Town Council Round-Up: Poetry, Cattle Market Plans, And Tree Lights

November 20th 2013

There is a little less than usual to report from the town council meeting of 19th November, partly because there were no major planning applications for the council to consider, and also because people who were scheduled to make a presentation did not show up. Councillor Newton and Nick Davis from ELDC were supposed to talk about markets, but Councillor Newton was too unwell to attend.

Poetry By Heart

In the public forum Kate Harrison made a presentation about Poetry By Heart, an international poetry competition that is in its second year. The competition launched at the beginning of October, and Mrs Harrison noted that Lincolnshire is not in it.

The competition is open to pupils aged 14-18, and the challenge is to learn poems to recite by heart in competitions that go from regional level to national. Whoever wins the county event will enjoy a weekend in London, and every child who enters will get a prize and a certificate. The poems are chosen from an anthology. Schools and colleges have until 20th December to sign up, ready for the county competition to be held on February 7th 2014 in Louth Town Hall.

Also in the public forum, Councillor Jill Makinson-Sanders had questions about a bollard put on the corner of Cannon Street, causing an obstruction. She asked "how much it cost and why it was done?"

The cattle market

A petition is circulating about the cattle market. Yes, another one. This one reads:

"We, the undersigned, urge ELDC not sell the cattle market site for a supermarket to be built on, because we believe it will signal the death knell for Louth as a market town."

Copies should be popping up in local shops and businesses in the near future. It's promoted by Keep Louth Special, who have a display of their alternative plans for regenerating the site at the Mercer Row shop on the corner next to MSR News.

The town council voted to write to ELDC to ask whether there is any substance to rumours surrounding negotiations with a supermarket about the cattle market.

Tree lights

Councillor Pauline Watson mentioned that she had spoken to someone who was prepared to pay for lights for the tree outside St James' church. Councillor Trevor Marris pointed out that there was a problem with the height of the cherry picker used to mount the lights. "They daren't go any further with the cherry picker," he said.

It might be simpler to use a smaller tree, and more attractive as well.

Grants, boundaries, and coppers

The closing date for local groups to get in grant applications to the town council is Friday, 22nd of November. It's open to charities, voluntary groups and public sector organisations.

The Boundary Commission have reported back on the new arrangements for district council seats in East Lindsey. There will be a two-member ward for Priory and St James', whilst all of the other wards in Louth will have one member representing them at ELDC. This is a slight change to the Boundary Commission's original suggestion of having two two-member wards.

Coppers on the Wall raised £190.90 for BBC Children In Need. The annual event was held on the 15th of November outside the Sessions House. "It was a great effort," the Mayor, David Wing, commented.

The Mayor also talked about Towns Alive, an event he and Councillor Makinson-Sanders attended. Modernisation, towns working in partnership, and ways of improving car parks to make them more amenable were on the agenda. Unfortunately the idea of cutting car parking charges was not up for discussion with regard to their car parking meeting, but putting in maps and adverts to "brighten them up" were some of the ideas put forward.

Parking charges are a major complaint at the moment, so it's encouraging that people are thinking of ways of using car parks differently. Of course, the advertising won't be worth much if charges are so high that nobody uses the car parks.