Welcome move by Tory Leader...

May I be the first to welcome the intervention of the county council today in a bid to stop the closure of both tourist information offices in Lincoln to save a few bob.

I posted HERE on the short-sighted decision by the Conservatives who run the City.

Now, Martin Hill, Tory-Leader of Lincolnshire County Council, has stepped in to highlight the importance of tourism to the local economy, and called an emergency meeting to try to stop the closures.

I wish Martin every success in making his colleagues see sense...!

Meanwhile, in a fresh blow for Lincolnshire tourism today, East Midlands Trains have announced that they may close their travel centre at Lincoln Central, sparking a new row.

Praise for Police Community Support Officers...

Good to see two Police Community Support Officers in Peterborough officially recognised for their work...

It makes a pleasant change from seeing the role of PCSOs undermined as they were recently by by a Conservative county councillor member of Lincolnshire Police Authority...!

Red Arrows near disaster in end of the pier show...

An official report reveals that the RAF's Lincolnshire-based Red Arrows came just 900 feet from colliding with a BMI jet packed with holiday-makers.

The team of nine Hawk aircraft were forced to take evasive action after confusion among air-controllers led to them flying in the same air space as the passenger jet.

It happened while the Red Arrows were giving holiday-makers on the ground at Weston-Super-Mare a free show to cheer them up after the local pier had burned down last summer.

The end of the pier would have paled into insignificance considering what might have happened...

Then again, isn't flying at break-neck speeds just a few feet from another aircraft all in a days work for the top guns of our Royal Air Force...?

Tory cuts that could cost our county dear...

The Tories who control the historic City of Lincoln have come up with the not-so-bright idea to save a few bob by shutting down the excellent tourism info centres.

One of them is the ideally placed heritage building - the beautifully restored former NatWest bank - on the cobbled square between the Castle and the Cathedral. And the other is on the prime site at the Cornhill on the main pedestrianised High Street.

Whenever I've been in either of the centres, they've been packed with people seeking infomation to assist their stay in our county, with helpful staff ready to sell the delights of Lincolnshire.

Lincoln - and the rest of the county - has a great deal to offer tourists - the finest Cathedral in the country for a start. But being slightly off the map, the city has always had to fight hard with places like York for its fair slice of the tourist cake.

Tourist information centres encourage those who do make it to the City to stay a while longer, perhaps discover a few more attractions on offer in Lincolnshire, and hopefully spend a few more quid to support the local economy.

Not surprisingly, a ring-round by the Lincs Echo reveals that other English cathedral cities think Lincoln's gone bonkers (or at least a bit daft) to do away with its tourist offices...

Meanwhile Lincolnshire's neighbour Rutland is preparing for an upturn in tourism this year as more people are expected to holiday in UK rather than venture abroad.

Sounds to me - and a lot of other people - that the people who run Lincoln need to rethink before they kill the goose that lays the golden eggs...

Lincs does the Poachers proud...

The Lincolnshire 'Poachers' received a 'proper welcome home' when they marched through their home city of Lincoln today.

Top marks to the Echo for its week long campaign for support for the local soldiers of the Second Battalion, The Royal Anglians who are rightly marking their homecoming from the war in Afghanistan with a series of freedom parades across the region they recruit from.

Fortunately, the lincoln parade saw none of the nonsense from an insulting minority which marred a similar event in Luton earlier in the week, but good to see Muslim Community Leaders and Labour MP for Luton Margaret Moran dismissing protesters as not representing the views of the majority.

Important to remember that unlike the tolerant democracy we enjoy in UK, there is no right to protest in many countries, !

It was two out of two for Lincolnshire this week - as the Poacher's parade in Stamford earlier in the week also went off without a hitch.

Lincs community officer shot with airgun...

A police community support officer has been shot with an airgun in Lincolnshire. A 26-year-old man was arrested for possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life following the attack in Grantham, Lincolnshire Police said.

The police community support officer, who was on a routine patrol, was hit in the back but the pellet ricocheted off his body armour.

Police said he was unhurt by the shooting, which happened in London Road at about 2pm on Tuesday.

The suspect, who is from the area, is being questioned by officers at Grantham police station.

(from the Press Association).

UPDATE: from BBC - man charged

What on earth next...?

My daughter Claire lives across the border in Market Deeping, a lovely stroll along the banks of the River Welland (no passport needed)... Yesterday, she called in for a cuppa with my grandson Jack (aged six weeks, four days and eight hours).

When Claire reached the old stone bridge at Deeping St James, she took this snap on her mobile and emailed it to tell me to get the kettle on...

Talk about the advance of technology eh?

How on earth did we ever survive without mobile phones and the t'internet...?

And what wonders might be invented when young Jack's a Grand-dad...?

Tough on Crime....2

Following my post on Saturday about a pair of Peterborough burglars sentenced to three years behind bars under Labour's 'three strikes' rule, this from Lincolnshire Police:

A 31-year old Skegness man has been sentenced to four years in prison for burglary.

The owners of the property he targetted were out when he struck. They returned home to find him inside their property. They confronted him but he fled on a bicycle and was arrested by police later that afternoon.

A four-year prison sentence sends a strong message to would-be burglars - and I hope offers some consolation for his victims...

Any advance on four years for burglary?

School places in Lincs...

Lincolnshire County Council admits that more than one in ten 11-year olds fails to get a place at their first choice school...

Throwing our money at the lawyers...

My attack on the decision by the Conservative Leader of Lincolnshire County Council to spend thousands of pounds of public money in legal fees was picked up in this week's Lincs Free Press.

It really is total madness for Martin Hill to be throwing taxpayers cash at lawyers to chase another star...Lincolnshire County Council have been awarded just one-star for adult social care in each of the past six years despite year on year promises for two-stars. Now the county council is preparing to go to the High Court in London to challenge the one-star assessment by the independent inspectors.

No-one knows how much the planned Judicial Review in the High Court action may end up costing council taxpayers of Lincolnshire. Similar actions in the past are said to have cost up to £150,000.

Given the current economic downturn, I voted for a council tax freeze last month, but the ruling Conservatives forced through another increase - despite a generous increase in Government grants of more than six per cent - on top of last year's increase of over nine per cent.

As I said at the meeting, the last thing the people of Lincolnshire need as they struggle to survive the recession is a bigger council tax bill - specially when some of the extra raised will be spent chasing another star.

Rather than diverting our cash from vital services and giving it to expensive lawyers, Councillor Hill and the Tories would surely be wiser focusing on why they have been rated as one of the worst performing councils in the country when it comes to adult social care...

Tough on crime...

A pair of Peterborough burglars find out that Labour's 'three strikes and you're out' rule equals three years behind bars - despite two previous strikes being as far back as eight years ago.

Tarzan fined over dog crash

Headline of the week from my local paper - and Britain's oldest - The Stamford Mercury.

I'll now be looking out for a car on local roads with a 'Tarzan' windscreen sticker on the driver's side and 'Jane' on the on the passenger side.

Stay tuned...

New RAF jobs boost for South Lincs economy...

Stamford MP Quentin Davies has announced 165 new jobs at RAF Coningsby to support the deployment of the Typhoon Euro-fighter at the South Lincs.

BBC video on the Typhoons flying into Coningsby and what it means for the Lincolnshire economy HERE.

Millions extra for Lincs schools...

Lincolnshire schools are to receive an extra £16.5 million funding this year as part of the Government's commitment to investing in the local economy - and bringing forward improvements to benefit children and their teachers.

Investing millions more to improve Lincolnshire schools is good news at any time – but putting extra money into the local economy right now is a major boost to help local firms get through the recession and protect local jobs.

It's real help for local builders, plumbers, electricians, carpenters, painters and others who work in construction and a boost to children and teachers who will benefit from top quality new facilities sooner.

Every school in Lincolnshire will benefit from a share of the £5.7 million spending brought forward to the new financial year which starts in April. The money is in addition to £14.4 million already allocated.

It means that from next month, well over £20 million will go direct to Lincolnshire’s head teachers. Schools can choose how to spend the money as they see fit, from building new classrooms or science laboratories to fitting out new gyms or ICT facilities.

At the same time, the Government is allowing Lincolnshire County Council to bring forward £10.8 million of funding for larger school building projects. This is on top of £16.6 million already allocated, making a total of £27.4 million spending this year.

The dual announcements mean a total of £47.6 million will be spent on improving Lincolnshire’s school buildings and repairs from next month - £16.5 million of it brought forward from the following year.

I hope local schools will get on and spend the extra money - not just to improve facilities for pupils but to support small businesses and jobs.

Sadly, David Cameron’s Do-Nothing Tories oppose Labour’s plan to bring forward spending on school buildings.

Precisely when we should be supporting the economy, the Tories want to cut spending, including slashing billions of pounds from Labour’s school rebuilding programme.

I believe this would be bad news for Lincolnshire schools and bad news for jobs and businesses serving Lincolnshire.

Support for our Local Police...

Pleased to see that our local paper, The Spalding Guardian splashed its front page this week with the story on Police Community Support Officers after I posted HERE.