CELEBRATING FREEDOM

LIFE AFTER COVID

BUSINESS as USUAL?

What does freedom mean? What will life be like in a post-Covid era and will it be business as usual for local companies? Let’s try to find out...

We’ll be back to celebrate the best of Lincolnshire in 2022!

The Lincolnshire Show will return in 2022, bigger and better than ever...

“Safety has to come first,” says Gemma King of the Lincolnshire Showground. “Although it was a major blow for the showground not to hold the Lincolnshire Show again this year, we are proud to be hosting some amazing outdoor events this summer now restrictions have been lifted, including our own event LincsFest taking place on Sunday 15th August.” “It has been a long 18-months for us but the wellbeing of our visitors is paramount and we are looking forward to bringing people back for safe events now that we are able to do so.” “Looking ahead to 2022, our calendar of events is filling up and we are excited to be planning for the Lincolnshire Show which will take place on 22nd & 23rd June.” www.lincolnshireshowground.co.uk. Covid has shown us how important our gardens are, and the availability of really good local garden centres has been really important. The first lockdown was probably longer than we expected and it was certainly very warm. Many retreated into their gardens which was great for our collective mental health. Dobbies Garden Centre has long recognised the importance of the garden, and since the business was established in 1865, it has grown to include 73 centres. One of the newest additions to the Dobbies family is in Boston, the site formerly known as Johnsons Garden Centre which was acquired and opened in April, securing the centre’s future for in excess of 80 staff. Footfall has been reduced at garden centres this year, because of the need to keep employees and customers safe, but it means they’ve been able to complete improvement work which is noisy, messy or otherwise disruptive. Now Dobbies is open again, it can show off a new-look centre providing the best experience for customers, and the best range of products from core gardening items and plants to quality furniture, barbecues and everything you need to enjoy your garden in late summer and Autumn. www.dobbies.com.

Gardens and business... both are growing well!

Lockdown has seen us spend more time in the garden, and Dobbies is growing just as well...

Big skies and rural properties, please!

Claire and her team are busy thanks to a strong demand for local property...

Looking Ahead to 2022 Having been a casualty of Covid in 2021, The Lincolnshire Show will be held on Wednesday 22nd & Thursday 23rd June 2022. The Burghley Horse Trials takes place from 1st-4th September 2022.

Home is where the heart is. And the dog, of course! Claire Fairweather is an estate agent in Boston. Whilst Annie the labrador has been largely unperturbed by the last 12 months, Claire and the Fairweathers team have found themselves very busy indeed after all that has happened in the world during the pandemic. “We can hardly believe the impact the first lockdown had on the housing market,” she says. “Buyers from towns and cities all over the country desperately searched for a change of lifestyle in areas like Lincolnshire... and let’s face it, who can blame them?” “This will have been the busiest year we can ever remember and despite the stamp duty holiday and furlough coming to an end, demand for rural properties continues. One of the nicer things to come from this, for me, is seeing buyers and sellers recognise the importance of being closer to family now; finding properties that can accommodate older relatives, or places to work more hours from home and fewer in the office. There’s also increased demand for larger gardens, for a new-found love of gardening and growing their own vegetables, too!” “After a time when morale seemed to be at an all-time low, it feels as if we’re reminded of what we may sometimes take for granted... what everyone else is moving here to enjoy!” www.fairweather-estateagents.co.uk

From academic anonymity to his new-found status as a national hero. Professor Jonathan Van-Tam is the people’s scientist and a level-headed voice of reason during Covid. Born and raised in Boston, the Professor still lives in the county and enjoys nothing more than cheering on his beloved Boston United from the terraces...

When Britain needed a hero Professor Jonathan Van-Tam stepped up to the role and, overnight, he was thrust into televised press briefings and appearances alongside the Prime Minister. There’s a Jonathan Van-Tam Appreciation Society, myriad internet memes praising his levelheadedness and his fondness for metaphors... you can even fill your wardrobe with t-shirts that have the great man on them. Professor Van-Tam also beat Hollywood actor Matthew McConaughey by five places in Grazia magazine’s ‘chart of lust.’ It must all have been a bit surreal for a man who was appointed Deputy Chief Medical Officer in October 2017 thanks to his academic interest in infectious diseases and especially strains of influenza. “I understand there are memes and songs about me which have gone viral, but I’ve been more occupied dealing with other things that have gone viral this year.” “My job is to be honest, objective and (as I see it) to speak the truth to power, and that’s an approach which has served me well. I’m not daft though; I recognise that there’s going to be an economic cost to society following the pandemic.” “The government was ultimately faced with the unenviable decision of harming the economy to save lives. That was never going to be an easy path to take.” “I don’t believe any government anywhere in the world has found this easy.”

Right: Professor Jonathan Van-Tam was appointed Deputy Chief Medical Officer in October 2017. “I hope the worst is behind us but I think it’s quite possible that we’re going to have one or two bumpy periods in the autumn and in the winter, not only through Covid, but also through flu and other respiratory viruses as well.” Last month Professor Jonathan Van-Tam, the Deputy Chief Medical Officer for England, has taken time out of his busy schedule to officially open a new state-ofthe-art £4.5 million unit at Lincoln County Hospital. The unit has been designed with 10 side rooms, all equipped with high-tech video technology and monitoring equipment. It means the team will be able to provide patients with non-invasive ventilation and other specialist respiratory treatments. Professor Van-Tam cut the ribbon of the new unit and thanked everyone for their ongoing support: “It is fantastic to see this happening, with this high-tech and cutting edge facility which will very much put you on the map.” “Thank you to all staff at the hospital, as a specialist respiratory team you have been very much on the frontline of this for 18 months and the pandemic is not over yet.” Meanwhile, as the rest of us recognise that Jonathan Van-Tam’s work has shortened the pandemic and saved lives, the academic will return to teaching in Nottingham and enjoying the victories of his beloved Boston United this Autumn, having guided us through a major health crisis with good humour and a few great metaphors. n

We’re all going on a (Great British) holiday...!

Staycation market is strong, says local luxury accommodation provider Barefoot Retreat

Few of us have been keen to travel recently, so the national travel and tourism market is doing rather well, says Georgia Vatter of Barefoot Retreats. “It has been our priority to ensure all our guests have felt safe, comfortable and clearly informed throughout the pandemic, as a result we are thrilled that the Barefoot Retreats team is back doing what it does best in creating unique and memorable holiday experiences for all our guests.” “It is a pleasure to see our guests enjoying all of the delights that the picturesque North Norfolk Coast has to offer whilst relaxing in a Barefoot Retreats luxury holiday home.” n 01485 512245, www.barefootretreats.co.uk.

Martin Hill has been a county councillor since 1993 and has led Lincolnshire County Council since 2005. This, however, has been an unprecedented time, and one that Martin recognises it will still take a while to recover from. “Covid will leave a legacy in all of our lives so lifting restrictions should ensure that the negative impacts start to come to an end. I hope too that it can leave us with a reminder of the kindness people have shown to others, the support given to local businesses when they've needed it most and our resilience to get through these difficult times.” “We should all continue to be careful as individuals to help prevent this disease spreading but we need to face the reality this cannot be at the on-going cost of livelihoods, mental health and education. We need to move to a phase where we can manage Covid in a sensible way and start to restore the county’s businesses.” n

“Covid will leave a legacy in all of our lives. I hope though it will also leave us with a reminder of the kindness and support people have shown to others...”

Top: Mr Binnacle in Docking is one of Barefoot Retreats’ newest luxury self-catering offerings in North Norfolk. Above: Martin Hill is leader of Lincolnshire County Council.

Raise a glass to support hotels, pubs and restaurants

Few industries have had a more challenging time than those in the hospitality sector...

Great ingenuity often follows great challenges and few industries have had to work as hard to overcome Covid than hospitality. Emma Brealey is Managing Director of Woodhall Spa’s Edwardian Petwood Hotel. “It’s been a difficult time for the sector, and nobody could claim that it’s been easy, but it has also made me glad for the fact that I lead a really good team,” she says. “And to say we’ve kept busy is an understatement.” “A hotel without guests just doesn’t have the same warmth and feel, but having fewer people around does make it much easier to get messy, noisy or otherwise disruptive jobs out of the way. We’ve at least been able to make good progress with refurbishing a number of our bathrooms, bedrooms, and with redecorating our communal areas.” “We’ve been able to complete work on our kitchen, too, replacing fittings and putting in a new floor.” “It would have been a real headache to do that as we work around breakfast service, lunch and dinner, plus our weddings and special event catering.” “A really big positive is how well-loved and how well-thought of we’ve found ourselves. The messages of support have made us feel really valued and I think the industry has seen wheat separated from chaff in terms of good employers; those who treat their staff well have retained them.”

“The team, themselves have really missed each other and there was a real sense of camaraderie and relief when we could all be together again. We’ve new menus for autumn, lots of keen diners ready to enjoy meeting up with friends again, plus a team which is ready to put all of their care and effort into ensuring our guests continue to be happy and well-looked after.”

n 01526 352411, www.petwood.co.uk.

Attend Nicky Pattinson’s post-Covid business masterclasses

Free day-long event for businesses who are emerging from the Covid pandemic...

Lincolnshire businesses are being invited to sign up for a free day-long event that will help them emerge from Covid stronger than ever. ‘Renew’ is a series of workshops and networking sessions covering subjects that will support the growth of businesses locally and help them address the challenge of the post-Covid economy. Topics will include the launch of Lincolnshire’s Economic Growth Renew Plan, a presentation on the recent Freeports announcement and what it means for the region. There will also be an in-depth session on skills and employability. Inspirational entrepreneur Nicky Pattinson will be a keynote speaker at the event, promising to help businesses renew by growing their engagement and increasing turnover.

Nicky is a former £2m a year market trader who delivers motivational masterclasses that she claims have helped triple turnover for everyone from software companies to hotels. As well as a networking lunch there will be an open session where 10 different funding stream advisors will be available to advise delegates. n The day is taking place at Forest Pines Golf Club and Spa in Scunthorpe on Thursday 14th October 2021 and includes coffee breaks and lunch. See www.northlincs.gov.uk.

Landlords waiting game continues

Jenna Emsley-Fairbrass, senior paralegal in the recoveries team at Wilkin Chapman solicitors explains.

The moratorium on evicting commercial tenants over unpaid rent was due to expire on 30th June but has now been extended for another nine months.

In April last year, we saw the government block legal attempts to evict retail, hospitality and other businesses that had stopped paying rent, to take off the economic pressures caused as a direct result of the pandemic.

The delay in easing lockdown restrictions announced in July presents additional challenges to business. Most will be thinking that the balance has not been struck up correctly between protecting landlords and supporting businesses that are most in need of help and who cannot pay rent due to not being able to trade normally.

Landlords have already voiced their dismay for almost a year and half now and have just had to ‘deal with it’. Some landlords have not received rent for months and months and they are simply unable to do anything about it. The latest figures from trade groups UK Hospitality and British Retail Consortium show that there is a combined debt value estimated to be in the region of £5bn in relation to rent arrears. Data from the first quarter of 2021 shows that only 74% of rent was collected by landlords in the 60 days following the end period after tenants were affected by the pandemic.

It appears that we are sat waiting for the rent arrears time bomb to go off and it is left in the lap of landlords to continue to struggle through. It is going to make the end position worse for both landlords and tenants and of course we have those businesses who are sadly taking advantage of this situation even though they are fully capable of paying their rent. Breathing space should be given in the correct circumstances and more discretion is ultimately needed.

Our property recoveries team has developed a fresh strategy in how we continue to support landlords through their ongoing battle.

We can provide a flexible and tailored recovery process with communication at the heart of our service. We understand the importance for landlords to maintain a relationship with their tenants and that due to the moratorium, we need to take a fair approach and work together to reach a solution that is agreeable for both parties.

For further information on how we can help you, contact Jenna Emsley- Fairbrass on 01472 253939, email jenna.emsley-fairbrass@ wilkinchapman.co.uk or visit wilkinchapman.co.uk