Read the August 2026 update here ...
Cllr. Marianne Overton MBE
Newsletter August 2026
Greetings!
Welcome to my monthly personal newsletter to let you know what I am doing on your behalf and to keep in touch with you.
Time for Action
The application for a 32-acre power substation close to Navenby village is with North Kesteven District Council. It is time for a really big surge in responses, please. We are looking for 2,000 responses by August 23rd. Can you please help a little?
We are calling for Solar on Roofs, not famland.
The proposed electricity transfer station would cover an area the size of some 20 full-sized football pitches, close to Navenby village, but this is only a foot in the door.
There are 26 applications in the queue to connect vast solar panel and battery sites, of which we currently have details for only 9 – where do they want the other 17?
Concerned?
Many local Parish Councils and District Councillors are, too, so you are invited to attend a
PUBLIC MEETING AT
THE VENUE, NAVENBY
Monday 17th August - 6.30 pm start
Learn about the background and status of all live, local solar applications and the actions that we can take to fight them. There will be an opportunity for you to raise your concerns and make suggestions.
The Cliff Villages Solar Action Group has worked amazingly well and produced a hefty objection, but your support is needed. Transfer stations have been refused elsewhere. Even Springwell has not got permission without this. Please act now, before it is too late.
Ready with a Solar Sentence or two?
Please speak up now, before it is too late!
Go to https://planningonline.n-kesteven.gov.uk/online-applications/ Reference is 26/0575/FUL or go to https://object.now/navenby/
Make your comments before 23rd August 2026 - Ten minutes max required!
You can also raise concerns with your Parish Council at any time
Presenting your thousand letters
In July, our team and MP presented your individually signed letters to the Prime Minister to number 10, Downing Street, calling for solar on roofs, not farmland. Thank you to all who managed to sign and to add support. We have also sent an open letter and awaiting a response.
This Government has cracked and something has got to change under new management. A pause and a rethink is needed. This vast, foreign-owned solar on productive farmland, for two working generations, paid for by us in extra high energy bills, has got to stop.
End of our Councils
It's arrived! Dissolving eight Lincolnshire councils and creating two new ones. The Government have chosen the Lincoln proposal that takes many of the surrounding villages, including my whole division, into a Citycentric Council. Lincoln has not always been Labour-led and with all those villages in the same council, they may find they have to share power! However, I am now told that we may lose the democratic tenant of all being equal. City Councillors may have smaller areas and fewer residents per councillor. Rural councillors on the same council will thus be fewer with less say in decision-making. Our Councils have objected and we need to raise our voices.
The whole of our area, my county division down to the A17 goes under Lincoln’s power. That is 12 wards from NKDC and seven from West Lindsey.
How will urban-centric councillors view decisions on planning or services offered?
The Parish Councils and the Mayoral Combined Authority remain. The new law also enables unelected Neighbourhood panels with a number of parishes, but with decision-making powers of their own.
Elections for the two new unitary authorities in Lincolnshire are expected next May 2027, as a shadow, whose job is to set up the new Councils ready to function the following April 2028. For one year we will have rather a lot of councils!
The new Unitary councils will be larger, with fewer elected representatives, so Councillors will need to support more people in bigger areas. I asked for a more rural-centric approach, put forward by our District Councils, but that has been turned down. There is no money from Government to support the process of change, so you will be funding the change through your council tax.
The exact names of these councils are still to be decided.
The announcement is the Government's intention which remains subject to legislation and any potential legal considerations before implementation.
“There will be no imminent changes to council services, or our day to day operations. We will move forward with this decision, working with our colleagues in the districts to agree a plan and the next steps on how we can achieve this.” Says the Chief Executive Lincolnshire County Council
Navenby Surgery
Following the well-attended public meeting earlier this year, I am also keeping up the pressure. Thanks for your questions and issues raised. Responsible for ensuring we get proper primary care with GP's is now a multi-county cluster. The latest reply to our issues came from the snappily titled "NHS Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Integrated Care Board - 52R". The Lincolnshire ICB is based in Sleaford, by the Ruskington Roundabout.
Navenby Surgery Update
The Welby Group of GP’s have appointed more healthcare professionals for the practice. The first advert for new GP's in March elicited nine applications. Four GP's were offered jobs, but none were fully secured. A further advert is out now for two months, ending August 31st, with an interview this month. I have now asked the following questions, answered by the Integrated Care Board and the local practice manager.
1. GP Workforce & Future of the Navenby Practice
“What actions are being taken to improve the attractiveness of the GP role at the Cliff Villages Practice to strengthen recruitment and retention? Additionally, can you provide assurance that you intend the Navenby practice—serving a growing population and currently meeting the criteria for four GPs—to continue to operate and remain fully supported for the foreseeable future?” The ICB say this sounds like a fair attempt to get a GP.
2. Loss of the GP Dispensary
“Of the 1,800 patients who were cut off from the practice dispensary, how many are now reliably obtaining their medications elsewhere, and are they receiving them in a timely manner?” Advice given, they say.
3. Patient Experience & Access
“What is the current performance of the practice in providing timely GP appointments, and how does this compare with national targets and with other local practices? How many Navenby patients are being redirected to Waddington, is transport provided for those patients, and how many are subsequently sent back to Navenby without being seen?” They gave the website of public information below, but it is hard to interpret!
Know any GP's who might be interested?
Please share the advert! The Cliff Villages are a great place to live!
https://www.jobs.nhs.uk/candidate/jobadvert/A3638-26-0012
Board meetings are here: https://lincolnshire.icb.nhs.uk/.../icb-board-meetings/
GP practice Performance is updated monthly here. Navenby is practice number 1011 https://view.officeapps.live.com/op/view.aspx...
Is this Navenby’s Worst Eyesore?
This development had permission for a part wood vertical exterior to match the new homes in the old Odlings car park and for a red pantile roof. This was not built. Instead, planners were faced with what looks like a large expanse of brown plastic- coated cladding with a white asbestos roof! These three flats set in a ‘hole’ in the conservation area seem completely at odds with the attractive stone village also visible in the same view at the gateway to the village on the A607. Mike Burt, the Parish Council Chairman and I both spoke at the meeting, opposing the change of materials, but it was passed.
The meeting of the 1,600!
The annual conference for local councils was held in Bournemouth this year, always a huge affair. I took up my role as Treasurer of the Independent Group and chaired the AGM the week before. We focussed on the big issues; Local government reorganisation and funding social care with my long-term counterpart, Baroness Louise Casey. The Independent Group also focussed on engaging young people, with speaker Luke Rodgers, a care leaver, calling for more direct, practical assistance for those leaving care.
UK100
I attended a very interesting conference in London this month, organised by UK100, a group of more than a hundred councils working together on environmental issues. At 70 years since the Clean Air Act, the focus with Minister Emma Hardy MP was sharing good practice in clean air in a new document called ‘Breathing Life’.
Emma Pinchbeck, Chair of the Climate Change Committee pointed out that outlay into electrification means costs continue to rise, until 2040. But by that time, will new technology and replacements mean higher costs again? Emma Pinchbeck also promoted energy efficiency, insulation and adaptation to new weather conditions, which is where we all agree. CEO of UK100, Chris Hammond, is on board!
Local Issues, National Voice
I was pleased to join the discussion of Local Government with then Minister for energy security and net zero, Katie White. UK 100 have produced a useful toolkit for councils. We are encouraging ways to reduce emissions by using less, through energy efficiency and requiring solar on roofs, not farmland. We called for a proper energy strategy, rather than a commercially-led rush with huge cumulative impact, that we see here in Lincolnshire.
Respite Care for adults with special needs
I have continued discussions with the Councillor responsible. The chance to have your say is here until September 7th.
We know that the number of adults needing care is increasing and the number of children needing care has risen sharply. We need more beds in Lincolnshire, not fewer. There are five options now being considered, including taking the service in house, outsourcing to several providers, closing one of the two homes and local communities stepping up. The chance to have your say is here until September 7th.
Fire at Leadenham Landfill
Big, scary fire this week at Leadenham Landfill site growing steadily over the evening. Three fire engines were unable to have any visible impact, but did keep the fire inside the landfill site and considered it "under control" when they left after a long night. It reignited the next day with poisonous fumes and advice to keep doors and windows shut. Thanks also to the Fire Service and the Environment Agency who were out to check. The landfill operators doused the area with water from their own lagoon. Fire can burn deep into the waste, so it could take days or weeks to go out. The operators will monitor the site with heat sensors and aim to preempt re-ignition.
The cause is being investigated, but initial indications suggest it was started by a discarded battery and we certainly heard frequent small explosions in the blaze. (Video on my facebook.) It is worth remembering not to put any batteries into our waste bins. Even vapes need proper disposal as they contain tiny lithium batteries, enough to start a blaze. Thankfully everyone is safe.
Nominate your Community Champion
Awards in 11 categories are available from NKDC, but you need to nominate someone! Nominate for Community Spirit, Community Business, Community Group, young achiever, good neighbour, contributions to climate action, arts and culture, a better environment and health and wellbeing. Or a long-standing contribution to a group. Nominations close September 14th Please nominate a local person right away here.
Want to keep in touch?
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Best wishes,
Marianne
Marianne Overton MBE