Les Bonner

Residents of the section of Broadway opposite the school and Children’s Centre can soon expect to have hard surfaced parking spaces close to their houses following alterations to the grassed area.

This will make it safer for the school children using the school, and will also give residents a more secure place to park their cars.

An application for planning permission has been submitted, and it is hoped that the work will commence early in the new financial year which starts in April

Arial”>Residents of St. Ives Crescent should also have similar improvements to their car parking spaces made in time for next winter.

This will avoid the mess we have had this year which was caused by cars being parked on the wet grass.

Your Ward Councillors have used some of the Ward Funding to ensure that this area will receive priority.

Recently, there have been concerns raised about the locations of bail hostels.

Some national newspapers recently listed the postcodes of the location of these bail hostels

Like many other local councillors, I was concerned, but I was relieved to find that the only bail hostel in N E Lincs is situated in DN32, which is not in the Yarborough Ward, but this was not good news for anyone who lives in the DN32 postal area.

This morning on the Telegraph website they have revealed that the bail hostel is in Park Ward, but this still worries me because I believe that it is wrong that your local councillors did not know, and neighbouring residents were not consulted before it opened.

According to the Telegraph the nightmare of living close to a bail hostel has been revealed for the first time by a desperate Grimsby resident. 

The man, who did not want to be identified, has spoken out after a catalogue of frightening incidents near his home.

He lives in the same road Grimsby bail hostel, which is one of about 200 set up across the country without any public consultation.

Council officials, police and probation are notified, but councils have no right to veto the hostels unless they breach housing and planning rules.

The Telegraph knows the building, which houses suspects on bail, tagged criminals and convicted offenders, is in the Park Ward of Grimsby, but has decided not to release the exact location to avoid creating more problems for local residents.

The man says that living close to the bail hostel is “the worst thing in the world”.

He is so fed up with the behaviour of its residents that he has posted leaflets through the door of every home in the immediate are warning about it.

He said: “We fear for the safety of our lives and home every day. This bail hostel is sucking the life out of us.

“Life is stressful enough – why do we have to be burdened with unnecessary stress and worry?”

During the past two months, problems the resident claims he has encountered include:

• A high-risk burglar at the hostel.
• A heroin addict being housed there.
• Numerous cases of fire damage.
• Residents having no regard to neighbouring properties.
• Loud rave music in the early hours of the morning.
• Bail checks throughout the night.

The resident says that homeowners were not consulted before the hostel was opened.

“This is a serious issue and we and all local residents had every right to know that this was being planned,”

“We get woken up at all times of night, people hang about outside our home, there are always drunk people around and there are constant examples of anti-social behaviour.”

The resident, who has lived in his home for two years, became aware of the hostel in May 2008, and says that no homeowners were told about the plans until it was up and running.

His concerns have prompted my Liberal Democrat colleague, Councillor Steve Beasant, who is also North East Lincolnshire Council’s portfolio holder for communities and neighbourhoods, to campaign for the hostel to be moved.Councillor Beasant says:

“I firmly believe that it is wrong that the Government do not consult on where they are placed.

“People who are going to be put back into the community from prison need to be integrated back in a controlled manner.

“For residents to have their power to object to this bail hostel taken away is totally wrong.

“I believe the Government is taking away people’s democratic right to object to schemes which are impacting upon their everyday life and well-being.”
Councillor Beasant has urged anybody who is concerned about the hostel to write to him. He will then use any letters he receives to campaign the Government on behalf of the residents.Write to Councillor Beasant 51 Columbia Road, Grimsby, North East Lincolnshire, DN32 8EA or email steve.beasant@gmail.com

Many members of the Family, along with friends and fellow councillors paid their respects to the late Kathleen Mary Little, as she was laid to rest at St Pius X Church on Chelmsford Avenue, followed by a committal at Grimsby Crematorium

Mary, who was the Liberal Democrat councillor for Grimsby’s Yarborough ward died suddenly at her home, in Cambridge Road, Grimsby, on January 14.

Among those present were North East Lincolnshire Council leader Andrew De Freitas, the Mayor of North East Lincolnshire, Coun Colin Eastwell, and a host of ward councillors, including myself

The service was conducted by Father James Earley

Mary’s sons, Tim and Richard, and grandsons, Carlton and Lewis, were in attendance at the funeral, and Richard gave a eulogy.

“We are all devastated by the sudden loss of our mother,” he said

“Tim and I are thankful to have loved and known her

“She always strove to do the best she could and with much sacrifice

“She was particularly proud of what we achieved

“She worked to do the best that she could for her ward and for the wider community and she made her mark.”

Fr Earley added: “We give our praise and thanks to God for the gift that was Mary.”

Afterwards, the there was a celebration Mrs Little’s life at the Fisherman’s Arms in Cleethorpes

Friend and fellow councillor Norma Lincoln said afterwards: “It was a wonderful service and Mary would have been very proud to see all those people there. The ceremony was befitting of Mary.”

Coun Doug Pickett added: “It was a fitting tribute to a fabulous lady and she will be sadly missed.”

Many members of the ward attended the funeral to pay their respects to Mary, who will be sadly missed.

It has been a privilege to work alongside Mary in the Yarborough Ward. Mary has been a tremendous help and support to me since I became a councillor, and she will be sadly missed. I hope that those of us who now have the job to carry on in North East Lincolnshire and the Yarborough Ward can maintain the high standards that Mary has set for us.

More than half of all hardened and violent criminals are not being given a prison sentence according to a new Civitas report, which severely criticises the Government’s claims to be tough on crime.

The Institute for the Study of Civil Society (Civitas) suggests that any future increase in crime will not be due to the recession, but to “the Government’s failure to imprison serious, violent and persistent offenders”.

The Civitas report shows that 60% of offenders, who have been convicted on more than 15 previous occasions, are not sent to prison after being convicted of a serious, indictable offence in a Crown Court..

The report also found that more than 70% of criminals convicted for “violence against the person” offences in 2007 were not given a custodial sentence by the court.

Civitas has shown how the number of robbers sent to prison has fallen from 72% in 2002 to 54 per cent in 2007.

David Green, director of Civitas, said: “The Government has predicted that crime will rise as a result of the recession, but on past performance increased unemployment will make only a small difference.

“Not many of the former employees of Woolworths, for example, are likely to become house burglars or car thieves”

It is far more likely that the Government’s failure to imprison serious, violent and persistent offenders will be the direct cause of any increase.”The report also found a big fall in the number of serious criminals who were jailed, down to just 24% of all serious offenders.

If the same sentencing standards as 2002 had been applied in 2007, an additional 10,000 criminals would have been in jail rather than being “free to endanger members of the public”, according tothe report.

The study also shows that fewer than 15 in every 100 criminals who were cautioned or convicted for a serious or indictable crime were given immediate custody.

In 2002 143,000 cautions were issued. In 2007 the figure increased to 205,000. The report said: “The typical attitude of criminals is that they “got off with a caution.

Fewer burglars are being jailed than ever before, with only 39% of burglars being given an immediate prison term, compared with 45% in 1997.

Liberal Democrat Shadow Justice Secretary, David Howarth added:

“Some serious and repeat offenders are not being brought to justice, while drug addicts and the mentally ill are languishing in our jails. 

If they were moved to more appropriate secure accommodation, sentences could be dished out to fit the crime, not to fit prison capacity.”

Tory MP Derek Conway has been told to apologise and pay back the money he falsely claimed for his son from his expenses, and now his whole career has been thrown into doubt by Harriet Harman, the leader of the House of Commons.

Conway was suspended from Parliament last year and told to pay back the money that he had paid another of his sons.

The Justice Secretary Jack Straw could also face an inquiry over a £2000 donation given to his 2005 election campaign by a Saudi Arabian owned company, Westminster International Consultants, as the companyhas never traded in the UK, which is against electoral law.

Straw also received £3000 from Lord Taylor, who has recently been accused of accepting cash in return for influencing legislation.

A third man, Arif Patel, who runs a clothing firm in Preston also donated £2,000 to the same campaign. Mr Patel is currently the subject of an ongoing police and customs investigation into an alleged multi-million pound VAT and counterfeit goods fraud.

If the Electoral Commission decides that Straw broke the rules he too may be asked to apologise in the House of Commons and pay back the donations.

Derek Simpson, of the Unite Trade Union was speaking on the “Today” programme on Radio 4

Mr Simpson said that the current strike at the Lindsey Oil Refinery was a result of a practice seen at other factories, whereby foreign contractors “exclude UK workers from consideration”, and questioned how they could afford to pay workers from abroad at fair rates, on top of transport and accommodation costs. Read the rest of this entry. Read the rest of this entry. Read the rest of this entry. Read the rest of this entry. Read the rest of this entry.

There was a piece of good news for the residents of Immingham with the announcement at the Regen and Housing Scrutiny Panel of after plans were announced for a new 30,000 square foot superstore in Kennedy Way and for other improvements to the Kennedy Way precinct.

Outline plans for the site, together with drawings, were revealed at the meeting by chartered surveyors Dresler Smith working on behalf of landlord Wellway Properties Ltd.

Proposals, which will have to go out to public consultation and a formal planning application, include:

• Demolition of buildings from Poundstrecher to Coral Bookmakers and from Barclays Bank to Leisurama.
• Creation of a new 30,000 square foot supermarket
• A new parade of shop units
• Building of new bus facilities at Pelham Road with an enhanced pedestrian access and visibility to the new supermarket and shops
• Potential to re-site business premises for all existing tenants as required
• A new 319 space car park
• Refurbished mall and public spaces

A shop will open shortly on Kennedy Way to showcase plans as part of a public consultation prior to an outline bid for planning permission on the site.

This is a very early stage in any development, but it is pleasing that all concerned have met to discuss the way forward for Kennedy Way. It is a potentially exciting development for the people of Immingham and it is clear that the outdated 70s precinct of Kennedy Way needs updating.”

David Dresler, for Dresler Smith, said: “This is a substantial and exciting development which will create numerous jobs for the people of Immingham. We very much see this as an opportunity to regenerate the town centre and give the local economy a much-needed boost.”

Commenting on today’s Ministry of Justice figures showing that a record number of prisoners were released early last month under the scheme to ease prison overcrowding, Liberal Democrat Shadow Justice Secretary, David Howarth said: “Today’s record releases are the direct result of this Government’s spectacular mismanagement of the prison system.”

“If our jails weren’t chock-full of the wrong kind of people, dangerous criminals would not have to be released early.

“The overcrowding crisis is not going to just go away. Ministers must tackle reoffending and move drug addicts and the mentally ill into more appropriate secure accommodation.”

According to www.publicservice.co.uk , the claim by Gordon Brown and Alistair Darling that the UK is in a better position to fight the financial crisis and the recession than most other countries is a “lie”, according to Vince Cable, the Liberal Democrats’ economics spokesman.

Vince Cable the Liberal Democrat Treasury Spokesman was commenting on a report by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) which said that it would be at least 20 years before the UK’s public sector debt returned to pre credit crunch levels. This report repeats the opinion of the International Monetary Fund that the recession in the United Kingdom will be worse than any in other developed nation.

The IMF report predicts that Britain’s economy will fall by 2.8% whereas Darling claims that the figures will be between 0.75% and 1.25%.

Mr Cable said:

 ”This report exposes Gordon Brown’s lie that Britain is well placed to deal with the recession. Huge levels of personal debt and overreliance on the financial sector has made this country vulnerable.”

Responding to today’s publication of Lord Carter’s report into the future of the digital economy, Digital Britain, Liberal Democrat Shadow Culture, Media and Sport Secretary, Don Foster said: “The Government made a lot of the right noises today, while failing to take any tough decisions.”

“Instead of a serious strategy we’ve been offered another round of reviews, strategy groups and consultations.

“Ministers have shown a complete lack of ambition. Without twenty-first century digital infrastructure our creative industries will struggle to remain world leaders.

“The digital economy offers enormous opportunities to help this country out of the current recession. Sadly, rather than grabbing that opportunity we’ve been offered a damp squib of a document.”