SPALDING councillor Christine Lawton attacked a company’s plans to extend a care home, saying residents would live in “attic rooms” without a view of the outside world.

Apex Care Ltd wanted to build 19 new bedrooms along with communal areas at The Bungalow Care Home in Park Road, Spalding.

But councillors unanimously rejected the plan, saying it was overdevelopment of the site.

They were also concerned about insufficient parking, the “amenity of the proposed building” and potential impact on neighbours.

The proposed rooms would have been on two floors, with first-floor accommodation housed in the roof.

Coun Lawton told Wednesday’s planning committee the proposal involved boosting the number of bedrooms from 28 to 47 with no extra on-site parking.

She criticised plans for roof lights and obscured glass in windows in the first floor rooms.

Coun Lawton said: “That sounds like attic rooms to me.”

She was concerned for potential future residents and said: “Let’s hope they don’t want a room with a view.

“For the residents of this home, to have that many bedrooms shoe-horned into this space, seems to me to be quite unacceptable.”

Coun Bryan Alcock understood the roof lights and obscure glazing were included to protect neighbours’ privacy, but wanted to know if the planning committee was willing to condone elderly people living in bedrooms with obscure glazing.

STAFF dedicated to working with South Holland’s most difficult families are “ahead of the game” in relation to the relaunch of a government programme this week.

Lincolnshire County Council is being asked by the Government to work with troubled families to help reduce things like anti-social behaviour, drug misuse, crime, school absence and health problems. Government funding will be made available if they can prove they are making a difference.

But the authority says its Families Working Together team is already helping 100 families in the county to turn their lives around.

Children’s services executive Coun Patricia Bradwell said: “We are already ahead of the game in this area. As part of a two-year government community budgets pilot, we have been helping families with complex needs sort out their problems.

“Our Families Working Together pilot has involved working with 60 families at any one time and 21 families have successfully existed the service with their lives turned around. We have worked with a total of 100 families in total.”

Coun Bradwell said the project is helping to save large amounts of public money – potentially £1million annual savings and one-off savings of £5.4million.

Home-Start South Holland will be looking for a new cash injection when a five-year community scheme set up with £282,896 Big Lottery Fund cash comes to an end in August.

Based in Holbeach St Marks, it uses volunteers to provide support, friendship and practical help to families with children under five.

Senior co-ordinator Mary Hutson said: “The Government is targeting families with much higher needs. Our work is to prevent situations in families getting that bad.”

Leader of South Holland District Council Coun Gary Porter is welcoming the Government programme.

He said: “These families are ruining their own lives and are a nightmare for their neighbours. We will support it any way we can.”

RESIDENTS are being urged to name and shame vandals who are blighting the town with their graffiti “tags”.

Several of the spray paint marks have started to spring up in various areas of Spalding, prompting an appeal for anyone who knows the culprits to call the police so they can be given a “verbal slap”.

South Holland district councillor Roger Gambba-Jones has made the call after publishing photographs of some of the tags he has come across on social networking site Twitter.

He said: “This is not a problem I expect to be solved quickly but I would like to try to get on top of it before it gets out of hand and nip it in the bud.

“Publishing pictures of the tags and asking people to identify who they belong to is an approach used by some police forces in other parts of the country, so when I started noticing a few of them on Steppingstone Bridge I thought it would be worth giving it a try.

“I just hope it strikes a chord with people.”

Coun Gambba-Jones is hoping people will call Spalding Police and appropriate action will be taken to educate the graffiti artists about the error of their ways and dissaude them from getting involved in more serious criminal activity.

Coun Gambba-Jones efforts have been welcomed by Spalding Police.

Sgt Stuart Hurst said: “I am grateful to him for trying to help us identify who these people are who are responsible for making the streets of Spalding look a mess.

“We are fortunate compared to some districts, however there is a periodic problem with graffiti.

“The sanctions for those caught committing offences range from restorative justice – making them clean up their mess – to a court conviction and a possible prison sentence,

“We would urge anyone who has any information about graffiti and those who commit to report it at the police station, contact their local policing team, or give us a call on 101.”

A PLUCKY Pinchbeck pensioner was just hours away from staging a ‘Pay and I’ll Go’ protest to get a refund at a Spalding mobile phone shop.

Roger Bullows (69), of Laxton Gardens, said he was prepared to sit in a deckchair in the shop with a flask of coffee and a sign, warning other customers “Carphone Warehouse don’t give refunds”.

However, he said on Tuesday morning before setting off for the shop in Winfrey Avenue, he received a call from the company saying it would refund the money in cash.

Mr Bullows, who is in constant pain from a new hip, said he had gone into the shop nearly a month ago to buy a phone for himself and his wife, Janet. He said: “When I checked my statement they had taken payment for my phone twice. It was only £20, but it is the principle.

“I’ve had to make four journeys to the shop to get my money back and all I got was excuses.

“I was delighted when they rang me to say if I went in they would pay me in cash, but it shouldn’t have been this hard.” Carphone Warehouse’s support service is a ‘Big Promise’ on the firm’s website. A spokesman said: “Carphone Warehouse is looking into this internally but unfortunately will be unable to comment in time for your deadline.”

SOUTH Holland’s GP surgeries have been given marks out of ten in a new system aimed at providing clear information about how they are performing.

Patients can now log onto the NHS Choices website and see ratings and comments left by other users highlighting how well surgeries are doing in terms of how easy it is to get an appointment and how doctors and nurses explain complicated medical conditions and treatments, among other things.

The scores are based on a nationwide survey of more than one million randomly-chosen patients.

It is hoped the new scheme will help drive up standards within GP surgeries as people are able to compare their doctor with others.

Within South Holland, one of the worst performing surgeries for overall patient experience of care, according to the new system, is Munro Medical Centre in Spalding, which received 6.9 out of ten.

Gosberton Medical Centre is one of the best after being rated eight out of ten by patients, with one patient commenting: “This surgery has been fantastic with my care and referrals during a long period of illness, brilliant all-round care”.

The website also offers information about how many doctors work at each surgery, car parking, whether the surgery offers extended appointments and a rating out of ten for opening hours and how long patients wait to be seen.

Those who have taken part in the survey, were asked a range of questions including whether they would recommend the surgery to a friend, whether they are treated with dignity and respect by staff and how easily they were able to contact the surgery by telephone.

Announcing the scheme, Government health minister Lord Howe said: “Patients will now be able to see exactly what the experience of being a patient at each GP surgery is really like.”

But a spokesman for the British Medical Association said: “Reducing surgeries to a score out of ten fails to allow patients to give detailed responses.

“The rating would also fail to take into account the differing challenges that each GP practice may face, especially in terms of resources which are increasingly being squeezed by Government cuts.”

The GP ratings can be found at www.nhs.uk and using the “health services near you” search box.

A SPALDING clergyman says the Church of England could stop conducting all marriages if a new law allows same sex couples to wed in church.

The Rev John Bennett said men and women wanting to get married may have to follow the continental system with a civil ceremony followed by a church blessing.

The Government plans to change only the status of civil ceremonies to allow same sex couples to tie the knot by 2015.

But the Church of England fears Government moves to exempt church ceremonies will not be tough enough to survive legal challenges in courts.

Mr Bennett, from St Mary and St Nicolas, says the union between a man and a woman – together with the procreation of children – is enshrined in the church service.

He said the end of church marriages for all would “not be a first response” but suspects that “could be the way that we go”.

Mr Bennett said Church of England rules do not allow him to bless a same sex union in church although he would consider doing so if requested in the couple’s home.

The Rev Rosamund Seal, priest in charge at Moulton and rural dean of the Elloe Deaneries, said marriage for most couples is about their love for each other and wanting to be together.

Mrs Seal said she would not want clergy to go against their conscience and conduct same sex marriages in church, but felt some priests might want to do it.

She said: “In principle, I think I would do it after a long conversation with the couple but I would not do it without the support of my parochial church council.”

Two men from Moulton Chapel, Mike Crafts (58) and Charles Woolford (72), hit the headlines in 2006 when they became the first gay couple in South Holland to enter into a civil partnership.

Mr Crafts said marriage would give them no additional legal rights and they are happy as they are.

He said: “From our point of view it showed the world we were truly committed as a couple and that we belonged to each other.”

MONDAY: Well-known stock car driver Steve Newman was killed in a race at Mildenhall on Saturday night.

Steve (37), from Town Drove, Quadring, died after his car hit the central reservation, rolled and somersaulted over.

Race organisers said other drivers had no option but to hit the upturned vehicle.

Steve had been racing since he was a boy of ten and won the 2002 English Championship for stock cars.

See tomorrow’s Lincolnshire Free for the full story and tributes.

You can leave your tribute by commenting on this story.

LEGENDARY strongman Geoff Capes is urging the people of South Holland to pull out all the stops to welcome the Olympic torch next month.

Three-times Olympian Geoff, who was born in Holbeach, says the occasion will be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the district.

Geoff, who competed in the games in 1972, 1976 and 1980, said: “To take part in the Olympics is the ultimate for any athlete.

“It’s what you look towards as a youngster and to see the Olympic torch, and what it means to the sport and all it stands for, coming through the district is something that should not be missed.”

It is not yet known if he will be among the crowds lining the streets on Wednesday, July 4, as he is recovering from a hip operation, but Paralympian Sally Reddin and commentator for the Olympics Stuart Storey, who also come from Holbeach, are planning to be there.

Nominated local heroes will carry the Olympic Torch through Market Deeping, Thurlby, Bourne, Spalding, Moulton, Whaplode, Holbeach and Long Sutton.

School children, as well as members of the public, are being encouraged to welcome the torch bearers.

Nick Worth, South Holland District Council deputy leader, said: “This will be a really special occasion for the district and one which I am sure will capture the interest and imagination of all of our communities.”

A HOLBEACH woman has spoken of her fears after thieves broke into her home while she and her family were sleeping to search for keys to steal her new Mercedes C Class car.

Jane Francis (58), of Netherfield, had her car stolen from the front of her home in the early hours of Wednesday morning. It was found two days afterwards abandoned outside a primary school in Anne Road, Sutton Bridge.

Mrs Francis had parked her car on the drive on Tuesday because there was a problem with the garage.

She said: “My husband works shifts and he had fallen asleep downstairs and was there when the thieves broke in.

“The keys were hung out of direct view from doors or windows in the kitchen. My old Collie dog was in the kitchen. He’s 15 and all he does is sleep now – a couple of years ago he would have barked to warn us.

“What frightens me is what might have happened if the thieves had not been able to find the keys.”

Husband Gregory (54) was disturbed about 4am by the noise of a green car carrying three young white males leaving the area at speed.

As it was light, he called up to his wife to see if she had gone out early. Their son, Simon, was also asleep upstairs.

Jane said: “That was when we realised the car had been stolen. Now it’s been found I still feel sick to my stomach because I don’t know why the thieves did it. That stays with you.

“We are installing CCTV around the house – I just hope the police catch them now.”

A police spokesman said: “We term these as ‘Hanoi burglaries’, where the sole purpose of breaking into the house is to steal the keys to the car.

“Generally, burglars are only interested in the keys. If they weren’t able to find them, they would probably grab other valuables to make it worthwhile then move on. There are no instances in Lincolnshire that we can recall where any occupants of the home have been threatened to obtain the keys.

“As far as crime prevention goes, the best advice is to garage cars securely and, if not, parking high performance cars in front of less desirable vehicles can also help.”

Anyone with information about the theft can call police on 101.

A CONTROVERSIAL tyre sorting and bailing plant in Sutterton is to go ahead after a planning inspector swept aside villagers’ concerns.

Envirotyre UK Ltd had an application to change the use of a haulage yard at Reed Point turned down by Lincolnshire County Council last November, but the decision was overturned after the company appealed.

The county council’s decision to refuse the application had been based on concerns of fire risk, contamination and a potential adverse impact in nearby homes, as well as highways issues.

The plans had been opposed by Boston Borough Council and more than 200 villagers living near the proposed site handed over a petition signalling their opposition to it.

But planning inspector Keri Williams ruled in Envirotyre’s favour on appeal, stating in a written report that in his view the “material effect” on nearby homes would “not be sufficient to be unacceptable”.

He noted that the development would generate similar levels of lorry traffic to the haulage operation previously run from the site.

He conceded that some noise and disturbance was likely but pointed out that hydraulic bailers were “relatively quiet” and conditions could be placed on planning permission that would mitigate the potential for disruption to residents.

But on the grounds of fire risk and pollution matters Mr Williams noted that neither the Environment Agency or Anglian Water, which runs a drinking water reservoir close to the site, had objected to the plan.

He said a call from Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue for an appropriate strategy to be in place to deal with any fire could also be dealt with through planning conditions,

Mr Williams added that the development could “contribute to the reduction, recycling and sustainable treatment of waste”.

A NEW class called Bokwa Kids has started in Spalding.

The class offers a special cardio fitness regime incorporating African dance, aerobics, light boxing, kickboxing, step and circuits for children aged seven to 11.

Classes are held at Polka Dot Academy, Westlode Street, on Mondays from 6.45pm to 7.30pm

Places must be booked and the class costs £3 per session.

To book a place or for further details call the academy on 01775 712359.

NINETEEN children from Quadring Cowley and Brown’s Primary School sailed through their Bikeability training with flying colours.

Instructors from Lincoln’s Sincil College put years five and six pupils through their paces with two days of training, which included testing the roadworthiness of their bikes as well as safety gear such as helmets.

Following trials in the school playground, pupils set off on a route around the village to test they were able to put into practice everything they had learned.

Headteacher Nicola Wilkinson said the children are now cycling with greater confidence.

MORE than £90,000 will be spent to maintain a “prevention is better than cure” approach to tackling homelessness in South Holland.

The district council prides itself on having very low numbers of people without homes thanks to “joined up” work between its dedicated homelessness staff, housing team and outside agencies.

It has now been awarded £92,923 by central Government to keep up the good work during 2012-13.

The money has been earmarked for use in a number of ways, including debt advice services at Citizens Advice Bureau, which gives information to homeowners and tenants who are in difficulty with mortgage or rent arrears.

Women’s Aid South Holland, which supports victims of domestic violence, and the council’s Rents and Advance Deposits Scheme, which helps people secure properties in the private sector when facing homelessness, will also receive funding.

Loans to assist homeowners who are struggling to pay their mortgages and avoid the prospect of losing their homes can also be provided thanks to the funding.

Such projects help save the council money in terms of providing temporary accommodation and other services that are needed in emergency situations.

The council is also able to part-fund taking Zest Theatre’s hard-hitting Until It’s Gone production to schools to show 15 and 16-year-olds the harsh realities faced by young homeless people in Lincolnshire.

Coun Christine Lawton, executive member for housing, said: “The grant we receive is a vital resource in our approach to alleviating the housing difficulties experienced by a wide range of households.

“South Holland has one of the lowest rates of homelessness in Lincolnshire thanks to the proactive work in assisting and intervening when people are struggling.”

SPALDING magistrates issued a warrant for the arrest of a man who failed to attend court on Thursday to answer a charge of possessing amphetamine.

Robert Tillin (33), of Medlock Crescent, Spalding, is also accused of two offences of committing an offence while on a conditional discharge.

SPALDING Grammar School has confirmed it is in contact with an exam board after two students experienced a problem with their Ethics and Philosophy A Level paper on Thursday.

The Lincolnshire Free Press had been led to believe they had been entered for the wrong paper, but headteacher Nigel Ryan denied that was the case, saying: “Two students had unexpected difficulties when they found that the type of questions were different from what they were led to expect.

“The school is following this up with the exam board to ensure the students are treated fairly and is keeping them informed, together with their parents.

“The students were not entered for the wrong exam. They were prepared fully for all the questions on the exam paper, but the teacher also suggested that there would be questions on another topic that they would be able to answer on this paper.

“The two students decided to prepare to answer this topic and so were thrown when questions on that topic did not appear, because it is not examined by this particular paper.

“All the issues are being dealt with by the school.”

MORE than 20 pupils from a Spalding school are facing a last minute rush to redo coursework towards a Science Btec qualification after a problem was discovered with the way they had been taught.

The 15 and 16-year-olds from the Sir John Gleed School boys’ campus are being given extra support to improve their work after routine checks found that many of the assignments they had already submitted would result in them achieving much lower grades than the school believed them capable of.

The news comes just weeks after a teacher at Peele Community College, Long Sutton, was discovered to have falsified grades for GCSE English coursework which students had never been asked to do.

The headteacher Ian Charles is currently suspended from his duties amid concerns by the board of governors about standards of achievement.

The Gleed boys now have until the end of term, next month, to complete and submit their improved efforts.

Headteacher Janet Daniels said she was committed to ensuring all students achieved the best possible results and that was one of the reasons the students had been asked to do the work again.

She said: “When it came to doing a routine assessment of the coursework we started asking questions about why the students’ grades were so low and we found it was because the work was not good enough and that was because the teaching was not delivered to standard.

“We are now making them up their game. We are not blaming them for the problem, because it is clearly not their fault, but they now need to pull their fingers out to complete the work. I am sure they will rise to the challenge.

“We are at the end of the exam season now so they do not have too much else on their plates between now and the end of July so they can concentrate on what they need to do.

“There has never been any question of them completing the course, it’s just that we want them to complete it to as high a standard as possible and reach their target grades.”

Mrs Daniels confirmed that since the problem was discovered the teacher involved has been signed off work suffering from stress and will not be returning for the new school year in September.

MORE than one in five Lincolnshire women aged between 25 and 49 is turning down the chance of a free life-saving test that could detect and prevent the onset of cancer.

The county is ahead of many other areas for cervical screening – commonly known as smear tests – but health chiefs would like to boost the figure so more lives can be saved.

NHS Lincolnshire’s health improvement principal Ann Ellis said: “Late diagnosis of cancer is the biggest contributing factor to poor survival rates from cancer in England, so when you are invited for a cancer screen don’t ignore it.”

Some 77 per cent of county women aged 25-49 years were screened in the last three-and-a-half years compared to a national average of 73.4 per cent.

The uptake for Lincolnshire’s older women is better with 81.7 per cent of those aged 50-64 years being tested over the last five-and-a-half years compared to a national rate of 79.9 per cent.

Ms Ellis said smear tests allow doctors to find abnormalities in a woman’s cervix – the neck of the womb – which could develop into cancer if left untreated.

l More than a third of women aged 25-29 years in the East Midlands are failing to have smear tests.

EMERGENCY services were called to Tydd Lane, Sutton St James, at 1.45pm on Monday when a lorry overturned into a ditch.

Fire crews from Long Sutton, Holbeach and Norfolk freed the 54-year-old driver from his cab.

Police say the man went to hospital in King’s Lynn with back pain.

The road was closed after the accident and while the lorry was recovered.

A HOMELESS sex offender was found a place in a bed and breakfast last year by “the authorities”.

But he was in court on Thursday for failing to tell police about that change of address within three days.

Wade Gasper (53), of Norman Mews, Bourne, was conditionally discharged for six months by Spalding magistrates when he pleaded guilty to failing to comply with a condition under the Sexual Offences Act.

Marie Stace, prosecuting, said Gasper was placed on the Sex Offenders’ Register at Lincoln Crown Court on November 3, 2006 for having “indecent images”.

On October 28 last year he was found accommodation where he stayed for 11 nights.

Gasper told police about the address after he had left the accommodation and said he didn’t do it sooner because he hadn’t enough money for the fare to Stamford Police Station.

Solicitor Rachel Stevens, mitigating, said Gasper only expected to stay at the bed and breakfast for a couple of days and was found a place there by the council, “the authorities”, who passed on his details to police.

Mr Stevens said there had been no offending and no hint of him presenting any kind of risk.

A STOCK car driver has died following a crash witnessed by his eight-year-old son.

Steve Newman (37), of Town Drove, Quadring, died after his car hit the central reservation during the early stages of the Saloon British Final at Mildenhall, Suffolk, on Saturday evening.

His cousin Andi was competing in the same race and was one of the first on the scene.

Steve’s stepmum, Cheryl Pitts, said: “Andi actually tried to get him out of the car. We know he was trapped for quite a long time and had to be cut out.”

Race organisers say Steve’s car rolled and somersaulted over, leaving other cars no option but to hit the upturned vehicle.

The mother of Steve’s two children and his ex-wife Kelly said telling Billy (8) and six-year-old Charley that Daddy had gone to heaven was the hardest thing she had ever done, particularly on Father’s Day.

But she said stock car racing was Steve’s life, adding: “It was the way he would have wanted to go if he had the choice. He would not have wanted it any other way.”

Kelly and Steve split after six years of marriage four years ago but remained in close contact because of the children.

She said: “Billy loves racing as much as Steve and he was standing right in front of the crash when it happened.

“The first I knew was when a friend rang in tears. I just knew what had happened. I said ‘he’s dead isn’t he?’

“Billy knew Daddy had been taken away in an ambulance but I wanted to be the one to tell him the awful news.

“They have cried and asked lots of questions. Billy said ‘I just want my Daddy back’. We are just taking it minute by minute but they are obviously very upset.”

Kelly and Billy have talked to Steve’s dad’s Mick since the accident to make preliminary funeral arrangements.

Although times are yet to be confirmed it is likely to be held at Gosberton Church on Monday, July 2.

Billy intends to make his dad proud and give him the best possible send off by arranging a procession of fellow stock car drivers to the church and leading the procession himself in a miniature version of Steve’s car.

Kelly said: “Judging by the amount of people who have contacted me already, the funeral is going to be huge.”

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