City of Lincoln Council

These bright pink bins are being installed across Lincoln in an effort to stop chewing gum making a mess of the city's streets.

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The bins containing discarded gum are collected and the box plus its contents are recycled into more gum bins, reusable coffee cups and shoes.

Lincoln Business Improvement Group's Sarah Loftus said the waste made the area look dirty.

She added: "It's just not pleasant for people, it costs a lot of money to clean off the streets, so this initiative will make the streets a lot cleaner."

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Nearly 500 people have told City of Lincoln Council there are few suitable alternatives to the public toilets which have been earmarked for closure.

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Around 816 people responded to a consultation on the council’s plans to save £86,000 by closing the urinals at The Lawn on Union Road and Newport Arch permanently, reopening facilities at Lucy Tower for special events only, while Westgate car parks facilities would be used by Radar key holders only.

However, the toilets at the new bus station, Castle Square, Tentercroft Street, Boultham Park, Hartsholme Country Park and the cemetery will be retained as part of the new plan.

Under the proposals, toilet attendant jobs will be lost at all facilities except the bus station, while a new city-wide scheme will change access to disabled toilets via an electronic card registered to a specific user.

Meanwhile, the Sincil Street facilities will only open for events until the refurbishment of the market is completed.

City of Lincoln Council’s Policy Scrutiny Committee has heard that a consultation on the plans launched in January saw 57.8% (around 472 people) of respondents say they would be affected “personally to the extent that they would not be able to make use of a suitable alternative”.

Of those, 123 people said that was due to health conditions, while 80 mentioned the distance created as a result of the closures.

A report on the consultation said: "This feedback is not very conclusive, unfortunately, but shows generally annoyance at the closures, it could be suggested."

The votes have been counted and the result is in for City of Lincoln Council:

The Labour leader of City of Lincoln Council, Ric Metcalfe, has held his seat in the Glebe ward.

This was after a bundle check - which is a quicker re-count in groups of votes.

So far, out of the 11 wards up for election on Thursday, the Conservatives have three seats and Labour have five:

Election fever is hotting up on both sides of the Humber.

Hull has seen campaign visits during the campaign from the Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and the Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey.

Labour remains the dominant political force in Hull and the party runs the city council, but the Lib Dems have gained ground in recent years and form the opposition with 24 seats to Labour’s 31 seats.

The Conservatives will defend North East Lincolnshire, an area that includes the parliamentary constituency of Great Grimsby - one of the 'red wall' seats snatched by the Tories from Labour in the 2019 general election.

Lincolnshire County Council will see an all-out election with every seat up for grabs, where the Conservatives will defend a large majority.

One third of council seats will be contested in the City of Lincoln, where Labour is presently in control.

Three candidates are contesting the race to become Humberside Police & Crime Commissioner. Labour's Keith Hunter is the current PCC.

Five candidates are on the ballot paper in the contest for Lincolnshire Police & Crime Commissioner. The role is currently held by Conservative Marc Jones.

The results for a number of local elections that took place yesterday are due back later.

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Counting is under way across Yorkshire and Lincolnshire for the local elections, the mayoral elections and the police and crime commissioner elections, with BBC reporters at many counts.

We're expecting declarations at the following council counts today:

• Barnsley
• Doncaster
• Sheffield
• Hull
• Kirklees
• Wakefield
• Lincolnshire
• Lincoln
• North East Lincolnshire

The North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner result is also expected back this afternoon.

Election results this year will come over days rather than a huge return overnight as traditionally happens.

This has been prompted by social distancing and safety around coronavirus.

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Above is the scene at Lincoln's County Assembly Rooms where the count is taking place for Lincolnshire County, City of Lincoln and Police and Crime Commissioner elections.

Karen Lee, below, is the former Labour MP for Lincoln. She lost her seat in 2019's general election.

She's standing for a seat in the Ermine and Cathedral division of Lincolnshire County Council.

Counters and candidates are separated by screens and candidates are only allowed one supporter with them to keep numbers to a minimum.

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Three men have been released on bail after a fight at an arboretum involving a group of about 15 people, one thought to be armed with a machete, police say.

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Officers were called to the Lincoln Arboretum on Monks Road shortly after 17:30 on Sunday, according to Lincolnshire Police.

Three local men aged 18, 19 and 22 were arrested on suspicion of affray, police said. All have since been released on bail.

Insp Julia Baker said: "At least 15 teenagers were involved in scuffles in and around the arboretum.

"We received reports one male was armed with a machete so taser armed officers and the dog unit were dispatched. It was a group of youths that were known to each other.

"We had to lockdown the arboretum to protect people, so that innocent members of the public weren't injured."

Insp Sarah Edwards added: “It’s such a shame we saw an incident like this, where a large group of young people were essentially fighting, shouting, and generally causing worry and upset to others in the area.

"Especially at a time when other members of the public are just starting to enjoy a little more freedom in outdoor spaces because some Covid restrictions have started to lift.

"We will make sure those involved are held to account."

A quarter of all hospitals beds in Lincolnshire are being taken up by patients being treated for Covid-19.

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Across Lincoln County Hospital and Boston Pilgrim Hospital, 245 patients have tested positive for coronavirus.

The chief executive of United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust (ULHT), Andrew Morgan, says "The numbers we are getting through are far, far larger than wave one and then that is sadly reflected in the number of deceased patients."

This year's Christmas lights have been officially turned on in Lincoln City Centre.

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They were switched on last night, but there was no big celebration.

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The decision to cancel the official "switch-on" event was taken earlier this year by City of Lincoln Council.

The authority said the event draws large crowds which would make social distancing impossible.

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