Ambulances, Skate Parks and Storage Containers

The town council met on Tuesday, 24th July at Sessions House.

Ambulances

In the public forum Mrs Jack Featherstone raised concerns about the proposed reduction of ambulance stations. "We shouldn't have to put up with waiting for ambulances from Skegness, Sleaford, and so on. ... Without a 24 hour ambulance station on standby there will be no need for a hospital."

The ambulance provision is up for review. East Midlands Ambulance Service wants to open 131 "tactical deployment points" and maintain 13 hubs, closing the majority of their ambulance stations, "most of which are empty all day, every day" according to their press release. Their aim is to improve response times by making these changes. In September EMAS say they'll launch a full consultation which will allow staff and the public to have a say.

Councillor George Horton said "16 000 people without an ambulance service is something to be concerned about." The councillors present at the public forum agreed with Mrs Featherstone's sentiments, and resolved to send a letter outlining their concerns to Sir Peter Tapsell, MP.

"We're most dissatisfied that they're going to have a consultation over the summer holidays," the Mayor, Jill Makinson-Sanders, added.

Cattle market planning frustration

ELDC recently approved plans for a cattle market on the industrial estate by 7 votes to 6, against the wishes of Louth Town Council. Notably this controversial decision went through when Councillor Laura Stephenson was absent. The town council gave their comments on this, because at this stage that's all they can do since ELDC has the authority.

"Lidl was a far better project to go on the estate," Councillor Fran Treanor commented. "Animals and heavy transport just don't go together. Common sense didn't seem to prevail."

"There are no cattle markets in this country as small as three acres," the Mayor said. "Competition sadly isn't a reason not to give planning permission."

Skate park progress

Councillor Horton and the Mayor met James Brindle recently to discuss the proposed skate park. "Funding opportunities are somewhat limited, it will have to be phased," the Mayor reported. Why is this?

• Some funding was lost because the residents of Spire View opposed the scheme.
• Sport England consider Skegness a hub for this activity, so the money goes there.

Councillor Horton was positive about the scheme. "I was enthused with James Brindle's attitude. The land is there. It's a case of getting funding in place and filling in the forms. Have a small skate park. If there's enough support, then we'll extend it."

Councillor Sue Locking was also in favour. "It's very important we give this as much support as we can," she said. "It's important we get kids off their X-Boxes and getting some exercise."

However the town clerk Mrs L. Blankley mentioned that the skate park group had not banked the last cheque the council had sent them.

Storage in the cemetery?

This is one item I nearly dismissed as unimportant, because it was listed on the agenda as "siting of storage container", so I pictured something around the size of a large wheelie bin. Wrong. The item in question is a beastly 16 foot by 10 foot shipping container, which the Town Partnership want to store in the cemetery. This did not go down well with Councillor Pauline Watson, who called the proposed placement "totally inappropriate".

Councillor Gus Robertson said "That's not the place for a container. The Partnership should have enough connections in the town to find somewhere else."

Councillor Eileen Ballard agreed. "It's a cemetery. Please be sensitive to people whose families are up there."

The council decided to defer the decision until the cemetery committee have had a chance to discuss the matter and make recommendations. In the meantime, the town partnership are looking for storage space. Can you help them out?