Pinchbeck Carnival is an annual village event which has been running for over 30 years and is held in mid-June.

Every year the hardworking committee organises a competition to appoint a Carnival Queen and attendants to act as royalty for the event, held at Rotten Row playing field in the centre of the village.

Last week the competition took place in the village hall at a well attended event judged by Craig Delaney together with Tulip Radio’s Jan Whitbourn plus stand-in Chris Carter. They deliberated over the final choice from a well supported entry list of local girls all keen to have a starring role in this year’s carnival.

The Junior Princess is eight-year-old Emily van der Weyden, Senior Princess is Cecelia Tulloch-Cotton (10) and the 2014 Pinchbeck Carnival Queen is Annabel Stockdale (11).

They will all officiate at this year’s Pinchbeck Carnival procession which starts at noon in Wimberley Way and finishes at the main venue, Rotten Row playing field, on Saturday, June 14.

Many attractions for this event have been booked and already this year’s event is shaping up to be a fantastic day out for local families while raising funds for the village hall and other local causes. Be sure to put the date in your diary: Saturday June 14.

Gavin Miller takes a look at The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (12U), due out Friday.

Andrew Garfield’s latest incarnation of Spidey returns for his second outing in less than two years – and let’s hope it doesn’t fall foul of Spider-Man 3 syndrome.

That film was critically panned after being overloaded with villains, and this time round the Web-slinger also has three foes to deal with.

They come in the form of Electro (Oscar-winner Jamie Foxx), Rhino (Oscar-nominated Paul Giamatti) and the Green Goblin (Chronicle’s dane DeHaan).

Emma Stone and Sally Field return in their respective roles of Gwen Stacey and Aunt May, in what should be one of the biggest movies of the coming months – the summer box-office season starting early due to the late Easter weekend.

A hospital in Holbeach celebrating its 25th anniversary is inviting residents to see what facilities are on offer.

Consultant orthopaedic surgeon Mr Philip Heaton, from Pilgrim Hospital in Boston, is holding an outpatients awareness evening to inform patients that they can be seen locally for consultations on procedures such as hip and knee joint replacements.

In February, there was concern that outpatient clinics at the hospital, which has received a glowing report from the Care Quality Commission (CQC), would close if more people didn’t use them.

There are a number of clinics held weekly. Mr M Oko runs ear nose and throat clinics on Tuesdays and Fridays, Mr S Memon has a urology clinic on Mondays, Dr S Hanumara has a paediatric clinic on Tuesdays, Mr J Mohan has a general/vascular surgery clinic on Mondays, general surgery and colorectal clinics are taken by Mr Rathmore on Thursdays and an orthopaedic clinic is run by Mr Heaton on Wednesdays.

The awareness evening is on Wednesday, May 28, from 7pm to 9pm. Light refreshments will be available during the evening.

Plans for up to 900 new homes in Holbeach will go to a public exhibition next week so residents can have a say.

Holbeach company Ashley King Developments Ltd wants to build the homes on agricultural land in the south west of the town with twin access points off Hall Gate and Fen Road.

The company is pledging contributions to infrastructure – including a roundabout at Peppermint Junction on the A17/A151 and using a grade II listed farmhouse on the development as “a focus for community activities”.

Company boss Ashley King says: “We expect that contributions to community facilities will also be necessary and we are encouraging local residents, businesses and organisations to attend and share their thoughts and ideas on what improved and new facilities might be required in Holbeach.”

Homes will be built over ten to 15 years, but county councillor Nick Worth has “real concerns about the road infrastructure coping with that” and the impact on health facilities.

Coun Worth said it would be very difficult to link the new homes with the proposed roundabout, as it’s so far away, and there’s already an application on the way from someone else to do that.

He said: “I think we need to look at it in some detail. It would need to have some substantial benefits for the town and I am not clear what they are at the moment. There’s a big discussion to be had, I think, and it’s very early stages.”

Holbeach Parish Council chairman Terry Harrington hopes the plan will boost the number of town centre shops.

He said: “Knowing the history of the company and everything else, I know that if and when it goes ahead it will be done correctly because they have got Holbeach at heart. I hope this is something that’s really going to prosper the town.”

• Organised by architects and planning consultants rg+p Ltd, the exhibition runs from 2pm-8pm on April 23 at Manor Farm, Fen Road, and means people can comment before planning consent is sought.

An illegal waste operator from Baston Fen faces a £212,000 bill after putting residents at risk of the atmosphere being polluted.

Andrew Manton Pannell Freeman was ordered by Lincoln Crown Court to hand over £125,000 proceeds under the Proceeds of Crime Act from his activities.

He was also ordered to carry out 80 hours unpaid work in the community and fined £12,500 on each offence to run concurrently; and to pay £75,000 costs to the Environment Agency.

Freeman was convicted of two offences for the deposit, treatment, storing and disposal of waste without being authorised by environmental permits at Baston Fen.

The court heard that he took waste ash, concrete, bricks and soils onto site to make aggregates and to landscape gravel pits between January 2009 and April 2010. He also received hundreds of thousands of litres of waste cooking oil and chemicals to make biodiesel.

Freeman admitted burning domestic and fly-tipped waste and acknowledged that others had burned skip waste on site. He needed a permit for the type of work he was doing and avoided the significant costs of permitting.

Mr Mark Harris, representing the Environment Agency, said officers regularly visited the site and wrote advice letters to try to get Freeman to comply with the regulations.

The court learned that 20,000 tonnes of power station ash mixed with lime dust and water was tipped into lagoons before being buried with thousands of tonnes of waste soils. The majority of the ash was still on site four and a half years after being tipped.

Thousands of tonnes of concrete, bricks and soils were also brought onto site to make a caravan park and tracks, but more waste was brought on than necessary showing that it was being dumped.

Freeman bought hundreds of thousands of litres of waste oil and chemicals to make biodiesel. On each visit between January 2009 and March 2011, officers saw hundreds of drums and intermediate bulk containers containing the chemicals and waste materials from the process. The drums were strewn about the site and the liquids had leaked onto the surrounding land creating a significant risk of pollution.

Following a complaint from a resident, two large areas were found on site containing burnt remains of UPVC windows, a mattress, paint tins, aerosols, oil containers, a metal drum with flammable liquid written on it, concrete, foam, plastic, wire, cardboard boxes, wood, fibre glass and brick and other waste.

The burning sites were cleared at the Environment Agency’s request but Freeman failed to confirm where the waste had gone.

Whilst there was no evidence to show actual environmental damage, burning of the waste types seen could harm human health or pollute the environment. The biodiesel and chemicals were stored in an unsafe way.

Mr Harris said significant time and effort was spent trying to get Freeman to comply with the regulations but he was ‘distinctly unhelpful’.

Mr David Travers, QC representing Freeman, said it had been a long-standing family ambition to create a leisure facility. Areas of the site were now going to be developed. The surrounding areas were habitats for rare plants. He said Freeman employed 50 people.

In sentencing, Judge Sean Morris said that Freeman behaved “arrogantly” to the Environment Agency and “thought he was above the rules”.

Environment officer David Hutchinson said: “Illegal waste activity like this creates risks to human health and the environment.

“As shown by this case the Environment Agency works to make sure that waste crime doesn’t pay.”

Waste crime can be reported to the Agency’s incident hotline on 0800 807060 or anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.

Blogger Trish Burgess writes for the Free Press

Recently I was sitting in the South Holland Centre, choked with tears, having watched a spellbinding performance of Les Miserables (School Edition) by the Act 11 Theatre Company.

The talent on that stage was quite remarkable: some individuals would be a perfect fit in a professional production.

We are very fortunate in South Holland to have such excellent provision for training our youngsters in the field of performing arts. Companies such as Act II and Polka Dot Academy have experienced, dedicated teachers who can nurture talent and enthusiasm from a very young age.

To top it all, the chance to perform their shows in a superb local theatre must surely be the icing on the cake and, I suspect, is why so many of them get a taste for show business and are keen to progress further.

In 2010 I was asked to help Polka Dot’s Limelight Youth Theatre with their production of Billy Elliot. They needed a Geordie voice coach and, having never lost my accent despite many years away from Newcastle (I blame daily phone calls to my mother) I was apparently just what they needed. I instructed the girls to channel Cheryl Cole and the boys to watch YouTube clips of Ant and Dec.

We had lots of fun at rehearsals going through their lines and I watched proudly as they sang and acted their hearts out on stage.

It struck me recently that several members of the cast of that production are now studying drama. They were so inspired by their experiences in Spalding that they saw their future in performing arts.

Lottie Sacks, now aged 15, is studying at the Susie Earnshaw Theatre School in London: the opportunities to perform on stage and screen are now very real possibilities. She has Polka Dot Academy, Act II and Spalding School of Dance to thank for the excellent training she was given in the very early years.

Yet I remember Lottie, aged four, on stage with Spalding Amateur Dramatic and Operatic Society (SADOS), playing the part of Princess Ying Yaowalak in The King and I, a tiny figure who had to recite a letter to Mrs Anna: she captivated the whole audience with her performance.

What’s so fantastic about the young people who are being trained by local youth theatres is how they are a valuable resource for our own adult theatre groups. In my years with SADOS we have had brilliant support.

Young performers from the Trapdoor Theatre Company were an intrinsic part of our choruses for Calamity Jane and Guys and Dolls whilst members of Spalding School of Dance brought life to our productions of The Pajama Game and Oklahoma!

If you haven’t been to any of these youth theatre productions, I urge you to go along next time and support them. I guarantee you will be blown away by the sheer professionalism of these children. In years to come, when they are appearing in the West End, you can proudly say you knew them before they were famous.

Wednesday 4.40pm: Police say two car drivers were hurt in this morning’s crash on the A16.

A man of 60 from Holbeach and a 53-year-old man from Peterborough went to hospital to be treated for injuries described by police as “minor”.

• Wednesday 11.40am: The A16 at Spalding reopened a short time ago following this morning’s crash between the McDonald’s and Low Fulney roundabouts.

• Wednesday 9.30am: Diversions have been set up on the A16 at Spalding following a crash involving two lorries and two cars just south of the McDonald’s roundabout.

Police say no serious injuries have been reported.

The accident happened at 8.37am.

Vehicles involved were a Renault tipper lorry, a Volvo lorry, a Ford Focus and a Mini.

Listings from Thursday, April 17 to Wednesday, April 23

Thursday

Mini monsters bug hunt, ages five-12, weather dependent, 11am-noon and 2-3pm, RSPB Frampton Marsh Reserve, PE20 1AY, 01205 724678.

Easter egg hunt, ages four plus, 10am-4pm, until Monday, RSPB Frampton Marsh Reserve, PE20 1AY, 01205 724678.

Spalding Folk Club singaround, 8pm, Welland Yacht Club, Cradge Bank, Spalding.

Music workshop based on Matilda, ages six-11 and 12-18, various times, The Umbrella, Westlode Street, Spalding, 01775 712359.

Easter family fun drop-in arts and crafts, variety of arty activities, no need to book, 11am-3pm, Ayscoughfee Hall Museum, Spalding, 01775 764555.

Easter fun day, face painting, balloon modelling, fairground ride, 10am-2pm, Deeping Shopping Centre, 01945 584109.

Spalding Photographic Society annual photographic print exhibition, until April 28, Wednesdays to Sundays 10.30-4pm, Ayscoughfee Hall, Spalding.

Open exhibition 2014 entry forms available from Thursday, artwork exhibited July 19-September 21, City Gallery, Vivacity, Peterborough, www.vivacity-peterborough.com

Friday

Easter crafts workshop, ages three-11, 10am-noon, St Margaret’s Church Hall, Quadring.

Hot Wax Soul Club, Northern Soul oldies and Motown, 7.30pm, Pilgrim Lounge, Boston United Football Club, York Street, Boston, PE21 6JN,

Saturday

Food and gift fayre, stalls, gifts, refreshments, noon-4pm, Church Lane, Edenham, PE10 0LS, 01778 425821.

Easter coffee morning and snack lunches, 10am-1pm, Broad Street Methodist Church, Spalding.

One mile of pennies, fundraising in aid of Motor Neurone Disease Association, attempting to lay out one mile of pennies (84,480 in total), 10am-4pm, Ayscoughfee Hall, Spalding, 07441 093113.

Long Sutton and District Civic Society, information collecting on residents’ histories of ancestors who served in World War One in readiness for commemoration exhibition in July, 10am-1pm, Long Sutton Library.

Sunday

Charity tractor run, 20-mile run for vintage tractors around local villages, 10am, Moulton playing field, Broad Lane, 07825 609575.

Treasure hunt, fun for all the family, 10am-noon, Flinders Park, Donington.

Easter fun day, turn yourself into the Easter bunny, plant a sunflower, craft events, ages four plus, RSPB Frampton Marsh Reserve, PE20 1AY, 01205 724678.

Little Ponton Hall open gardens in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support, 2-5pm, Little Ponton, near Grantham, www.littlepontonhallgardens.org.uk

Pinchbeck Photographic Group meeting, Japanese wildlife with Susan Wilson, 7.30pm, Pinchbeck Primary School, Fennell Road.

Plant fair, 10am-2.30pm, Swines Meadow Farm Nursery, Market Deeping.

Easter egg hunt, 10am-4pm, Easter egg hunt.

Bank holiday Monday

Easter fun, find bunnies and other items hidden in the wood, 3 Counties Dog Rescue there, 2-4pm, Bourne Wood, 07760 468052.

Moulton Mill open, tea room open, 10am-4pm.

Bingo, 7.30pm, St Paul’s Church Hall, Fulney, 01775 762691.

Wednesday

Bingo, 7.30pm, Gedney Dyke Village Hall.

Holbeach Seniors’ Link meeting, Whaplode Village Hall.

Sing South Holland Community Choir workshop, 6.30pm, St Thomas’s Chapel Schoolroom, St Thomas’s Road, Spalding, 01406 420218.

World book night, browse a vast array of advance reading copies, pick one to take away for free, 6-8pm, Bookmark, The Crescent, Spalding, 01775 769231.

For the regular weekly listings visit www.spaldingtoday.co.uk

The information in this column is supplied to us, please ring the organisers where possible to confirm the event before setting out on your journey.

Listings from Thursday, April 17 to Wednesday, April 23

Music

Saturday

Bad to the Bone, 8.30pm, Brennans Bar, Spalding.

John Barry, 8.30pm, Long Sutton RBL, 01406 362076.

Green Velvet (formerly Shamrock), 8pm, Donington RBL, 01775 821112.

Sunday

Dave Logan, 8pm, Donington RBL, 01775 821112.

Theatre

Key Theatre, Peterborough

The Big Chris Barber Band, Curious Creatures, Marty Wilde, Comedy of Terrors.

Blackfriars, Boston

Billy Pearce, Peter Pan, Vienna Festival Ballet’s Swan Lake.

Stamford Arts Centre

SO Comedy.

Stamford Corn Exchange

New York Knights with Sinatra, Diamond and Streisand.

Cinema

SOUTH HOLLAND CENTRE

The Lego Movie, Thursday 2pm; Robocop, Thursday 7.30pm; Tinkerbell and the Pirate Fairy, Saturday 11am, 2pm; Dallas Buyers Club, Saturday 6.30pm. For more information visit www.southhollandcentre.co.uk

PETERBOROUGH SHOWCASE, from Friday.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier (and 3D), Divergent, God’s Not Dead, Khumba, Locke, Muppets Most Wanted, Noah, Non-Stop, Rio 2 (and 3D), The Amazing Spider Man 2, (and 3D), The Lego Movie, The Quiet Ones, The Raid 2, Transcendence.

For times visit www.showcasecinemas.co.uk

Eileen Parker, assistant manager at Spalding’s Bon Marche store sent in this picture of the winners of the mother and daughter competition, held at Spalding’s store.

Winners Ann Steel and her daughter Victoria Lunn each won a £30 outfit.

The winners were drawn on April 5 and pictured are Ann and Victoria modelling their new outfits. Also in the picture is Ann’s grandson Harry.

South Holland District Council has awarded another £900 to great recyclers.

The council’s Green Bag Lottery scheme has just completed its second round – and there were nine £100 winners out of a possible ten.

The cash has come at just the right time for Holbeach St Marks couple John and Mary Newell.

They are celebrating their diamond wedding next month and are putting the money towards a celebration party for family and friends.

Mr Newell (82) said: “The win was a lovely surprise and we’re grateful to the district council for this £100.

“We’ve been recycling for a few years now and always have plenty to put out each week.”

It could get even better for the Newells because all winners’ names go forward to a three-monthly draw to win a further £1,000.

Other £100 recipients in the latest round included: Agnieszka Nijak, of Knipe Avenue, Spalding; Roy Shortland, of Hawthorn Bank, Spalding; Craig Hodgins, of Gleed Avenue, Donington.

Jason Carswell, of West Street, Crowland; Allen Hook, of Allenby’s Chase in Sutton Bridge.

District council waste and recycling officer Samantha Gibbons said: “We’re delighted that we’re able to award this money because it means that these winners are recycling correctly and regularly.

“However, we know there is plenty more that can be recycled and we hope that the Green Bag Lottery will encourage more residents to do their bit and recycle more.”

Households in South Holland are automatically entered into the scheme but can elect to opt out. Ten households are randomly and secretly selected every four weeks. Every one which presents recycling correctly for at least three of the four weeks wins £100.

The scheme, which will run for at least a year, is funded by a grant from the Government’s Department of Communities and Local Government’s Weekly Collections Support Scheme.

A litter pick in Surfleet will kickstart the next part of South Holland District Council’s Litter Blitz campaign.

It will be part of a series of events in the run-up to the launch of the Community Litter Warden scheme later this year.

District council waste and recycling officer Laura Simpkins said: “The aim of the scheme is to get communities involved in cleaning up their area so they are proud of where they live. It is the chance for individuals to take action against litter in their area.”

Each community litter warden volunteers to litter pick a particular nominated area, which can be as little or as large as they like. For example, it could be a local park or maybe the street they live on.

Community litter wardens will be provided with their own equipment.

Volunteers will regularly meet with the district council’s waste and recycling team and the other litter wardens to provide updates on the work that they are doing.

Laura said: “Eleven people have already registered their interest to become wardens. We’d like a few more across the district to come forward and register by May 9.

“Wardens’ hard work will be rewarded with a little thank you gift if the litter picking pledge is kept.”

Schools are also being offered the chance to become part of the Litter Blitz campaign.

Litter picks, educational talks and litter workshops are available to all schools across South Holland.

The litter pick in Surfleet is on Saturday, April 26, starting at 10am at the village hall car park. Equipment will be provided.

For more information contact Judy Chapman at Surfleet Parish Council or Laura Simpkins at South Holland District Council on 01775 761161.

The biggest shake up of water abstraction licensing in 50 years is of concern to many farmers, but it’s critically important to one West Pinchbeck grower.

David Matthews, who is director of G & D Matthews Ltd with his wife Hilary and son James, grows around 300 acres of potatoes to supply to supermarkets.

The potato is one of the thirstiest crops, and the Matthews family uses a specialist form of irrigation, abstracting water from rivers, dykes and bore holes and delivering it to the crop in a highly targeted way.

They use trickle irrigation, which David says is as much as 50 per cent more efficient than spray irrigation. It’s something they have been developing for about 14 years, recently trialling the system on high value crops such as carrots.

Until now, the process has not needed a licence, but that is about to change.

David, who sits on the NFU’s Water Resources Group and has been involved in consultations over the proposals, says: “This new water legislation is actually a fairly radical overhaul. I think what we are suggesting is it needs to be simple, cost effective, flexible and reliable.

“Farmers and growers use 0.6 per cent of abstracted water but they hold two-thirds of all abstraction licences issued in England and Wales, and we have to make sure growers have a fair share of cost effective water.

“What concerns us as trickle irrigators is we haven’t needed licensing and now there is a big question mark over what needs to be done to secure a licence for the future. We have invested heavily in trickle irrigation over 14 years and we want to know what’s around the corner before re-investment is made. However, because of its efficiency, we remain optimistic the technique has a positive long-term future.”

Five years ago this week, the Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust bought 114 hectares (282 acres) of farmland nestled between the River Glen and the Counter Drain, writes Rachel Shaw, of Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust.

The land was naturally undulating and the crops often failed in the low depressions that became waterlogged after rain.

The location, with the River Glen and Counter Drain providing linear wetland links to the Trust’s existing nature reserves of Baston Fen and Thurlby Fen Slipe, and the low depressions, made it an ideal location for the creation of a new fenland nature reserve: Willow Tree Fen Nature Reserve.

Five years on and the natural depressions in the fields are holding water over the winter and attracting large numbers of waterfowl such as wigeon, teal, mallard, and waders including lapwing and golden plover, plus oystercatcher, redshank, ruff, black-tailed godwit, green sandpiper, snipe, woodcock, both ringed and little-ringed plover and greenshank.

In spring and summer the reedy margins along the edges of the dykes and ponds are home to reed and sedge warblers, reed bunting and even the occasional bearded tit. Swallows sweep around the grazing cattle and skylark sing overhead. Lapwings began breeding two years after the land was bought.

Four species of owl have been seen on the reserve: barn, tawny, little and short-eared, and six species of raptor: kestrel, sparrowhawk, buzzard, marsh harrier, red kite and peregrine. An unexpected wildlife spectacle was large numbers of pike spotted moving across fields that only a few years before had been growing wheat. Recently a specialist survey team discovered an impressive 67 different species of water beetles and bugs including a number of rare species. Over 500 different species of animal and plant have now been recorded at Willow Tree Fen and we can expect this to increase in future.

Willow Tree Fen nature reserve is open to the public and we are keen to hear about the wildlife that people see on the reserve. Please get in touch via our website www.lincstrust.org.uk or on the Willow Tree Fen Nature Reserve facebook page. Willow Tree Fen is situated between Bourne and Spalding, south of the River Glen on the Pode Hole to Tongue End road. The entrance bridge is at grid ref TF 181213.

Early morning starts and late night finishes seem to be the norm for me over the past seven weeks. An ever increasing workload as a contractor sees a previous window of a 12-week campaign now fitting into eight weeks, writes Martin Ulyatt.

In my Grandpa’s day, he started with a 12-metre trailed sprayer and now we use machines with 36metre booms, large tanks and we empty multiple lorry loads in a day. GPS technology helps in this ever increasing precision farming world. Controlled wheelings, automatic steering and auto shut off will soon no longer be an option, more a necessity. This all helps me do my day job in the ever evolving world we call farming.

On a young farmers note, our club at Spalding is going from strength to strength with lots of new young members, a varied programme and three successful fundraising events already to date. In October, we had our annual tractor working day with over 30 entrants – that is growing each year and I look forward to seeing you all in the autumn.

Other events include a race night in November and recently our annual club ball at South Holland Centre in Spalding, another sell out function enjoyed by past and present members and friends.

Our club meets at Spalding Constitutional Club every Wednesday (8pm) with guest speakers, visits, competitions and social events.

Visit our Facebook page, Spalding YFC, to see what we are up to.

Farmers want to be fully involved in shaping a new and improved system of access to water, the NFU has said in its response to the water abstraction consultation.

As stated in the story concerning West pinchbeck grower David Matthews, the Government proposes the biggest shake up of water abstraction licensing in 50 years.

Its consultation paper, Making the most of every drop, proposes replacing the existing system of licences with new Abstraction Permissions, with conditions linking access to water availability.

NFU water resource specialist Paul Hammett has said farmers want to be fully involved. He said: “We like some of Defra’s ideas. There are advantages in moving away from national ‘broad brush’ rules to a governance system that tackles local problems. We will be pressing Defra to recognise the special circumstances that apply to irrigated cropping and we are concerned about some important omissions... managing water in scarce conditions is not really addressed.”

Thousands of people involved in farming and wildlife preservation across the East Midlands have received first details on how they might benefit from £15billion in EU funding over the new seven-year CAP period.

The CAP Reform Countdown, An Introduction to the new Common Agricultural Policy schemes in England, is being sent to more than 110,000 existing customers of land-based schemes and includes a timeline drawing together a snapshot of all the schemes plus information on a new online service.

‘Love your Countryside’ is the message behind an initiative aimed at cutting the amount of rubbish dumped on farmland each year.

The NFU is urging householders to take more responsibility for their waste – or face the risk of prosecution.

In England alone during 2012/13 there were 711,000 incidents of fly-tipping with a case occurring every 44 seconds.

It is estimated around two-thirds of farmers are affected by fly-tipping, with items such as old fridges, chairs, mattresses, tyres and contaminated waste routinely dumped.

Farmers and landowners are then left to pay the clean-up bill, a cost set at around £47million in a previous study which also highlighted the danger to human health.

The Government’s new domestic Renewable Heat Incentive scheme will pay homeowners and landlords for implementing new renewable heat technologies such as biomass and solar in their homes, according to CLA East.

Rural home owners who can’t access a mains gas supply can benefit from the launch of the new scheme, which will pay tariffs ranging from 7p to 19p per unit of heat generated for seven years.

The court service is to spend £120,000 revamping Boston Magistrates’ Court and refusing to spend a penny to re-open the “de-listed” Spalding court.

MP John Hayes has asked Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice Chris Grayling to intervene in the “bizarre” and “unnecessary” building works at Boston authorised by the court service.

He is not against disabled access but says a wheelchair lift is due to be installed at Boston Magistrates’ Court for magistrates – when there is no disabled magistrate – and alterations are scheduled for a perfectly good court room.

But Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) say they are making the “judicial entrance” compliant with the Disability Discrimination Act because “there are tribunal panel members that require wheelchair access to the court rooms”.

Spalding Magistrates’ Court was “de-listed” on December 19 – all cases are now heard in Boston, Skegness, Grantham and Lincoln, denying defendants and witnesses from South Holland justice on their doorstep.

Spalding’s work was stripped away after a secret health and safety report found a problem after someone reportedly slipped on stairs from the cells to the dock.

The South Holland and The Deepings MP met the Lord Chancellor in January because he’s fighting to keep the Spalding court “operational to ensure local justice is served”.

A second meeting is planned, but Mr Hayes has already written to Mr Grayling about the building work at Boston.

His letter says: “I have recently been informed that a team of builders are soon to be employed to refurbish Court Room 2 and rearrange the layout at Boston Magistrates’ Court.

“I have been advised that the current layout of Court Room 2 is modern and fit for purpose.

“Furthermore, Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service are planning to install a wheelchair lift so that a disabled magistrate could gain access to Court Room 1, even though there are currently no disabled magistrates and no new appointments are scheduled until at least 2015.

“It seems unfair that there is no money to spend on Spalding Magistrates’ Court but there appears to be unnecessary and costly alterations being undertaken at Boston.”

The court service refused to publish its health and safety report about the Spalding court’s stairs.

A question about fire safety at the court was raised by the Lord Chancellor for the first time when he met Mr Hayes in January – but no details were forthcoming from the court service then about any fire risk.

Mr Hayes said: “You are left asking the question if there can be sufficient resources to make these investments in Boston, how is it that improvements to the Spalding court, which would at least deal with fire safety and health and safety, is deemed to be unaffordable? It can’t be unaffordable in Spalding but affordable in Boston.”