A NEW LOOK LINCOLNSHIRE

2021’s New Look 2021’s New Look LINCOLNSHIRE LINCOLNSHIRE

Last year’s restrictions saw a number of local development projects put on hold, Last year’s restrictions saw a number of local development projects put on hold, but happily 2021 looks like it will provide a much brighter future for the whole county. but happily 2021 looks like it will provide a much brighter future for the whole county. Here, we review a few of the projects that will bring a new look to Lincolnshire...Here, we review a few of the projects that will bring a new look to Lincolnshire...

Words: Rob Davis. Lead Image: Chris Vaughan Photography.

Sleaford’s Multi Screen Cinema

If you’re a fan of the silver screen there’s a solid gold project due to resume in Sleaford throughout 2021...

Below: Covid-19 has caused work on Sleaford’s £4m three-screen cinema to stall, but the project will resume in 2021... so there’s bound to be a happy ending for a project which is designed to regenerate the whole of the town centre. 2020 was supposed to see the release of the latest James Bond film, No Time to Die... unfortunately it was, instead, no time to release a movie, and the premiere was postponed along with the year’s other big releases.

From a reboot of the Batman franchise to Respect, a biopic of Aretha Franklin, plus a long-awaited sequel to James Cameron’s cautionary tale of humanity’s lack of respect for the environment; Avatar. Other big screen treats to be delayed include a new film from the Jurassic Park franchise; the 34-year-late sequel to Top Gun; Steven Spielberg’s glitzy adaptation of West Side Story and Elvis; Baz Luhrmann’s biopic.

As well as being a belting year for cinema, it was supposed to be the year when plans were finalised for the creation of a new multi-screen cinema in Sleaford.

In May 2020 is was announced that Covid-19 would delay the £4m project, which is a particular shame since the project wasn’t just exciting in isolation but was also to prove the centre of a larger regeneration. Named The Heart of Sleaford. The project will effectively link the current Money’s Yard car park to the town’s market square via the town’s old Butter Market and Corn Exchange – buildings which were themselves ripe for a redevelopment. So as well as the cinema itself, and its restaurant and food court, the redevelopment will bring together the whole of the town centre, from St Deny’s Church to Money’s Yard and the area surrounding the National Centre for Craft & Design. Sleaford’s Robert Hodgson will be overseeing the project once it resumes. He’s one of the town’s most talented developers; a safe pair of hands in which to place what is essentially the town’s regeneration. n Woodhall Spa & Grantham Cinemas: In addition to Sleaford’s proposed cinema, 2021 will be the first full year that film-goers will be able to enjoy new releases at Grantham’s Savoy, which opened in late 2019, and on Woodhall Spa-based Kinema in the Woods’ third screen which opened in summer 2019.

Works start on transformational coastal projects in Skegness and Mablethorpe...

East Lindsey District Council has secured £500,000 and £750,000 to progress two ‘transformational’ projects on the Lincolnshire Coast via the Towns Fund programme. Sutton on Sea’s 1950s structurally unsafe Colonnade will be removed and replaced with a new structure (below), whilst Skegness will see the part-pedestrianisation of Tower Esplanade in 2021 plus the completion of its modernisation which has already seen the installation of new curved street lights. n

Continuing Cornhill’s Transformation...

2020 saw the remarkable unveiling of Lincoln’s new Cornhill Quarter and this year will continue its transformation with a new food market

Lincoln’s Cornhill Quarter has already been completely transformed with the completion of the £70m first phase of a heritage-led restoration. Sadly the potential of its new Everyman Cinema hasn’t yet been recognised, but Lincolnshire Co-op’s excellent work in bringing the Cornhill Quarter’s transport hub to fruition has already improved the area enormously. Work will continue in 2021 with Historic England’s High Street Heritage Action Zone (HSHAZ) funding secured for the transformation of Lincoln Central Market. The market’s 1937 stalls will be recreated and a new food court designed to create a ‘farm shop in the city,’ will connect the market to the High Street and City Square. n

l Also in 2021, Lincoln’s Lower High Street will gain a makeover with a £3.5m cash injection which will also make available grants for the renovation of historic shop fronts, and new public realm areas. The plans are part of the High Street Heritage Action Zone plan which will also fund a HAZ officer for four years to deliver community engagement and cultural activities, creating, for instance, markets and entertainment on Lower High street to ensure the area enjoys increased footfall.

Huge Towns Fund Investments for North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire...

n Grimsby will benefit from up to £17m from Central Government’s Towns Fund and Future High Streets Fund to regenerate the town centre with a new public space at Riverhead Square, refurbishment of Central Library, further regeneration of St James Quarter and regeneration of Garth Lane. Separately the western side of Victoria Street and Freshney Place will be redeveloped with a £25m cash injection. n Meanwhile the South Humber Industrial Investment Programme (SHIIP) is a £42m project which will create Stallingborough Business Park and 467 acres of developed land for new businesses, plus a new 64-hectare business park, and £8m Humber Bank link road and an area of wetland reclaimed for wildlife as a SPA (Special Protection Area) and SSSI area. n 35-acres of space will be transformed by the departing Novartis pharmaceutical firm, with the creation of a new area of migration land for birds adjacent to the Cress Marsh wildlife site. n North Lincolnshire Council has also submitted a £27m Town Deal bid for a 4,000,000 sq ft advanced manufacturing park to attract engineering firms to the town, and to create a new cultural quarter around Church Square. The money will also be used to invest in 500 new homes, a skills development programme and the installation of gigabit broadband to help businesses stay connected. n On the site of Scunthorpe’s former market site will be an innovation hub with new business space for the technology and creative industries, an investment of £10.7m. n 250 eco-lodges, a hotel and conference centre will also create one of the biggest holiday destinations in Cleethorpes on the 57-acre site of the former Pleasure Island theme park which closed to visitors in 2015.

A new look and lots more exhibition space for Sleaford’s National Centre for Craft and Design...

Above/Right: Sleaford’s NCCD – formerly known as The Hub – will gain a £1.2m extension with a new food & drink area. Sleaford’s National Centre for Craft & Design will reopen around May following a £1.2m extension created by Lincolnshire’s Lindum Group. Bryan Palmer is managing the project and says: “The project has been very smooth so far. The public have been understanding and we’ve got a great relationship with the craft centre team. Once complete, the new-look building will feature a ground floor gallery, artists’ workshop, a children’s zone and a performing arts studio. There will also be a large indoor bistro and an outdoor seating area taking in views of the River Slea.” n

A New Home for the Reds...

Team will relocate to Waddington in 2021

2022 will see the closure of RAF Scampton as an operational base. Founded in 1916 and renamed RAF Scampton (it was known as Air Station Brattleby Cliff) in 1918, the station will be sold and redeveloped into housing, and the Red Arrows display team will relocate to nearby RAF Waddington, securing their future in the county. n

Training a New Generation of Doctors in Lincoln...

The University of Lincoln will open a new purpose-built facility in which to train the next generation of doctors and nursing staff. The University has enjoyed exceptional success in recent years, rising in the league tables to its highest ever position; The Guardian ranks the University the 17th best in the UK. In order to meet the government’s target of educating 25% more medical students, the University decided to create the a medical school in 2018 and will relocate it into a purpose-built facility this spring. It has a range of laboratories, an anatomy suite, and health sciences library. The University has an annual budget of £138m and has 30,000 students, employing 1,500 people. It’s estimated the University contributes over £300m a year to the economy of Lincoln. n

Phase Two of Boultham’s restoration...

Work will be completed in 2021 on the next phase of Boultham Park’s restoration, which will see new activities and events around its lake

Phase one of Boultham Park’s restoration was completed in 2018, and saw a new education centre, café and community facilities created. Phase two was set to be completed in 2020, but work will instead continue this year on the restoration of the park’s lake. The area will be de-silted, fishing pegs will be created, lake edges, seating areas and paths will be improved and facilities for boating will be created too. The second phase of the project will take place as a collaboration between the Boultham Park Advisory Group and Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust.

A Place for the Iron Lady...

The question as to whether a statue in Grantham of Margaret Thatcher is a celebration or an abomination will doubtless depend on your politics. However, to our mind, irrespective of your opinion of her policies, there’s no doubt she put Grantham on the map and remains a famous figure. South Kesteven District Council is currently deciding whether it can underwrite the £100,000 cost of creating the 10ft plinth the statue is designed to stand on. The statue has been created by Douglas Jennings and was privately funded. A decision was made to position it in the former Prime Minister’s home town with a launch event that also recognises the town as the birthplace of Edith Smith, the country’s first female police officer. n

n Boultham Park’s 2021 calendar has been published by the Boultham Park Advisory Group featuring photographs submitted by members of the public as part of a photography competition. The winning entrant is Emily Speed who captured this image of a swan’s reflection as it swam along the soon to be refurbished lake. For further information see www.boulthampark.co.uk.

Lincoln Cathedral Connected

You can fall in love with Lincoln Cathedral all over again this year as spring sees the opening of the new Dean’s Green area...

Below: Lincoln Cathedral’s Dean’s Green reopens after 40 years this spring, enabling even locals who are familiar with the Cathedral to fall in love with it all over again! Lincoln Cathedral is the county’s most wellknown and best-loved landmark, but at nearly 950 years old, efforts to preserve and enhance the building for future generations are tricky, and costly. That’s why this spring’s opening of the Cathedral’s new Dean’s Green and its new visitor centre is so eagerly anticipated. It’s not often that the public is treated to a whole new area of the Cathedral to enjoy, but the area in question has indeed been closed to the public since the 1970s. Previously under the custodianship of Lincoln Minster School, which vacated the grounds in 2012, the Cathedral has, since October 2018, been embarking on a huge programme of restoration to restore the area with the addition of a new reception area with shop, café with indoor and outdoor seating area, plus education and exhibition spaces and community rooms. £12.4m of the £16.5m money needed to complete the work has been from National Lottery Heritage Fund contributions. What’s more, as part of the work the projects (which are known collectively as Lincoln Cathedral Connected) have also facilitated the restoration of Eastgate Wall, Exchequergate’s archway, the Cloister Wall and the Cathedral’s Romanesque Frieze which runs right across the façade of the Cathedral from the west front to the southern side of the building and depicts scenes from heaven, hell and features images from both the old and new testaments. Featuring prominently is the C14th carving of the 11 kings on the Cathedral’s portico.

In addition to the Dean’s Green’s new lawned areas, and its flower beds and seating the gardens, which have been designed by Neil Swanson, the area also features a water feature with poetry from Lincolnshire’s most famous son, Alfred Lord Tennyson. The gardens are also designed in such a way as to direct the eye right to the Cathedral’s Dean’s Eye window.

“It’s wonderful that we can now welcome visitors to the Dean’s Green,” says The Very Revd Christine Wilson, Dean of Lincoln. “The area looks truly beautiful and is a calming and serene place to be. The project has enabled us to protect, restore and open up new areas of the Cathedral for all to enjoy.”

After nearly a year of lockdown, it’s anticipated that when government restrictions are lifted and we’re able to venture out once more, we’ll be able to enjoy the spring and summer sunshine in the newly created area of the Cathedral, enjoying a familiar favourite but in a completely new setting! n