NEWS The best ‘good news’ stories

Tricky Ricky is Magic Online...

LOCAL MAGICIAN’S SHOW IS SIMPLY MAGIC... EVEN OVER THE INTERNET!

BOURNE First you see him... then you don’t... because, like the rest of us, magician Ricky Locke has been forced to temporarily hang up his magic wand during lockdown. Happily though, the resourceful sorcerer has discovered the magical power of the internet to host online magic shows to entertain the public during lockdown. “The whole thing started off with me just doing a couple of tricks on YouTube back in April,” says Ricky. “Then I thought about trying to connect more people. That mission started and I began doing some online shows.” Ricky began performing over 15 years ago at which time he was working as a store manager for retailer Argos. He’s since been performing full time at corporate events and weddings, but unfortunately the advent of lockdown has made the number of gigs he can perform at magically disappear. “It’s quite ironic really that I’m a close up magician who

can’t perform within two metres. It’s a really different way to get a bit of engagement and try to cheer people up. People have told me it's cheered them up and that it was better than watching the TV!” n See Ricky’s tricks at www.rickylocke.co.uk.

LOCAL NEWS

In Brief

A METHOD OF PEST CONTROL THAT’S JUST NOT CRICKET...

Nassington Cricket Club has been plagued by badgers digging up their pitch. Having tried conventional cures, the club’s Bill Taylor sought the advice of Hamerton Zoo who suggested, of all things... spreading tiger dung across the pitch. Now badger free, the club is facing a new challenge... getting rid of the smell! n

Stamford in Bloom...

MORE THAN 40 STEP FORWARD TO BRIGHTEN STAMFORD TOWN CENTRE TOWN WITH BEAUTIFUL BLOOMS

STAMFORD Coronavirus had delayed the Stamford in Bloom group from carrying out their amazing work, but founder Ann Ellis is now busy buying plants again, planting up flower beds and pots around the town with some of her 40 strong team of volunteers. A Facebook appeal has brought a fresh wave of volunteers and with the prospect of the town centre re-opening, Ann is keen to see a re-start of the scheme she started three years ago. “I have always loved flowers, and don't have a garden of my own, so helping to plant up the town is a real joy!” n stamford18bloom@gmail.com.

CAWTHORPE, NR. BOURNE

A traditional, yellow stone Grade II listed farmhouse dating back to the mideighteenth century with outbuildings in old red brick, all under terracotta pantiled rooves. Featuring overhead beams, fireplaces, stone and timber floors, sash windows and original internal shutters, it is full of character and has been sympathetically modernised to provide a charming, comfortable family home. Outside, the property sits within mature and delightful grounds. There is a landscaped front garden and a west facing lawn garden bordered by mature trees. A spacious gravel drive provides a large parking area both in front of the stable block, and to the back on the extensive crew yard.

OWSTON, NR. OAKHAM

Almost at the top of the hill in the centre of the village of Owston set amidst glorious rolling Rutland countryside, is an immaculate, three bedroom property dating back to the 1700s. Beautifully restored, modernised and maintained, this peaceful place affords wonderful views over farmland with a charmingly landscaped, sheltered garden capturing the sun. Inside, the house is light and airy enhanced by the neutral décor with old overhead beams painted white, and with considerably large windows. Outside, the gorgeous garden is a true asset to the property. The house and terrace stand above, creating the perfect view to enjoy it and the countryside beyond.

SOMERBY £875,000

Beautifully presented, individual detached stone property providing flexible character accommodation with Annex situated in a picturesque village and enjoying countryside views. 2 Rec. Rooms, Study/Snug, Kitchen/Diner, Utility, Clrkm, Wine Cellar, 5 Bedrooms, 4 Bathrooms; Dbl Garage, Dbl Car Port, Parking, South-facing Garden. Energy Rating: D.

SOUTH LUFFENHAM £750,000

Stunning detached family residence providing extensive, flexible accommodation set on a large plot with Dbl Garage, ample Parking and delightful private Gardens in a sought-after Rutland village. Dining Room, Sitting Room, Study, Family Room & Breakfast Room, Kitchen, Utility, Clkrm, 5 Bedrooms, 3 Bath/Shower Rooms. Energy Rating: C.

NO CHAIN

BELTON-IN-RUTLAND £745,000

A delightful period Barn Conversion offering versatile family accommodation which is presented to a high standard throughout, offering a combination of modern living with traditional character, situated on the edge of a highly regarded Rutland village. 2 Reception Rooms, Study, open-plan Living Kitchen/Diner, 5 Bedrooms, 3 Bath/Shower Rooms; off-road Parking, private landscaped Gardens. Energy Rating: E.

ASHWELL £745,000

A beautiful Grade II listed detached period cottage situated on an enviable, very private plot of approx. 0.5 acre and offering extensive family accommodation, full of quintessential country charm and inherent character, set within glorious gardens and grounds in the heart of a desirable village. 3 Rec. Rooms, Farmhouse Kitchen, 5 Bedrooms, 2 Bath/Shower Rooms; Dbl Garage, parking. EPC Exempt.

EMPINGHAM Guide Price £500,000

**A PRIME SITE FOR RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT (STPP)** A great opportunity has arisen to purchase a site extending to approx.. 0.4 A in the centre of this premium Rutland Water village. At present, the accommodation comprises a 3-bedroom detached dormer bungalow located in good-sized gardens and grounds with a stone barn located within the grounds. The site has great potential to be redeveloped, subject to obtaining the necessary planning consents. Energy Rating: TBC.

STAMFORD £420,000

Attractive detached property offering well-presented accommodation with Dbl Garage, off-street Parking and good-sized Garden set in a popular residential area of the historic market town of Stamford. Lounge, Dining Room, Study, Breakfast Kitchen, Utility, Clkrm, 4 Bedrooms, En-suite Shower Room, Family Bathroom. Energy Rating: C.

Guide Price £585,000

Guide Price £550,000

Main Street, Sutton Bassett

A substantially extended character cottage with a fantastic garden, overlooking open countryside in a popular Market Harborough Village.

Guide Price £550,000 St Mary’s Road, Manton

A characterful, stone village property with generous proportions and open plan living spaces with an excellent sized rear garden.

Offers Over £450,000

Glebe Road, North Luffenham

A fully renovated, character cottage with modern, open plan living spaces, stunning views to the South and mature gardens. Main Street, Wardley

A charming, grade II listed, quintessential thatched cottage, bursting with character with a beautifully mature garden and lovely views over the countryside.

We’re Open for BUSINESS

As Stamford and Rutland emerge from lockdown, businesses and residents alike are pondering what this brave new world will look like. One person who remains faithfully convinced of the area’s ability to make a rapid recovery is Kelham Cooke, Leader of South Kesteven District Council...

Words: Rob Davis.

A S ANYONE who has had a birthday during lockdown will appreciate, these are strange and sometimes lonely times. Kelham Cooke is Leader of South Kesteven District Council and last month he blew out 30 candles in a celebration that was perhaps more subdued than he would have anticipated for such a milestone birthday. But celebrations can wait - there’s a job to do first.

As we write, central Government had just announced that, along with shops and non-essential businesses, the hospitality industry, theatres and other businesses on our High Street can reopen on 4th July, just as Pride goes to press.

Cause for optimism that may be, but it’s now that the hard work really begins. The UK will need to rebuild its town centres and support local businesses who may not even be sure they will have businesses to return to, post-lockdown.

It’s during such unprecedented times as these that people – residents and business owners alike – look not just to central, but to local government for leadership and direction. That means Kelham, leading the Council, needs to have a convincing strategy for returning the area to some semblance of normality. With that in mind, we spoke with Kelham to pose the question: What happens next?

“We try to get back to a more normal way of living and working,” says Kelham. “With optimism but a sense of caution, too.” As the Council’s Leader, Kelham is distinctive in a couple of respects. For a start he’s younger than your average Council Leader - not the youngest in the country, but certainly more youthful than most senior staff in local government.

Secondly, unlike many in local government positions who segue into local politics from other professions or sectors, Kelham’s career has always been firmly focussed on the twin worlds of community leadership and politics.

Educated at Stamford School and Nottingham University, where he read Business and Economics, Kelham’s first job was working for Waitrose, taking charge of the retailer’s Community Matters green token scheme both from head office, and closer to home in Stamford.

Kelham said: “I met so many people in the community, so many volunteers, who worked incredibly hard to make where they live a better, kinder and more compassionate place. I developed a real respect for them, and they made me realise how essential that sense of community is. I also found it rewarding to be out and about rather than always being stuck behind a desk. This all coincided with a friend asking if I would help to distribute leaflets for the 2010 General Election. I agreed, and before I knew it, I was standing for election myself later that year in the local elections. It wasn’t part of any great plan, more a case of serendipity.” >>

“I was 20 years old when I was first elected and in my final year at university too, so it was interesting switching between canvassing and studying. Like most people, I had a good basic understanding of local government, but I didn’t fully realise how pivotal the role of councils such as South Kesteven is to creating the right environment for happy, healthy communities.”

“But I had fantastic support, with training from South Kesteven District Council in public speaking, effective communication, and problem solving. The job is hard work but incredibly rewarding. I can’t imagine getting this range of experience, knowledge, and skills in any other role.” “Grantham meanwhile has tremendous military and architectural heritage, but much of it is hidden, or not obvious to those who don’t know the area. It has great transport links and lots of good employment opportunities. When I think of Grantham, I think of unfulfilled potential, something I’d like to address as Council Leader. In fact, when it comes to all four of our market towns, and our 80 villages, fulfilling potential so that our communities really do thrive in different ways that work with their histories and needs of those who live there, is central to what I want to achieve.”

Kelham says he tries to keep in touch with the people on the ground who drive community spirit and support their local communities.

“I often get comments about my age, about being a young councillor, People like Sarah Sewell of Energy Clothing who also coordinates but I’m far from alone in that respect. If being a youngish Leader the Shop Stamford group, Louise Marsh of Evergreen Care Trust, of a council encourages other people from the younger generations and Michael Thurlby of Knead Pubs. There is a real sense of locals to get involved in local government, that’s great, because they are and Stamford’s business owners wanting to see businesses open the future. But there is a need for people from all generations and once more. all walks of life to get involved because democracy works best when those who serve, collectively, reflect the communities they represent, there is strength in diversity.” The hospitality sector, as an example, employs 3.2m people nationally - the third largest employment sector in the UK after the healthcare sector - which employs 1.9m In 2015, five years after being elected, Kelham people including 1.45m in the NHS - and the was invited to join the Council’s Cabinet, and in 2017 he was elected as Deputy Leader. “Stamford is a sociable town, MOD which employs 250,000 civilians and military personnel. The sector has a turnover When former SKDC Leader Matthew Lee and I think everyone would of £130bn but 99% of hospitality businesses resigned in September 2019, Kelham was elected Leader and was immediately faced acknowledge that they’ve missed are SMEs, and for that reason it’s the most vulnerable sector of the economy. with the task of steadying a council that had been rocked by a tumultuous few months. The Council has a staff of over 500. It has 56 the opportunity to just go out; to have lunch with friends and Stamford’s large number of independent retailers and its independently owned pubs and restaurants are an example of the kind of councillors, a population of over 150,000, family to just enjoy a walk businesses that need the support of locals, in about 60,000 households, and four market towns - Stamford and Grantham, Bourne and around the town centre...” that period after lockdown more than ever. But Kelham believes the population will Market Deeping - as well as 80 villages. naturally support their local business commu“South Kesteven as a district is resilient, and nity alongside its strong hospitality sector. though both are successful, Stamford and Grantham are different “Stamford is a sociable town, and I think everyone would towns with different needs. Stamford benefits from being a great acknowledge that we’ve all missed the opportunity to just go out; to town for visitors, and its town centre has a mix of local and national have lunch with friends and family, to just enjoy a walk around the businesses, meaning that it’s a very good town centre in terms of its town centre, and to grab a coffee at one of the many wonderful tea diversity of retailers and its night-time economy, all of which helps and coffee shops.” to generate footfall. Recently I visited the town on market day and spoke with some of the traders, who all felt that same sense of cautious optimism and desire to get the town trading normally once more.” In spring, central government was faced with a Hobsons-esque choice of either protecting lives or prioritising the economy. Inaction would have meant the protracted occurrence of Covid in our communities. But politicians and their advisors were also all too “Stamford is also lucky to have at its heart the Burghley House, and aware of the consequences of the bad medicine of lockdown. together with its architecture, it remains a beautiful visitor town. Equally relevant is the character of the population, who are keen to see the town thrive and to protect its character and livelihood.” A recession now seems inevitable, some businesses won’t survive, growth will stagnate, and jobs are likely to be lost across the UK.

Right: Kelham met Tim Peake in the area when the astronaut returned Flower of Kent returned to Woolsthorpe from the International Space Station. Kelham joined other cabinet team members last year to swim 128 lengths and raise £1,000 for charity.

There’s no panacea; each town or city in the UK will face its own recovery challenges, hence every local government must formulate its own devolved strategy for post-Covid recovery.

South Kesteven was recently awarded £126,000 funding for supporting the recovery of the district. This poses the question of what practical measures Kelham and his team can take to stimulate a return to normal trading.

“Everyone knows it is not going to be easy to recover from the impact of Covid-19. As a Council, we have acted swiftly to support our local businesses, getting grants and rent and rates relief where it was needed in record time. The team at SKDC rightly earned national recognition for its swift response.”

“We also established the SK Community Hub and our Befriending Service in the first few days of lockdown to ensure that support for the most vulnerable was co-ordinated and delivered through an army of volunteers as well as council staff. And we maintained our waste collection service throughout. It may not sound like much, but we’d have a whole different public health issue without this vital service.”

“But throughout the last few weeks, we have also had our eyes firmly on the future. We have kept the momentum going with developments across the district, including St Martin’s Park in Stamford, and the sensitive restoration of the former Ambulance Station in Elm Street, both of which will bring employment opportunities to the town which is essential for a strong economic recovery.”

“When we went into lockdown, I’d been Council Leader for just eight months and our Chief Executive, Karen Bradford, started on 2nd March... just 21 days before lockdown!”

“As well as fighting Covid-19, we have been working on a new Corporate Plan which along with an amended budget, will clearly set out our vision for South Kesteven, which will form the basis for how we move beyond Coronavirus.”

“Councils have to take a holistic approach. We have to look at housing, the environment, our performance, and the economy. By doing so, we create the right conditions for success.”

“That is why when we talk about the phased reopening of our town centres, we talk about balancing the need to protect public health with the need to restart the local economy. These are not mutually exclusive; they are mutually dependent – you can’t really have one without the other. So we have been working with businesses to provide guidance and support, have extended free car parking in council-run car parks, reopened the public toilets with strict Covid19 safety measures in place, and provided signs and posters around our towns to remind people of the need to stay safe.”

“Hopefully, this will help to minimise the risk of a second wave which will, in turn, feed into the next important role of a District Council; to encourage a sense of confidence in the area.”

“To support this, we’ve also created social distancing champions; volunteers who can be out in the community to offer advice and to see that guidance and best practice is being followed.”

“Their role is not to police the town centre, but to highlight any problems or pinch points, so that we can take action or flag issues to our colleagues at Lincolnshire County Council, or Lincolnshire Police. The whole aim is to encourage people to feel safe and to get people back into our town centres.”

“I’ve found it so good to be able to go out once again and to interact with people - albeit maintaining the recommended safe distance. Ensuring that people have the confidence to do just that, but also ensuring that it’s as safe as possible, is both a priority and a way of ensuring that the recovery of the district will be as swift and as safe as possible.”

“I have to commend every one of my colleagues for how they’ve worked,” says Kelham. “Whether they’ve been maintaining the provision of local services or working from home, everyone has worked really hard to ensure the district can continue to offer its residents and businesses the quality of services and the sense of community that we’ve come to expect from the area.”

“My life during lockdown has been one of conference calls with central government ministers, weekly ‘crisis’ meetings, formal committee meetings every week or two, and the usual full council meetings which take places every month or two – although through the use of technology we’ve had to get used to almost overnight.”

“We seem to have adapted well to working remotely but we’re also keen to return to a sense of normality in our working lives. In-between all this, I’ve rediscovered cycling.”

“I’ve had some great rides out in the countryside. I’ve no interest in cycling competitively but I’ve enjoyed the opportunity to get some fresh air and, of course, enjoy the surrounding countryside... it’s been a nice reminder of what a beautiful place the district is in the summer months. I just hope that we’ve a few more weeks postlockdown when the weather will be kind so that we can all getting out and about, enjoy the fresh air and sunshine, and enjoy the safe return of our town centres, and all they have to offer.”

n Kelham is leader of South Kesteven District Council. Follow the council on their Twitter and Facebook feeds for the latest news and guidance post-Covid.