Commonwealth Day (March 12) was marked by a flag raising ceremony at South Holland District Council. The celebration of the Commonwealth of Nations is held on the second Monday of March with this year’s theme being “Towards a Common Future”. Councillor Rodney Grocock raised the flag at the district council’s Priory Road offices alongside Ben Stock of the Merchant Navy ...

Many people believe that leadership and guidance is achieved by dominance over your dog; however I believe that this is a myth. All dogs need to know their boundaries in your family’s life; you therefore need to build an infrastructure in your home so that your dog understands what is required of them, in order that the whole family can ...

Work on a new pub and restaurant for Spalding is under way. The Tulip Queen is due to open its doors to customers later this year. The Marston’s operation is being constructed on The Lincs Gateway development on the edge of the town and is a pub with a 38-bedroom lodge. Work has already begun and adverts were placed this ...

A bus service between Spalding and Boston that had its service cut earlier this year looks set to be given a reprieve. The reduction in the frequency of Brylaine’s K59 service came into force just before Christmas to the surprise of users. Residents in villages including Donington, Quadring, Gosberton, Surfleet and Pinchbeck were particularly disappointed by the drop in the ...

My name is Richard Brader, I am a trustee of the St James Deeping Signal Box Group. Our aim is to see the rebuilding of the Deeping St James signal box which was deemed to be in the path a Network Rail modernisation programme and was sympathetically deconstructed just over three years ago. The signal box was built in 1845 ...

I just wanted to say what a fantastic evening was had by everyone who attended the Jane Austen presentation hosted by Lucy Worsley last Saturday night at the South Holland Centre. The organisers, the staff at Bookmark and at the South Holland Centre have to be congratulated on bringing such an entertaining, knowledgeable, funny and interesting TV personality to Spalding. ...

It was good to be at the meeting on Tuesday evening (March 6) where many locals, parish councillors and district councillors turned out to Cowbit Village Hall. Many from other parishes also came for the open meeting regarding speeding through their villages, forgetting the bad weather conditions and putting their villages first. It was very informative and organiser Nigel Pepper ...

It is only a matter of weeks since my last communication with SHDC about fly tipping at Holland Road car park. I have to say that the previous tip was cleared within a couple of days of my report. Now, once again, the Flat Clearance Operatives have been at work – a mountain of detritus in the car park (pictured ...

In March 2013 the chairman of the Parish Council told us we were on the way to a zero precept, and the precept was reduced by 14 per cent in time for the General Election. Since then the precept has risen by over 50 per cent until this year it rises by a further 150 per cent. Only two councillors ...

There’s very little interest in the street lighting switch-off – I’m not surprised, it doesn’t matter what viewpoints the general public has, the council doesn’t listen as its minds is already made up on what is going to happen. We as a community wanted a safer crossing on hearing of changes on the A17. Meetings were had, no-one listened, we ...

The Welland Rivers Trust (WRT) is a charity dedicated to conservation, restoration and education within the Welland Catchment Area, and strives to take action to address all the issues affecting the quality of habitat, wildlife and water in the entire river catchment. The WRT currently have a Tesco ‘Bags of Help’ project up for public voting to improve the riverside ...

A Spalding couple have launched a crusade to promote vegan food in the town. Ian Tarplee and Karina Saunders have been into local restaurants and cafes asking for them to have vegan options on their menus. They’re also frequently seen handing out information leaflets and recipes promoting not eating anything that utilises animal products. Several restaurants have already come on ...

A Holbeach man groped a teenager and masturbated on a service bus, Lincoln Crown Court was told. Mike Torsello (61), of Victoria Street, boarded the service at Spalding bus station, sitting on the back seat, and then made a comment to the 19-year-old girl as the bus set off. Hal Ewing, prosecuting, said that moments later the girl felt a hand ...

Spalding police had a good response to an appeal after a man was left in a critical condition by an assault outside Loaded nightclub. Members of a group featured in released CCTV footaqe contacted officers as a result of the appeal. “Some of the group are assisting police with their enquiries and the investigation into what happened continues,” said Insp ...

Staff at a South Holland children’s home have been assaulted and children bullied, according to an Ofsted report. The home, which cannot be identified for legal reasons, has six residents and requires improvement to be rated good, says inspectors. “There have been assaults on staff and other significant events. The home has failed to notify Ofsted of any of these ...

Parish councillors are “more determined than ever” to push for speed restrictions after a meeting this week. Chairman Trevor Tyrrell said there was widespread disappointment after the meeting on Tuesday as there were no plans for immediate resolution. Police, the Police and Crime Commissioner, the road safety partnership, parish council and members of the public met to discuss the issue ...

A local council wants groups and individuals to tell a TV company why its town is the perfect place for a prominent new piece of art. Following a recent invitation by broadcaster Banijay UK, Holbeach Parish Council will put forward a bid for the Big Things project – but they need your help. Banijay UK is looking for local parishes ...

Voting is open to choose which local community groups will be supported by shoppers in Lincolnshire Co-op outlets later this year. A Co-op spokesman said good causes could raise £500 or more through votes from shoppers. The Community Champions 2018 scheme is being kicked off with a series of events across Lincolnshire. The South Holland leg takes place at The ...

As the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee met last week to look at the impact of Brexit on the automotive sector, there were calls for the Government to keep the closest possible relationship with the existing EU regulatory and trading framework to give UK volume car manufacturing a realistic chance of survival post-Brexit. In a recently published report regarding ...

May I through the pages of your paper, thank all farming staff throughout South Holland who turned out in very inclement snowy conditions on Thursday and Friday to help keep South Holland roads clear. Conditions were very challenging and strong winds meant that snow was continually being blown back onto roads throughout operations but all I spoke to were happy ...