Forum for residents of St Georges Park and Long Leys Road Lincoln

[john shipton]

There was a public meeting in the West End of Lincoln last night arranged by the West End Residents Association. It was well attended and under discussion was the former Carholme Public House and the future of the Grandstand and horsing racing for the West Common.
There is a planning proposal which is to turn the pub into appartments for students. The developer and his minder was at this meeting and tried to get his way by speaking about a non existent bail hostel for the building and declaring that student accommodation was much better than a bail hostel. The guy was caught out in what he said - the technique of divide and rule. He failed to mention and take note what Lincoln University had said to WERA of over 1,000 vacancies in the city of Lincoln regarding student housing accommodation within the communities.
Now with horse racing...
Karl McCartney appears to be corresponding with certain members of his party who are city councillors and a few officers at City Hall. He has not responded to questions raised by our ward councillors. He has not responded to the questions raised in the Lincolnshire Echo. He has not responded to e-mails or letters sent by local residents.
The meeting last night decided that he should to be invited to a public meeting organised by WERA where he can speak about his proposals in bringing back flat horsing for the West Common. There will be a question and answer session as well. He will be asked to bring the Business Consortium from London who are backing his plans with upto twenty million pounds.
What has emerged is that one of his advisors is associated with the York Racecourse.
The financial package is from private enterprise which is believed to have the backing of Conservative councillors as there is no money in the kitty from Lincoln City Council for horse racing or maintaining the Grandstand. He has spoken to them and Conservative ward members.
It apears that most of the common will be used for horse racing as the Business Consortium will want a financial return for the money they are investing.
The right to roam will be affected so once building of the course commences and finished, there will be limited access to the West Common for security reasons and to stop vandalism of the buildings to be built and to be established.
A lot of the land on the common is not suitable for the purpose of a racecourse and will need to be either seeded or turfed. This has been due to neglect. This will affect dog walkers who will not be allowed on it (dog mess, etc).
The biodiversity of the common will be affected as well as with the wild life.
The white rails will be permanant for the main course with railings elsewhere as with most racecourses in the UK. It will have to have a tarmac road round the main course and tarmaced footpaths.
From having a word with Market Rasen Racecourse myself, a new racecourse for Lincoln will need buildings, viewing areas, at least two grandstands, a hospitality building and enclosure, practice runs for jockeys and their horses, etc, etc.
It will require new stables for competing horses so the stables currently used behind the grandstand will have to go, together with the horses from the common who currently use half of the stable complex with Carholme Golf Club using the half.
It means that the horses that graze on the common at present will have to go elsewhere as there is nowhere else for them to go during race days. It has been said that the horses using the common will no longer be able to do so because of the new railing system being broken by the horses and the course being churned up by them.
It will need parking faciliies.
Carholme Road will have to close during race days. Access to this will be from the western bypass whereby Long Leys Road will be used to take traffic to and from the city centre.
Those not wishing to pay for car parking will most likely use the roads on Long Leys Road area and there is nothing can be done to stop it as most of the roads have no double yellow lines.
To protect the new racecourse will require high security fencing all around.
A lot of trees will have to go. So possible with the footpath going from Long Leys Road gate to West Parade gate. Recreational use could become a thing of the past.
The appearance of the West Common will dramatically change if flat horse racing returns to Lincoln.
Regarding the Granstand in its current state, City Hall claim that there is no money available to maintain it. It was said at the last Full Council meeting that £1.2m is required to bring it up to scratch. At WERA's meeting the figure was given at £2m.
City Hall claim that there needs to be a change of use to be made from racing but will not say to what. They claim it could be used for all sorts of things. But the Grandstand has been used for many things and is now a community centre. On Fridays, it is used a a mosque for muslims.
To change useage, they wish to change the 1985 Lincoln Commons Act which protects the three commons in Lincoln. The Conservative ruling group wish to lay aside £100,000 as legal fees to change this Act of Parliament ( tax payers money). What they appear not to understand is that this money can be used to bring the Grandstand to a standard of repair, especially the outside appearance. But they dispute this, so George W from WERA, who knows the ins and outs of the Grandstand very well ( and the West Common), is going to do his own costings, and what needs to be done.
Now the Lincoln Commons Act allows horse racing on the common, hence point to point racing that was. But the council has left it too late for its return as this has now gone to the Lincolnshire Showground.
Once people begin tampering with this Act, what is to say is next to follow in using the legal profession?
The West Common was given by King John for the people of Lincoln to use, and that includes you and I. City Council has deliberately cut its maintenance budget for years on end in so called looking after the three commons.
It has replaced the Victorian drainage system (which was working) with another drainage system which does not work, hence the flooding on the three holes used by the golf club and the man made lake nearby. City Hall has made consistant errors in allowing the neglect to continue as with the Grandstand.
So please come to WERA's meeting as what happens to the West Common, will affect yourselves.

[john shipton]

I have challeged the Conservatives on the issue of the Grandstand and the West Common together with another resident.
Se below...

COME CLEAN ABOUT WHAT'S GOING ON AT GRANDSTAND - The Lincolnshire Echo

Monday, March 16, 2009, 07:30

SO the City of Lincoln Council is to consider changing the 1985 Lincoln Commons Act so the Grandstand can be used for purposes other than horse racing (March 7).
The cost of legal fees put aside by the Conservatives is up to £100,000. The previous Labour ruling group tried to change the Act for park and ride in the mid-90s and the legal costs spiralled out of control. The council eventually dropped the case.
The Grandstand has been used for years as a community centre for Lincoln.
It is used for weddings, recreational activities, group activities, meetings of all sorts, blood transfusions, consultation meetings, youth activities and each Friday as a mosque for 400 muslims.
Mick Commons, the open spaces representative, has said that as the Grandstand is a listed building there are grants available to keep it from going to rack and ruin. So why is the council not going down this route?
I believe there is another reason why the council wishes to change this Act of Parliament and the ulterior motive will not only affect the Grandstand but the West Common and the other two commons in Lincoln as well.
What are the real reasons behind another attempt to change this Parliamentary Act and why will the council not explain?
Could it be that the Grandstand is a burden to them, as with other community centres?
Why do they wish to increase hire charges by 200 per cent for community centres?
Once these charges take effect and people can no longer afford them, then the council has an excuse to close down community centres like the Grandstand – and could the Grandstand then be sold off to private enterprise?
To improve the appearance of such a famous building, I suggest the Conservatives spend the £100,000 on it and forget changing the 1985 Act which is there to protect the West Common and the other two commons in Lincoln.
Tory prospective Parliamentary candidate Karl McCartney, his advisor associated with York Racecourse and the business consortium from London should now make known what their intentions are in converting the West Common back to flat horse racing.
The residents living in the Long Leys Road area of Lincoln, near the West Common, would like to know.
JOHN SHIPTON
Member of Long Leys Residents' Association and Lincoln Commons Advisory Committee.

Why won't politicians tell us the full story about the plans they have for the Grandstand in Lincoln?
The commons are one of the great natural assets for the citizens of Lincoln and we must fight for their preservation and not let them be taken from us for commercial or other uses.
No-one should try to pull the wool over our eyes – councillors must be honest with the citizens of Lincoln and to tell us exactly what their plans are.
VIC HUGHES Lincoln.

[john shipton]

News update with the West End Residents Association's invitation for Karl McCartney to speak at their meeting.
WERA has sent him an e-mail but he has not responded so far and neither has he acknowledge in receiving the invitation.
If he does not respond, WERA will go ahead with details of the meeting and it will be upto Mr McCartney to attend or not.
There are many residents wishing to ask him a lot of questions about bringing back flat horse racing to the West Common and its implications, etc, etc.

[john shipton]

The Conservative PPC for Lincoln, Karl McCartney, has failed to respond and has never replied to the West End Residents' Association's invitation to speak to the local residents of his plans to bring back horse racing to the West Common.
Because of this, The Carholme Community Forum decided to invite the London business consortium behind the scheme to one of their meetings to explain their intentions for the former Carholme racecourse. They have not replied either.
Letters sent to the Lincolnshire Echo requesting plans about bringing back forse racing to Lincoln have had no replies also.
So people living in the Carholme Ward have been considered not worthy of any explanations and have been totally ignored by both Karl Mc Cartney and the business group.
To make matters worse, Lincoln City Council are pressing ahead to deregularize the 1985 Lincoln Commons Act which protects the West Common and the other two Lincoln commons, using the Grandstand as an excuse for a change of use. City Hall refuses to provide and give the real reasons behind this. In other words, people are being fobbed off regarding City Hall's intentions and plans.
All of this is being monitored very closely and WERA has decided to take the lead in pursuing these matters.

[jojaney]

I have been talking to other school mums who are really concerned about the proposed loss of Common land, and feel shocked that this is something they have been kept in the dark about, and they want to take action before it is too late.

What action should people take? There is a desire from the West Enders that i have talked with, to put notices in windows to develop awarenesss. How about Common land for Common activities as a slogan? Can you tell me what people should do? Is it worth writing to David Cameron or Gordon Brown?

Please can you fed back what if anything West End mums can do?

Are you aware of how many groups use the Common? These are the ones i can think of, are there any more?
The boy scouts Beavors group
ST faiths & St Martin's hold two cross country races annually
The Minster school hold monthly cross country races .
Boys football
University football
Sunday league football
Cricket

Thanks

[SteveW]

Wait until we have all been surprised that the old SEC Education Centre has been designated for the site of a new Mosque, then we can add that to the petition as well because I'm sure it's only a matter of time before some do-gooder thinks that would be a good idea !!!!!!!!!!!

[john shipton]

News update on the West Common...

Karl McCartney did eventually speak at the Carholme Community Forum of which I sit and serve (LLRA). He mentioned that he and the Lincoln Racecourse Trust would be pursuing the project of bringing back professional horse racing for the West Common. As the City of Lincoln Council has no money for this, the money pledge so far comes from a consortium of private businesses who have a vested interest in horse racing. Two members of the Trust are associated with the racecourses at Beverley and York, and are consultants. Some members of the Trust are financial advisors. What was missing is the Master Plan (yet to be finalised) which he claimed would be released and given to Lincoln City Council for discussion and approval, etc, and a date given was to be September 2009. The project began in 2004 and would be completed in 5 years.
Mr McCartney throughout this year has spoken to a number of organisations one of which was the Lincoln Civic Trust. A similar presentation was given and a date which the Master Plan was to be published was the middle of October 2009. The last date given to the West End Residents Association for release was the end of October 2009. Nothing has materialised todate.
Now the City of Lincoln Council under the Conservative ruling group wish to change the 1985 Lincoln Common Act which protects the three commons in Lincoln. They are the West Common, the South Common, and the Cowpaddle. They claim that this change of use is for The Grandstand. This has been challenged and what is disturbing is that £100,000 (taxpayers money) has been put aside by City Council for the purpose of legal proceedings. What is equally disturbing is that members of the Shadow Cabinet have said if they win the next General Election a number of Acts of Parliament will be repealed. The question arising, could the Lincoln Commons Act be one of them?
Now there is a plan outstanding, and still pending, to put a public road right across the Cowpaddle.
The West Common had a cricket pavilion for amateur cricket on the West Common. This was burnt down by vandals and never replaced even with the building which was insured by Lincoln City Council. City Hall claimed on the insurance but spent the insurance money elswhere. The cricket pitch is well used by cricketers. Now an amateur cricket club still using the cricket pitch on the West Common has raised funds for a new pavilion. The club is called The Carholme Cricket Club. Their request has been turned down. The reasons are not clear. City Hall's refusal is now being challenged. An explanation given by officers at City Hall is that the West Common is common land and a new pavilion cannot be built on it(the foundations of the previous pavilion still remains on site).
However, people outside of Lincoln, have approached City Hall to extend the tennis courts which are on the West Common. Sources given to WERA so far is that a private company is involved who want to build a Centre for Tennis Excellence on the cricket pitch. A car park will be included.

Update on the former SEC site...
Nothing has changed since councillor Robert Parker posted his comments on the St Georges website.

If residents on the Long Leys Road area are concerned about the future and use of the West Common, its preservation as an open space, and protection, please contact your city councillors for Carholme Ward, and your local County Council councillor. Please also contact the local MP. Makes your views and comments known.
They are Karen Lee (City) 01522 546065 karenlee@hotmail.com
Neil Murray (City) 01522 546065 neilmurraymis@hotmail.com
Helen Heath 01522 881291 helen.heath@lincoln.gov.uk
Robert Parker 01522 880848 cllrr.parker@lincolnshire.gov.uk

[john shipton]

Karl McCartney has informed the Lincoln Civic Trust that the Master Plan to bring back professional flat horse racing for the West Common, will be presented to the City of Lincoln Council in about ten days time.
Told might be a Christmas present for Lincoln or something for the New Year to consider!

[SteveW]

After reading Mr Shiptons politically biased letter in Todays echo, I can't wait for horse racing to return.

In fact I bet £5 EW they must already be under STARTERS ORDERS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[deb]

Until there is something official put to planning there is not much can be done re approval or disapproval as objections or agreements would have nowhere to be directed and nothing to tie up with within City Hall.

However, it does not mean that people cannot get ready. The Facebook site posted previously has been set up by Karen Lee for people to see and discuss the latest and, vice verce, if people want racing to return they can see how their views could be argued against - or not. As far as I am aware there are no facts available yet but more a discussion on some of the rumour and what could/could not be done if it were to become a part of a planning application.

[Jeff]

Steve
Good for you that you can't wait for horse racing to return to the West Common. If that's what you want, then that is your point of view. I do not want horse racing for this common. I agree with Shippo want he wrote in the Echo. By the way, when I have talked to him on the common, his politics are neither extreme left, left, centre left, extreme right, right wing, or centre right. He with his sense of humour is more like the Monster Raving Loony Party which sadly no longer exists.
Having lived in this area to sometime, this is before Shippo came and before when you came later, as a yellow belly, I know more about Lincoln than you do. This includes the common which you wish to change. There are many like me who don't and one word which stands out the most is called DEVELOPMENT.
I also read the Echo and suggest that you read one of your councillors' comments:-

Common ground for concerns over racing

Wednesday, March 17, 2010, 06:30
5 readers have commented on this story.
Click here to read their views.

I MUST respond to Councillor Marc Jones' letter March (8) regarding horse racing on Lincoln's West Common.

I am by no means alone in being concerned about this issue. I am representing the views of a great number of local people who have contacted me – something I have been democratically elected to do.

I have retained contact details of these people for my own records. Furthermore, the Facebook group I started now has 234 members signed up.

This campaign is not premature. The city's Conservative Parliamentary candidate Karl McCartney has spoken of the plans in his political flyers for some time.

The plans have been widely discussed locally – Mr McCartney has attended the Carholme Community Forum last September – and Mr McCartney also held a surgery at the church hall on West Parade in January where this was the topic of discussion.


The minutes of the Carholme Forum meeting clearly state that: "Mr McCartney said that he had met with Tory councillors to fill them in on the details of his plans. Under his plans, a lease would be given by the council to International Racecourse Management to run the show. He went on later to explain that a large area of the common, around the track, would be enclosed".

There were 16 people at this meeting, including three city councillors and one county councillor.

I would ask the following questions of Cllr Jones:

Firstly, which Tory councillors has Mr McCartney met to discuss this?

Secondly, at the public surgery in January, Mr McCartney said that all residents would be consulted on their views about this. Neither myself, nor any of the other local people at the meeting, have yet received that consultation paperwork. Will local people in Carholme be consulted should concrete proposals emerge?

Councillor Karen Lee Carholme Ward (Lab); Chairman, Carholme Community Forum.


Now can you discuss on this forum and I'm sure with other residents on how horse racing will improve what we don't have for our Urban Village?

[Neville]

the answer to the question is nothing. why? at the moment the common is free to use and roam. security fencing topped with barb wire will be put up around the perimeter. entrances will be sealed off. long leys road will be used as a relief road. spectators will use our roads for free parking. i will be told by security officers to bugger off if i try to go onto the common. i will be told walk my dog elsewhere.
i could try to rent my driveway to motorists but then the council will not like that. probably need a planning application for that while horse racing won't. the council has messed up with community facilities promised. nothing! they will mess up our common. end of my comments. anything else to discuss.

[Jeff]

I have noticed in the Lincolnshire Echo that Karl McCartney has not replied to issues raised by Mr Shipton, one issue particularly about using the West Common for professional horse racing. Instead, the Tory Leader of the City Hall made a few remarks while a member of the Lincoln Racecourse Trust did the same. So why has not Mr McCartney the courage to respond. I believe he is hiding something which he does not wish to disclose. So is the Tory run council.
So to Steve who wants horse racing for the common without realising that Long Leys Road will be used as a relief road, please read this taken from the Echo today. And a note for Mr Shipton, please keep up the good work. Oh by the way way back in the 1960s City Hall earmarked the West Common for a new council estate despite the common being given to the people of Lincoln. But another site was chosen instead which was the former RAF aerodrome called RAF Skellingthorpe. It is now called the Birchwood estate. It is a good job that the West Common and the other two commons are protected by the 1985 Lincoln Commons Act which the Tories wish to change.


Take heed over trying to use city common
Thursday, April 01, 2010, 06:30


GREAT news for John Shipton (March 15) regarding the proposal to take over the common land of West Common in Lincoln for a racecourse.

Five years ago, the small seaside town of Redcar in Yorkshire was threatened by its council that the common land of Coatham Common would, in conjunction with said council and Persimmon Homes Ltd, be turned into 350 houses and various leisure outlets.

The council deemed that while this land had been given to the people by a wealthy benefactor many years ago, it was now used as a golf links and was therefore no longer common land.

The residents reiterated that while their pursuits of walking dogs and riding horses stopped as a matter of safety and courtesy while golf was being played, it remained common land for all to enjoy.

The council arbitrarily erected 7ft-high steel fencing around the common, to prevent further access, and maintained a police presence with the warning that intruders could face prosecution.


The fence was opened and the residents entered once again to walk their dogs, and one man even took up residence on the land by erecting a tent.

He resided there for 30 days, until the tent went 'missing' and was later recovered from the council offices.

After subsequent court actions, undertaken against the council by the residents' association, they lost their appeal.

But, later, they had the case taken before a new court, which ruled on March 3, 2010, that this common land was for their recreational usage in perpetuity.

There is an interesting 71-minute video showing this farce from beginning to end, produced by the Friends of Coatham, and can be seen on http://www.pancrack.tv/coatham/html

Karl McCartney and the City of Lincoln Council, who collectively envisage turning the West Common into a racetrack, take heed.

An almost identical scenario to that of Redcar's happened in Windsor, Berkshire, when that council decided to build upon the common land that is known as Batchellor's Acre.

The courts again found against the development and ordered all buildings to be demolished and the site repaired for the free use and enjoyment of the public.

John Bennett Meadowlake Crescent, Hartsholme.