New technology is being fitted at threecouncil owned buildings to help preventenergy from being wasted.

The council is committed to reducing its carbon emissions andis always looking for new innovative ways to fulfil its commitment.

This month, Power Perfector technology will be fitted into theGuildhall, the leisure centre and the multi-storey car park.

It is one of the fastest-growing energy saving techniques on themarket, which will ensure the correct voltage is used, reducing thebuildings’ energy requirements.

Installing the equipment will make immediate savings of£13,100 a year.

It will also contribute to the 15 per cent of carbon savings, thecouncil is expected to make by March 2014.

Cllr Jackie Brockway Chairman of the Community and WasteCommittee welcomed the news.

She said: “West Lindsey District Council is committed to reduc-ing its carbon emissions by 15 per cent by 2014.

“As the Lincolnshire Council with the lowest carbon emissionsof 1966t in2008/2009, it will bechallenging.

“VoltageOptimisation is just

West Lindsey District Council

THE INTERNAL NEWSLETTER FOR MEMBERS OF WEST LINDSEY DISTRICT COUNCIL

The Councillor

We’re leading the greenrevolution

Making a Difference

JUNE 2010

We have a new Chairman in Cllr Owen Brierley who hastaken office from Cllr Jessie Milne. See page 2 for a review

of our last fantastic civic year.

New man

in the

chain

New move will save£13,000 a year

� Turn to page 2

Keep flying the flag high for West Lindsey -that is the message to the new chairmanof West Lindsey District Council.

It came from Cllr Jessie Milne as she handed over her chain ofoffice to her successor, Cllr Owen Bierley.

Reflecting on her 12 months as chairman of the council, shesaid it had gone by too quickly.

She said: “The role of the chairman is to keep WestLindsey in the forefront of everyone’s mind and I willmiss not being out there telling people what a greatplace West Lindsey is.

“I have met a lot of interesting people and Ihave been fortunate to visit places that noteveryone gets the opportunity to visit.

“I would like to say a big thank you to every-one who has supported my civic functions formaking my year so enjoyable.”

During her year as chairman Jessie hascarried out a wide variety of functions includ-ing: � Promoting the regeneration of Gainsboroughand surrounding areas by inviting civic heads ontours� Greeting visitors and leaders from our twinnedCouncil of Neunkirchen,� Attending a special service to mark the First Armed ForcesDay � Welcoming Her Royal Highness,The Princess Royal to theLincolnshire Showground and West Lindsey District, when sheofficial opened the Epic Centre.� And also His Royal Highness Prince William who visited thehospice near Lincoln.� Visiting schools around the district and inviting them to holdschool council meetings in the council chamber.

Cllr Milne was also invited to Buckingham Palace for theQueen’s Royal Garden Party.

Speaking of her visit she said: ”It was an honour and a privi-lege to be invited to BuckinghamPalace, where I was accompaniedby my son Richard.

“We enjoyed a splendid day,despite having heavy rain andhail in the late afternoon.”

Cllr Milne has used her time inoffice to help raise money for thelocal branch of the AlzheimersSociety, based at GainsboroughHouse.

She said: ”I chose to supportthe charity to raise awarenessbecause it is surprising just howmany families are affected by this

terrible disease. “It is a worthwhile cause and I hope more people are aware of

what alzheimers is, how it affects loved ones and where peoplecan get help.”

Throughout the year, she managed to raise £1,365for the Alzheimers Society through charity events

and draws during her term of office.Cllr Milne said that one of the most hum-

bling visits was during a visit to RAFCranwell.

She assisted the Lord-Lieutenant ofLincolnshire by hosting a table at hisreception for service personnel who hadbeen deployed on operations during 2008-2010.

She said:”It was an opportunity to recog-nise the vital contribution that each of the

invited servicemen and women have made tothe Armed Forces. “It was very moving and what struck me was

how humble they all were.”Over the last 12 months, Cllr Milne has hosted the

Civic Service, the Civic Carol Service and the Civic Dinner.“I would also like to express my gratitude at the hundreds of

invitations I received during my time in office.“I thoroughly enjoyed the numerous plays, musicals and vari-

ous community events,I have been privileged to attend.”Reflecting on the wider district, Cllr Milne added: “I am really

proud of what we at West Lindsey have achieved and are stillachieving.

“I wish the new Chairman the very best of luck and I am surehe will keep flying the flag high for West Lindsey.”

� In picture (above) Jessie is dressed to impress at BuckinghamPalace.

Members’Newsletter2

Jessie flewthe flagwith style

Cllr Milne hosted a number of high level tours ofGainsborough during her year in office. Pictured here at

Laura Ashley in Marshall’s Yard are Regeneration ServicesManager Suzanne Fysh, Diane Hare, escort to Helen Colton,Chairman of Basselaw District Council, Wendy Stephenson,

manger of Laura Ashley, Helen Colton and Jessie herself.

� From page 1one of the projects we have identified in WestLindsey’s Carbon Management Plan that willreduce our carbon emissions significantly,which is why we’ll be installing it at three sitesthis month.”

It is estimated that the installation of the equip-ment will help make carbon savings of 77 tonnesagainst our target of 500 tonnes by March 2014.

The council has teamed up with fourLincolnshire councils to sign a joint contract withPower Perfector to deliver the scheme. Theyare: Lincolnshire County Council, which trialledthe scheme, City of Lincoln Council, BostonBorough Council and South Kesteven.

Steve Golightly, senior sustainability and cli-mate change officer for Lincolnshire County

Council said: “You cannot put a cost on the lossof the electricity supply to any site.

“Power Perfector ticked all the boxes, not sim-ply on a technical basis, but also in terms of theproject management and objective verification ofsavings procedure.

“The tender process emphasised PowerPerfector’s uniqueness in the market, and weare pleased to award them this contract.

“The roll out of Power Perfector technologyacross Lincolnshire will significantly contribute toour carbon targets as a whole community.”

The result of rolling out the technology acrossLincolnshire will be an impressive carbon savingin excess of 530 tonnes and financial savings ofmore than £88,000 a year.

How we’re cutting our fuel bill and carbon footprint

THE CommunicationsTeam has taken respon-sibility for marketing theTrinity Arts Centre.

Dwindling audiencenumbers have been amajor cause of theCentre’s difficulties anda new approach has nowbeen adopted.

C o m m u n i c a t i o n sManager Geoff O’Neillsaid: “In the past wehave spent a lot of timeand money producingglossy brochures that we

sent out to the converted- people who alreadyuse the centre.

“We are now activelysearching for new audi-ences by using tradition-al methods like postersand fliers and new mediaincluding our website,Twitter and Facebook.

“It is no longer goodenough to put an advertin the paper and sendout a brochure. We haveto get information in frontof people when they

want it and in a format inwhich they want toreceive it.”

The Comms Team isalso working hard toraise the Centre’s profilethroughout West Lindseyso that it becomes aresource for the wholedistrict rather than justfor Gainsborough.

3TheCouncillor

The cost of bringing allhomes in Gainsborough’sSouth West Ward up to

the national Decent HomesStandard has been estimatedat £5.5 million.

The figure is contained in aNeighbourhood RenewalAssessment commissioned bythe Council aimed at makingimprovements to the wholearea.

The report says that on aver-age each property in need ofwork will cost £6,300 to repairand it is envisaged that only avery small number of propertieswill need to be demolished –instead the emphasis is likely tobe on retro-fitting existing prop-erties to bring them up toscratch.

At a meeting of the EconomicDevelopment andRegeneration Committee,councillors agreed to take thenext step towards makingimprovements by holding anopen day with residents to dis-cuss the options and gatherlocal views.

Housing and RenewalManager, Grant Lockett said:“The consultation report con-firms much of what we alreadythought. The area contains1,390 homes and 75% of themare terraced with 85% builtbefore 1919.

“Much of the area has little orno open space or play areasand there is not much in theway of off road parking.

“Sadly, the most common

type of crime in the area iscriminal damage and this is acommon finding in areas withhigh levels of deprivation.”

The area also suffers fromhigh levels of unemployment(7.5% compared to the WestLindsey average of 5.9%) and itis officially the most deprivedarea in the district. Houseprices are 38% lower than thedistrict average and 52% belowthe national average.

Mr Lockett added: “In gener-al, local people like the area,they find it friendly with a realsense of community with goodaccess to shops and take-aways.

“And what most people seemto be agreed on is that moregreen space and children’s playareas would be a great boostas would a really good clean upwhich would improve the waypeople feel.

“There is quite a lot of litter inthe area and when this is cou-pled with a large number of run

down properties there is a feel-ing that no-one cares – which isreally unfair because webelieve the residents really docare.”

Sadly, consultation hasrevealed that 50% of over 75sfeel very unsafe but any ideathat young people are the main‘threat’ does not hold true as35% of them said they too feelunsafe on the streets.

Chairman of the EconomicDevelopment andRegeneration Committee, CllrJeff Summers, said that thesurvey had also revealed that42% of residents were receiv-ing benefits, 15% were dis-abled, 25% had an income ofless than £10,000 and there isa broad range of house typesand ages.

“Throughout the consultation,unemployment was a commonfactor and many thought thiswas the major contributor tomany of the other issues suf-fered in the area. More than70% of people thought thatunemployment was a big prob-lem.

“People told us that the mainbarriers to getting a job werethe low number of opportunitiesavailable, poor transport links,a low skills and education baseand a benefit culture whichmeans there is little incentivefor people to find work,” saidCllr Summers.

Another plus point was that57% of people in the areabelieved the police are provid-

ing an above average serviceand 58% believe that the refusecollection service is aboveaverage.

But dog fouling, vandalismand the misuse of drugs wereall considered to be problemsand more than half the busi-ness owners felt the Councilcould do more to help themmake improvements to com-mercial buildings.

In terms of the homes them-selves, the survey revealed that90% of properties would benefitfrom having new central heat-ing installed. This would alsoimprove the energy efficiencyand reduce running costs tohouseholders.

The major hazard of excesscold was found in 48% of prop-erties, 35% had a danger of afall on the stairs and 15% hadthe danger of a fall on the level.There were also major prob-lems with electrical hazards,food safety and the presence ofcarbon monoxide.

As a result of all theseissues, the average price of ahouse in the area in 2009 was£61,879 – well below thenational average of £160,000and the Lincolnshire average ofjust under £130,000.

Cllr Summers added: “Thereis no doubt that there is muchto be done in South West Wardbut we believe that with the co-operation and understanding oflocal residents we can makereal and very tangible improve-ments.”

£5.5 million needed to helpour most deprived ward

Grant Lockett - believes thatthe residents really do care

about their area

QUARTERLY Performance Reports now getright to the point.Since the arrival of Chief Executive ManjeetGill out have gone documents that couldhave been anything from 30-50 pages long,and in has come a three-page templatefocussing on what has been done, what hasbeen achieved and what is still left to bedone.Business Development Manager MatthewClarke said: “The report now concentrateson strategic rather than operational informa-tion. It is far more progressive and wideranging than the original structure allowedand means we can immediately start work onthe information gathered at the meeting.”

New look QPR’scut to the chase

Putting more bums onseats at the Arts Centre

EMOTIONS were high as Rita Thompson celebrated her retire-ment surrounded by her friends and colleagues.

The Senior Committee Administrator, has worked tirelesslybehind the scenes for 23 years, to ensure the smooth running ofthe Council and Committee meetings.

Rita retired when Cllr Jessie Milne was Chairman of the author-ity. Jessie told Rita:”You have been a very loyal servant not onlyto the officers but to us councillors.

“You are someone that is valued not only for your work but foryour sense of humour.

“You are a very hard working and vigilant and have always beena stalwart to this council.”

Flowers and giftsCllr Milne presented Mrs Thompson with a bunch of flowers and

gifts from members, which included two travel chairs and a picnichamper.

Rita said: “I have thoroughly enjoyed my time and I will miss youall.

“I have seen lots of changes over the years and I would like towish everybody the best of luck for future challenges.”

She is looking forward to spending her retirement with her hus-band Tony, travelling to various holiday destinations around thecountry.

Director of Strategy and Regeneration, Rachel North summedup the mood when she said: “I would like to say thank you somuch Rita for all the work you have done for the council.

“You are held in high regard by both the officers and the mem-bers alike.

“I would like to take this opportunity to thank you very much forall your hard work. On behalf of all your colleagues, we wish youwell in the future.”

A gold watch was presented to Rita for her loyal service to theauthority.

She was also presented with a voucher to have Tea at the Ritzwith her husband.

In picture are councillors from all parties who joined to cel-ebrate Rita’s fantastic career. Pictured from left to right are:Alan Caine, Geoff Wiseman, Gill Bardsley, Owen Bierley,Jessie Milne, Jeff Summers, Judy Rainsforth and DavidCotton.

4 The Councillor

How you said goodbye to our Rita

Helpparishes

to getfloodcash

COUNCILLORS are being urged to help parishand town councils throughout West Lindsey toaccess money that’s been made available tohelp protect against flooding.

The district council has set aside £110,000 tohelp beat the misery of water getting into peo-ple’s homes.

A total of £100,000 will go towards helpingpartners with the costs of major projects and£10,000 is available to help parish councilsmanage flood risks.

“Parish councils are best placed to knowabout and understand flooding issues withintheir areas,” said Public Protection ManagerChris Allen.

“This new fund will be able to provide vital

financial support to parish councils and theircommunities to help themselves to actively pre-vent and manage flood risk.

“The grant can be used to train flood war-dens, provide flood wardens with protectiveequipment or to pay for equipment and toolsthat may be needed during a flooding event.”

Applications are needed as soon as possibleas the cash is only available during this finan-cial year.

Chris hopes that district councillors will urgeparish colleagues to take advantage of theoffer. Application forms are available on ourwebsite.

The £100,000 made available is for partner-ship projects to prevent major flooding.

Thousands of visitors flocked to WestLindsey to mark the 126thLincolnshire Show.

The glorious sunshine drew in record breaking crowds of68,000 people to the flagship event.

Chief Executive of West Lindsey District Council,Manjeet Gill said: “I would like to say thank you to all theofficers and the councillors for supporting what is anamazing show for West Lindsey and the county. Whatpeople do not realise is this is probably the biggest showin the country.

“This is the best way to get information across to mem-bers of the public about the wide range of services we pro-vide. It is also a great way for them to ask us any ques-tions.”

Brian and Ivy Siddown of Honeyholes Lane, Dunholme,visited the West Lindsey marquee to chat to their council-lors. Mr Siddown said: “It is nice to sit down with a coffeeand have a chat and to meet people you would not nor-mally meet.

“As senior citizens we are making full use of the cyclep a t h -ways tohelp uskeep fit.We haveb e e ne n q u i r -ing if thegovern-m e n tsqueezewill havea ni m p a c t

on theprovision

of cycle ways.”

Visitors to the council’s marquee were able to see whatservices the council provides, ask questions, seek adviceand enter a few competitions.

Chairman of West Lindsey Cllr Owen Bierley said: “Theshow is a good showcase for West Lindsey. We have hada lot of good interaction with members of the public. Iwould like to say a big thank you to everyone who hashelped make the show a big success.”

Cllr Alf Frith and his wife Margaret said they thoroughlyenjoy the annual event. He said: “It is great seeing people

face toface, totalk directlyabout anyi s s u e sthey mayhave.”

E d i t hSmith ofT o w e rS t r e e t ,

Gainsborough, was at the event. She said: “The council-lors are all very social. I have been talking to Cllr AlanCaine who has been telling me about all the good workthat is being carried out in Caistor.

It is great to have the opportunity to sit and talk to thecouncillors and it is really nice to see the Chief Executivesupporting the event and chatting to everyone.”

Cllr Alan Caine said both days at the show were brilliant.He said: “Itwas a goodopportuni tyto interactwith many ofour WestLindsey resi-dents. Youcan sort out alot of prob-lems over acuppa.”

C l l rM a l c o l mLeaning madesure he had agood snapshotof the two days by taking his camera to capture themoment. He said: “West Lindsey is the home of the showbecause it is held here in the district. We have supportedit for many years and helped fund the Epic Centre.

“We see the Lincolnshire Show as a shop window for thepublic to meet the councillors face to face and see whatservices West Lindsey has to offer.”

Cllr Irmgard Parrott described the occasion as a net-working event. She said: “The show ground is in WestLindsey – it is our show and we want to make sure we putWest Lindsey on the map.

“It has been great getting out here and meeting people,I love it. We have been verybusy.” The Councillor 5

Record breaking crowds at thedistrict’s flagship event

Chief Executive Manjeet Gill and Chairman Cllr Owen Bierleyoutide the West Lindsey tent

Inside the West Lindsey tent

Cllr Aan Caine and Edith Snaith fromGainsborough

Cllr David Cotton and Dunholme resident Brian andIvy Siddown

Big days in your diaryOfficer and Member relationships willcome under the microscope at trainingsessions run by the IDeA programme atthe end of this month.

29 June between 6.30 and 9pm and on 30 June from2pm are the dates for your diary.

Anyone who has not yet booked but would like to attendshould contact Committee Administration as soon aspossible.

Other top dates for your diary are:

1 July

Presentation on the Aurora system and how the detailavailable can be useful in your ward.

9 July

Full day induction for all new Members.

A Political Group development session is being organisedby the IDeA. More details to be announced soon.

Planning, Performance Management and Councilmeetings are all now webcast for the public to see.

The ultimate aim is for all meetings to be webcast in thisway.

The Councillor6

More Photos from Lincolnshire Show

Key decisions and meetings• The Annual Report will go to Council on 5 July.

• The redevelopment proposals for Lea Road railway station in Gainsborough exempt reportwill be considered by the Economic Development and Regeneration Committee on 15 July.

• The Community and Waste Services Committee will consider a possible reduction in garden waste collection services during the winter months on 21 July.

• The refreshed Corporate Plan is likely to go to Council in October.

• The Access Strategy is due to go to Overview and Resources in the autumn.