Spalding Guardian’s publisher Johnston Press reported its first increase in operating profit for almost seven years this week in spite of the challenging economic environment.

Ashley Highfield, chief executive of the Edinburgh-based group, said Johnston Press is on track to deliver 
a strong performance in 
2013.

The group, which also publishes the Peterborough Telegraph and The Northampton Chronicle & Echo, saw like-for-like revenues fall 11.4 per cent in the 18 weeks to May 4 with the decline slowing month on month.

Mr Highfield said: “For the first time in almost seven years we are in a position to report a year-on-year increase in operating profit for the period.

“While the economic 
environment continued to be challenging, the implementation of our strategy progressed further with the successful completion of the relaunch of the vast majority of our titles, together with the further development of our digital business and the rollout of new hardware and software to all sales staff and journalists.

“With our reduced cost base and our continued focus on debt reduction, we remain on track to deliver a strong performance in 2013.”

Johnston Press said digital audience growth has continued, with monthly website visitors for April showing a 16.4 per cent year-on-year increase to 11.6m.

The group reported strong growth in digital revenues of 8.1 per cent.

The publisher has relaunched 183 titles and has started rolling out new websites for every title.

A shop owner has been found guilty of selling “dodgy” cigarettes following a county-wide crackdown in the wake of a fatal house fire in Spalding.

Lincolnshire Trading Standards seized almost 1,000 Jin Ling cigarettes in a raid, which resulted in the first ever UK conviction for intentionally selling dangerous cigarettes.

It is believed the cigarettes were of the type which caused a fire in Stonegate, Spalding, which killed 71-year-old June Buffham.

An inquest held last August heard the likely cause of the fire was smoking materials which continued to smoulder.

Since November 2011, all cigarettes produced have to comply with a European Standard which requires them to be self-extinguishing.

The Jin Ling brand found during a raid on Boston Food and Wine Centre in Boston, do not comply with the standard.

Shop owner Shapoor Atiqi (46), was found guilty of eight offences, including the sale of non-extinguishing cigarettes, yesterday.

Emma Milligan, senior Trading Standards officer, said: “During the inquest into June Buffham’s death, the coroner raised serious concerns about the sale of illegal cigarettes in the area, hence why we have been cracking down on sales of this product.”

The raid was carried out in July 2012, when teams were assisted by tobacco detection dog Ozzie.

More than 3,480 cigarettes were seized.

People keen to make a difference to the lives of others are being invited to apply for two vacancies on the board of an NHS trust.

United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust is looking for two non-executive directors with a high level of commitment to patients, carers and the diverse communities of Lincolnshire.

Candidates should have experience of working at a senior level in a large organisation, with a clinical background and recent financial experience.

Non-executive directors are members of the trust’s board who are not employees of the trust or part of the executive management team. They are responsible for constructively challenging and contributing to the development of strategy and scrutinising the performance of management.

The new directors will play a key role in supporting the development of the trust to become a Foundation Trust, and continuing the organisation’s focus on safe, high-quality care.

Paul Richardson, trust chairman, said: “These roles are ideal for anyone who wants to make a difference. Non-executive directors play a key role in shaping hospital services for the future and ensuring that high quality and safe services are being delivered today.

“We are looking for people with strategic thinking, team working and excellent communication skills who are passionate about the continued improvement of local hospital services.

“We are particularly keen to hear from candidates who have a clinical background, experience of working with or in the third sector, or someone with a recent financial background.”

To discuss the role with Mr Richardson, contact his PA Julie Marshall on 01522 573989.

For more information, visit www.ntda.nhs.uk/public-appointments.

The closing date is May 29, with interviews scheduled for June 25.

Mitsubishi claims its Mirage supermini is the first all sub-100g/km vehicle range in the UK and when coupled with a very low asking price, it does seem an interesting option for the budget-minded driver.

It’s not luxuriously finished or especially dynamic to drive but at these prices who’s complaining? Worth a look.

You don’t have to spend too long looking at the engineering of the Mirage to realise that it’s been developed down to a price, with cost of running as a priority.

Therefore it’s not really fair to expect it to be a pin-sharp driver’s car. You get the choice of two engines, both petrol-powered. The entry-level powerplant is a 70bhp 1.0-litre unit. Pay a bit more and you can choose a 79bhp 1.2-litre manual.

The suspension has been tuned for ride comfort rather than handling precision, which is what most buyers need for urban use.

The steering is geared for ease of use at low speeds, which makes parking very easy at the detriment of high-speed precision.

All round vision out of the car isn’t at all bad, with just the thick rear three quarter pillars that affect most superminis earning a demerit.

The Mitsubishi Mirage looks quite smart, if a little unadventurously styled. It’s neat and a little bulbous, in much the same way that most superminis looked five years ago, without the big signature design flourishes of the latest generation of cars. But then if you wanted something like a Renault Clio, you’d probably be paying quite a bit more. There are some nice details though. I particularly liked the deep side sculpting, the very cleanly-styled rear end and the slotted front grille.

The Mitsubishi Mirage is a car that rewards a little perspective. Drive it after stepping out of a Fiesta or a Clio and you may well be left a little flat. Remind yourself that it’s not really gunning for this sort of opposition and look at it in the context of a Dacia Sandero or a Nissan Micra and suddenly it leaps to the fore. It’s not perfect; you may well dislike the steering at speed and the interior doesn’t push any particular boundaries, but there are certainly compensations.

It looks good, the fuel economy and emissions figures are excellent, it’s very keenly priced, you just know it’s going to be metronomically reliable and it’s been designed to work very well in town. We don’t know whether this one is going to do any better than its Colt predecessor, but if you want something a little different and your new car budget isn’t stretching too far, you might find a lot to like here.

News that grand plans for Spalding’s Holland Market are unlikely to go ahead has been given a cautious welcome.

Last week, Corbo, which owns the town centre retail park, revealed it is revising plans due to the tough economic climate but assured residents it is still committed to Spalding and some changes will go ahead.

It is believed the company has been unable to secure a deal with a supermarket chain – which would have provided the central focus of the multi-million pound revamp.

It would also have involved creating a new edge-of-town sports facility to provide a new home for Spalding United – currently based at the Sir Halley Stewart Field – and seen the bus station move from its current site.

But Michael Moran, Holland Market manager, hinted that existing shops could still be “turned round” to face the town centre.

Phil Scarlett, president of Spalding and District Area Chamber of Commerce, said: “I have been expecting Corbo to come back and say that retailers are not expanding and they can’t get the commitment they need, so this news is no surprise.

“I think it could be a positive if Corbo do reconfigure the existing shops and the council do something to move the bus station.

“Everyone agrees the bus station is in the wrong place and the council is in a position to do something about it.

“We have to be realistic, but now it’s about moving forward and not stagnating.

“If those two things can still happen it gives Spalding a chance to compete with other towns and it could be a real positive.

“Instead of having all the debates about the future of Sir Halley Stewart field which we would have been having if the full plans were to go ahead, we can now concentrate on the things that can be delivered.”

EnergyPark boss Chris Williams says building work could start at Wingland in “about a year from now”.

But the company faces two hurdles.

First it will wait three months for the “judicial review period” to be completed – during which time the planning committee’s decision can be challenged – and then it will apply to the Environment Agency (EA) for permission to operate the plant.

It will take a minimum of four months for the EA to decide.

The company’s managing director also revealed around £100million has been slashed from the Sutton Bridge plant’s estimated £300million build cost because it will burn wood rather than general biomass.

EnergyPark’s sister company, Peterborough Renewable Energy Ltd (PREL), begins building a £500million plant at Peterborough in August.

Mr Williams said: “It’s waste to biomass and biomass to energy. It’s a completely different animal to the Sutton Bridge fuel process.”

Unlike opponents, Mr Williams praised South Holland’s planners saying he had been “quite impressed” by the committee.

At Wednesday’s meeting, planning chief Paul Jackson hit back at critics and said all of the comments received by the council were displayed “transparently on the website”.

Speaking after the committee verdict, planning chairman Coun Roger Gambba-Jones said essentially the committee’s decision is about a building and it is up to the EA to decide whether it can be safely operated in terms of emissions.

He said: “It’s now up to the experts at the Environment Agency to do their job effectively.

“It is what they are paid for and what they are qualified to do.”

l EnergyPark has offered a £250,000 a year community fund for every year the plant operates, but Coun Gambba-Jones revealed that is not covered by a Section 106 agreement and is not legally enforceable by the council.

The electricity discount scheme will be legally enforceable and it will have a ceiling of £250,000 for the first five years it runs.

Furious Sutton Bridge residents are ready to call in the local government Ombudsman or go to judicial review after district councillors gave the go-ahead for a controversial “green” power station.

Angry shouts erupted from the public gallery as South Holland’s planning committee gave its verdict on the biomass power station planned for Wingland after deferring it last month for information on a discounted energy supply for residents.

The proposed ten per cent electricity price cut also sparked controversy because EnergyPark Sutton Bridge is offering it to 1,500 homes and businesses and Bridge Against The Incinerator (BATI) chairman Craig Jackson told district planners there are 2,044 homes and 140 VAT registered businesses in Sutton Bridge ward.

He told the planning committee: “It is completely unacceptable that no public consultation on the scheme has taken place with any of our elected representatives regarding its scope, funding or delivery.”

Mr Jackson and Sutton Bridge Parish Council asked district councillors to examine the whole planning application again, claiming key information was “withheld” from them on April 17.

The parish council also asked for the application to be deferred a second time so it could call a public meeting to hear from environmental experts, but the committee gave consent subject to a satisfactory Section 106 legal agreement being drawn up on discounted electricity.

The parish council will hold an extraordinary meeting at 7pm tonight in the village’s Royal British Legion Hall to plan its next step and the public are invited.

Before the planning committee meeting, parish councillor Jenny Rowe mentioned judicial review – and a fellow councillor has since spoken of an approach to the Ombudsman.

Parish council chairman John Grimwood watched Wednesday’s debate in Spalding from the council chamber’s public gallery, but wouldn’t be drawn on the next step.

A couple’s dream of a quiet retirement in the countryside lay in tatters as the planning committee approved EnergyPark’s application by a vote of 8-2.

Stephanie Wheeler and her husband, Kevin, live in Chalk Lane, 300 yards from the EnergyPark site and weren’t told about the biomass plant when they moved in at the end of 2011 despite the council inviting the company to the village at least two years before that.

Mrs Wheeler yelled: “You have just made our home completely worthless – thank you very much.”

And Mr Wheeler told councillors: “We will have you out, we will get you out, don’t worry.

“We have not finished yet. We will go further. We will see you at an inquiry.”

Outbursts were led by a villager who accused the committee of ruining Sutton Bridge.

As committee chairman Roger Gambba-Jones tried to hush protests, the man told him: “We are entitled to speak in a democracy and not be dictated to by little people like you.”

Parish councillor Jenny Rowe and Bridge Against The Incinerator (BATI) chairman Craig Jackson told the committee it hadn’t been given all of the information it needed.

Mrs Rowe said: “We do not object to development on Wingland but will not agree to something that will ruin residents’ quality of life.

“Twenty quid off an electric bill does not compensate for devaluation in property.

“How can councillors be expected to make a decision when all the information is not before them and freely admit they do not understand the non-technical information?

“We appreciate this is the first time you have had an incinerator/gasifier application before you and this application in our opinion is complex and incomplete – there are still many outstanding issues.”

Mr Jackson called for the “full content” of representations made by Natural England – the Government’s own experts – to be given to the committee.

He said a former South Holland councillor and former chairman of The Wash Estuary Strategy Group, Paul Espin, had talked directly to the council planning department about The Wash Biodiversity Action Plan and the need for EnergyPark to submit a “compliant survey”.

He asked: “Has the applicant carried out the survey?”

Mr Jackson continued: “It is the view of many that if the application is approved this evening, that decision should be subject to full investigation by the local government Ombudsman and challenged through judicial review.”

l Paul Espin revealed on Friday that he is considering making his own formal 
complaint to the council, which may go the Ombudsman if it cannot be settled by the council’s disputes procedure.

A cricket bat signed by England legend Ian Botham and fellow sporting heroes like Bill Athey will be a star lot at an auction for Two Lips.

The bat was presented to Sir Ian by the celebrated maker Duncan Fearnley and has been given to Two Lips by bosses at the Indus restaurant, in Winsover Road, Spalding, who had a fundraising Indian meal for Spalding Rotary’s good causes on Tuesday night.

The bat will go to auction on Saturday night at a glittering ball at Spalding’s Castle Sports Complex – and you can bid by telephone if you contact Rotary president Andy Prior on 01775 720607 before Saturday to make arrangements to do so.

The meal at Indus raised £200 for Two Lips and a bucket collection at Sainsbury’s from Saturday to yesterday has also added hundreds to the charity appeal.

Tomorrow night, please join us – the Spalding Guardian – for our Two Lips Quiz at St Norbert’s Church Hall, in St Thomas’s Road, Spalding, but you’ll have to hurry to pick up our £8 tickets from our office in The Crescent.

The ticket price includes fish and chips from Sheddy Turner’s Restaurant and we’re delighted to announce that Barclays Bank will match fund the sum we raise.

On Saturday please donate your unwanted goods to Rotarians who will be outside NatWest Bank for a Two Lips Market Day auction. Donations will be received from 7.45am to 10am and bidding starts at 10am.

Rotarian and retired auctioneer Alan Porter will return to the market the following Saturday for a second auction.

He said: “There’s no VAT and no commission – the hammer price is what you pay.”

Spalding Rotary Club is raising money for some great causes on our doorstep – St Barnabas Hospital Spalding, Spalding Age UK, Spalding St John Ambulance, South Lincs Competitive Swimming Club and Spalding Amateur Swimming Club.

The good causes themselves have been raising money for the campaign and the latest effort includes a £50 donation from Spalding Amateur Swimming Club, which held a pyjama party in the pool.

The club’s John Pailing said the fun session had a serious aim because the club’s young members learned how to stay afloat should they fall into water fully clothed.

Both swimming clubs need cash to fund new equipment and all of the good causes are looking forward to some financial help with their work.

Some events will be staged later and these include a bucket collection at Morrisons, Pinchbeck, from May 20-24.

UPDATE THURSDAY 4PM: Police have today issued a CCTV image of a couple they wish to trace in connection with a robbery in Spalding.

A woman’s handbag was stolen in the early hours of this morning near Gibbons Cycle Shop in Winsover Road.

The man and woman police wnat to trace are described as being both in their 20s, about 5ft 6in tall, slim built and they spoke with English accents.

Anyone with information should call DC Steven Nesbit of Spalding CID on 101, quoting incident nuber 4 of May 16, or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

THURSDAY 9.30AM: A couple stole a woman’s handbag in a street robbery in Spalding in the early hours of today.

The victim, a 23-year-old local woman, was shaken but unhurt in the incident near Gibbons cycle shop on Winsover Road.

Police are now trying to trace the couple involved – a man and woman in their twenties.

The man wore a light coloured hoodie and the woman was wearing a dark coloured, chequered jacket.

The robbery took place shortly after midnight, but the couple were seen earlier in Spalding town centre.

Community policing inspector Jim Tyner said: “Although still relatively rare in Spalding, this is a nasty crime and we need the public’s help in catching those responsible as soon as possible.”

As well as calling police with sightings of the couple – and possibly their names and addresses – witnesses are asked to look out for the pink and black handbag that was stolen as it may have been discared and hold vital clues.

Anyone with information can call Spalding Police Station on 101 or give information anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Put new blood in charge of a business and you have to expect change.

Henry Bingham – at 27 one of the youngest people working in the horticultural industry in the area – has made radical changes since he took over the helm at Crossroads Nurseries at Quadring four years ago.

Henry had been working in the family business for six years before that point, when ill health forced his father Richard to start winding the business down and retire.

However, Henry seized the opportunity to move the business in a new direction to make it more profitable.

Richard had been growing some mint alongside the principal brassica crops, but Henry has increased herb production to 6m plug plants annually.

The nursery is producing four or five different types of mint, rosemary, sage varieties and Henry says they are looking at the possibility of propagating stevia, something not bred to grow in the UK. Once dried, the leaves can be used in food production as a sugar substitute.

On top of that, the nursery produces ¼m primroses, about 200,000 bedding plants as well as a small range of perennials, alpines and bluebells.

Production is across two sites of ten acres each, and each has 2½ acres of glass.

Henry is not standing still and future plans include expanding glasshouse space, putting in a reservoir and exploring energy saving technologies for cheaper heating in the glasshouses.

I farm in partnership with my father on our family farm and I’m also currently treasurer of Spalding and District Young Farmers’ Club.

On the farm we’ve completed planting potatoes, and the sugar beet drilled a few weeks ago is gradually increasing in size. Most other operations are relatively up to date, but late for the time of the year, especially the flower crops.

We are now waiting for the weather to do its thing!

Yesterday evening we had out final Young Farmers’ Club committee meeting of the year, before the Annual General Meeting which heralds the start of a new year. Before this is the finale of the year, the County Rally, which I’m sure many readers will have fond memories of. By the time you read this we will know how well the club has done.

There have been discussion in the press over whether young people should be encouraged into the industry.

As a young entrant I feel there should be more opportunities and encouragement to enter. I’ve been very lucky in joining the family business, but many don’t have that opportunity.

Our parents and grandparents had starter holdings for first steps on the ladder, which seem to have been swallowed up by larger businesses.

Is it time to rethink this policy before we lose a new, keen, younger generation?

The Lord Lieutenant of Lincolnshire Tony Worth officially opened the new Lincolnshire Rural Support Network health screening and advice drop in service for growers at Spalding Auction.

At the same event, poultry farmer and immediate past chairman of Lincolnshire County Council Coun Robert Palmer and his wife Maureen presented a cheque for £925 to LRSN, one of the charities supported during Robert’s term of office.

These cacti, part of the display that earned Southfields Nurseries at Morton – Cactusland – a gold and the Lyn Downes Best in Floral Marquee Award at Malvern Spring Flower Show, range from four to 40 years old!

Varieties that would normally have finished flowering were on display for the first time because of the late spring. All were grown from seed or cutting and most varieties are grown for sale, the rarest kept for display.

The NFU is asking for growers’ views on a proposal for a change in the legislation to allow roadworthy tractors and trailers to travel at speeds up to 25mph with weights of up to 37t (for tri-axle trailers with road-friendly suspension).

The NFU says current regulations are “seriously outdated” and call on members to complete a websurvey at www.nfuonline.com

Thursday: Police say a man was seriously hurt in this morning’s accident on Barrier Bank, Cowbit, when a car ran off the road into a field.

The air ambulance was scrambled, but the casualty – a man of 57 from the Lincoln area – was taken to Peterborough City Hospital by road ambulance.

The accident happened at about 8.30am and the A1073 was closed at its junction with James Road for some time.

A cycling group is putting PEDALS power behind celebrating 30 years of making the streets and paths of Spalding safer to ride.

It hopes to encourage more local families to saddle up for two special Sunday rides being held to coincide with National Bike Week next month.

Chairman David Jones says the group has come a long way since first forming.

He said: “When members first got together the local authority and Lincolnshire County Council thought we were a bunch of nuts and just another pressure group.

“But over the years they have come to regard us as having a constructive input on transport issues in the area.”

One of their many achievements include getting the first blue signs allowing cycle access through the Castle Playing Fields in Albion Street.

Another successful campaign was getting a cycle path through Pinchbeck.

More recently they have also seen new signage on the cycle path from Springfields to the centre of Spalding, paid for with Section 106 money, and new cycle stands around the town.

Mr Jones said: “We feel we are getting there for all the right reasons – cycling saves fuel and it’s a healthy way to take exercise.

“Spalding is in South Holland and, like our Dutch namesake where everyone uses bikes, the landscape is perfect for cycling.

“More provision for cyclists is now being made in new builds and we are consulted on some plans so the future is looking good.”

l The anniversary rides – on June 16 and another on June 23 – set off from the St Nicolas Hall, The Vista, Spalding, at 2.30pm. There is a choice of two – a 20-mile ride to Crowland and back and a shorter route. For more details of the routes and services offered by the PEDALS group, call 01775 722050.

Police are trying to establish how an elderly motorist died after her car ended up in a dyke in Billingborough Fen on Wednesday.

An 86-year-old woman from the area was found in a silver Vauxhall Astra submerged in a dyke on Main Road and police were called to the scene just before 4.30pm.

The woman had already died but it is not yet clear how the car came to be in the dyke and how long it had been there.

Anyone with information should call PC Robin Dunn on 101, quoting incident number 288 of May 15.

A near midnight raid on a garden shed ended in court for a Whaplode man after police caught him walking along the street with a strimmer.

Matthew Rhodes (20) dumped the strimmer behind a hedge, but the police officer found it along with other items taken in the raid, magistrates heard.

Jim Clare, prosecuting, said the policeman was on routine patrol in Stockwell Gate just before midnight on April 22.

He checked the spot where Rhodes dumped the strimmer and found it alongside various electrical items and garden tools.

Rhodes confirmed the items weren’t his.

He was then searched and found to have a screwdriver and a torch.

Mr Clare said a police dog was used to try to trace where the garden tools had come from.

He said: “It’s right to say that, to the defendant’s credit, he identified where the items came from and the property owner confirmed the items were hers.”

Mr Clare said the shed had been left closed but unlocked.

He said Rhodes admitted he had gone out to steal and was jumping over garden fences to look for items in sheds. Rhodes said he was looking for items to sell to pay his rent.

Rhodes, who lives in Stockwell Gate, was sentenced to a six month community order with 80 hours unpaid work.

He must also pay £85 costs and a £60 victim surcharge.

Magistrsates ordered forfeiture and destruction of the torch and screwdriver used in the raid.

Rhodes pleaded guilty to burglary of a shed in Mill Lane, Whaplode, with intent to steal and guilty to going equipped for theft.

Solicitor Mark Hudson, mitigating, told the court: “He has described himself to me this morning as stupid, stupid for even contemplating doing something like this.”

He said Rhodes had worked all of his life up to about three weeks before the offences, but then became very short of money and decided to steal items to sell with a view to paying his rent.

Mr Hudson said: “He has made a very serious error of judgement and he accepts that.”

He said Rhodes was made subject to a police curfew following commission of the offences.

Probation officer Angela Jones gave a the court a pre-sentence report, saying Rhodes worked on markets in Nottingham and “work got a bit hit and miss” three to four weeks before the offences.

A TransLinc driver was fined for failing to report a collision when his passenger minibus and a Ford Transit clipped wing mirrors, causing minor damage to both vehicles.

After some heated words, Dickson Cooper (64) left the scene in East Cobgate, Moulton, to drop off a passenger but returned ten minutes later hoping the other driver had calmed down.

The other driver had gone by that stage but Cooper went to work and reported the accident to his manager, solicitor Daven Naghen told magistrates.

Mr Naghen said Cooper wasn’t trying to evade detection as the word TransLinc was “absolutely plastered” over the minibus.

He said Cooper maintained the accident was not his fault and the other driver was “too far over” when they collided.

Cooper, of Fishpond Lane, Holbeach, was fined £175 and given five points on his licence when he pleaded guilty to failing to report an accident to police on March 9.

He must also pay £85 costs and a £20 victim surcharge.

Prosecutor Jim Clare said neither driver exchanged details at the scene, but the other driver did report the accident to police.

When police interviewed Cooper he admitted being the driver involved.