshire Council to manage and protect an area designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest. 

On the other, there is the need to encourage and promote tourism and enjoyment of the beach, which is a mainstay of the region’s economy.

Issues of recreational disturbance can have detrimental effects on the internationally-renowned wildlife and migratory birds that depend on it.

While Josh’s role, which is funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, is primarily about community engagement, with residents and visitors alike, educating people on the importance of the coastline, its significance to the environment as a whole and why North East Lincolnshire Council has a legal responsibility to protect it. 

It is also about management and protection of species and discouraging any recreational disturbance that threatens it.

Says Josh: "We want the people of North East Lincolnshire and our visitors to be aware of the valuable and wonderful habitat that is Cleethorpes

"By giving people some extra knowledge on what makes it so special, we can encourage more people to have a greater respect for it.

"A lot of recreational disturbance is unintentional, caused by paddleboarders going through the saltmarsh or people walking their dogs there. 

"There is no intended harm, but the saltmarsh is a rare ecosystem and it is under threat all over the world.

"As well as being made up of numerous plants, many of them rare, it acts as a natural flood defence and  also plays a huge role in carbon capture. 

"My job is to 'sell' the positives in the hope that more people can see why we should protect it.

"I also want to encourage coastal champions - organisations and individuals - to buy into the importance of protecting our coastline. 

"No one person can do that alone -  it has to be a community initiative.

"That is the goal I am setting myself -  to bring active engagement that gives everyone a reason to value this amazing stretch of coastline."

In his first fortnight, Josh has already conducted one highly successful guided  walk of the coastal,  and he has another planned for between 10am and 11.30am next Wednesday May 28. 

The circular walk will start and finish at Cleethorpes Leisure Centre.

At this time of year, the coastal nature reserve is full of orchids and other wildflowers plus bees and butterflies such as Green Hairstreaks. In the adjacent trees and shrubs, there are many singing warblers and finches.

Loose dogs on the saltmarsh can have devastating impact on feeding or nesting birds   

Visitor from Alaska says it how it is: 'There's nowhere on earth like Grimsby - it's such an incredible place!'

                                                       

All the way from Alaska - Selby with heritage centre tour guide Robert Mogg

ONE of the most recent visitors to the Grimsby Fishing Heritage Centre and Ross Tiger trawler has been a fisherwoman from Alaska.

Selby LeBlanc, from the port city of Cordova, is a deckhand on salmon fishing boats.

She came to Grimsby to learn more about the area’s maritime history and was treated to a guided tour by former skipper, Robert Mogg.

"In Alaska, we are very proud of our fishing history, and I know this town has that same culture," she said. 

"I had heard about Grimsby through a friend and always wanted to visit.

"I have loved being here, and I can’t wait to come back!

"You can sense the history and culture in the fabric of the buildings -  it’s amazing!”

Selby has been in the industry for four years, and, in summer, she works on a salmon tender - a mid-sized boat that collects fish from smaller gillnet vessels when they reach capacity at sea, then transports the catch to a processing plant.

There are five types of Alaskan salmon all of which are processed, then exported worldwide in various ways from oil to fillets.

At other times of the year, she goes longline fishing in the Gulf of Alaska.

Here, a long main line is deployed with numerous baited hooks - attached at intervals.

But the industry takes a breather for  two months in the icy depths of winter.

The worst conditions she has experienced are 30ft seas and 35 knots of wind. 

"Alaskan winds can be really gruelling," she says. "Overall it’s very cloudy and rough."

Selby's aim is to become a captain and to buy her own boat.

"I have quite a few female friends who are captains," she continues. "It’s a lot of pressure and responsibility, but I think I would be good at it.

"I absolutely want to own a longliner vessel and fish for halibut and black cod."

She said being a woman in the industry could still be hard and there are captains who would refuse to have females on board. 

However, the captain she now has does nothing but encourage and teach her.

After her heritage centre tour, Selby bought several fishermen’s jumpers from the museum shop to take back to her friends and colleagues in Alaska.

What advice would she be giving them?

"You have to get yourself to Grimsby - it's an incredible place."

Pews now replaced by chairs as part of makeover for chapel at Grimsby Crematorium

The chapel - it has  been upgraded from floor to ceiling 

WORK has been completed on a facelift for the Grimsby Crematorium chapel.

The upgrade is the first for several years and has included the replacement of pews with chairs in order to increase capacity.

The five-week refurbishment, which took place with minimum closures, saw the chapel refurbished from top to bottom.

There is also  a new ceiling, flooring, carpets, seating and the installation of thermal windows with heat-proof glazing and mechanically-controlled openers to assist in regulating the chapel's  temperature.

Says the crematorium's deputy bereavement services manager Daniel Intress-Franklin: "Some 200,000 people come through these doors each year at most emotional times of their lives.

"Providing them with the right people in the best possible environment is so important.

"The chapel is now brighter, more comfortable and more modern, and we hope it will be received well by residents, most of whom will visit it at least once, and sometimes a number of times in their lifetime, to say goodbye to loved ones."

The work was completed on time by contractors Unibuild who are based on the Poplar Road industrial estate in Cleethorpes.

Labour Group calls for NELC cabinet member to step down in wake of Corporation Road bridge fiasco

                                               

A job only half done? How many more months before the ill-fated bridge reopens?

A CALL has come for a senior North East Lincolnshire Council cabinet member to resign over the ill-fated  Corporation Road Bridge repair project.

The leader of the authority's Labour Group, Cllr Emma Clough, said today: "This project has been appallingly managed by the Conservative leadership from the very start. 

"The bridge is an important route through Grimsby, and people will have to wait even longer before it reopens. 

"Residents, local businesses, and drivers have faced more than two years of delays and disruption - with no clear end in sight. 

"What is more, the project has become a major financial risk for the council, with even more taxpayers' money needed to get the bridge reopened. 

"The position of the cabinet's portfolio holder for highways, Cllr Stewart Swinburn, is no longer tenable

"He must resign. 

"The administration must also apologise to the people of North East Lincolnshire for these unacceptable delays."

The repair project was originally projected to  take 10 months. 

Some 26 months later - with more than an estimated £7-million spent - and it still has not been completed.

In the meantime, Hull-based bridge repairs contractors Spencer Group which has just been sacked by North East Lincolnshire Council for "unacceptable delays" in completing the project says it is "disappointed and baffled" by the decision.

It thought it had an "excellent" relationship with the council.

The parting of the ways might diminish the company's reputation in the short term but it may  not be too damaging for its finances.

Spencer is not short of work, and, earlier this month, announced that it had been  awarded repair and renovation contracts for three bridges in Scotland.   

* See also previous report.

                                       

Cllr Swinburn - NELC cabinet member is under fire