Winter News December from Marianne Overton MBE
Winter News December from
Marianne Overton MBE
Welcome to my monthly personal newsletter to let you know what I am doing on your behalf and to keep in touch with you.
Let me know if I can help you. Text or call 07920 235 364
Local Government Reorganisation
Local Government Reorganisation centralises local powers into fewer hands. I see it as a costly distraction when we are already facing a shortfall. The “hope savings” just do not appear and powers go to the big Mayoral authority, not to our councils. Worse, it creates very large organisations that make it very hard for local people to be heard. If you thought our District Council was hard to influence, try something 7-10 times bigger!
However, if forced in Lincolnshire, the Independents prefer the smallest possible option of councils, focussed on our towns, such as Sleaford, Grantham, Spalding, and Stamford. Ours would be the area shown as Green on the map. Full proposal is here. Three proposals were submitted from Greater Lincolnshire and the Secretary of State for Local Government will decide, ready for elections to the new councils in 2027, they say. They plan a year overlap with District, County and Unitary councillors all in place at once.
Reorganisation into ever bigger areas was proposed by the Conservatives and continued by Labour.
Bigger areas mean people are less likely to know their local councillor and are more likely to vote on what they heard on social media or TV, and that favours the big parties with money for TV and targeted messages.
What’s new is the fall of Labour and Conservative parties, and it has just been announced that the Mayoral elections are cancelled next year. In our County, only Lincoln has elections next year. As any Government loses support, it becomes difficult to implement unpopular policies, such as Local Government Reorganisation and mass industrial solar on farmland.
Solar: Time to Make your Voice heard!
The time has come! Fosse Green application is going to planning at North Kesteven District Council in Sleaford on Tuesday 16th December 5pm.
• Can you please attend? A show of force will help.
• Can you please write in? Every voice counts, even just a paragraph. Go to “Planning online north Kesteven,” register if new, and search on “23/0325/NSIP”
The officer’s report going to committee is here. 23/0325/NSIP - Fosse Green Solar Industry near Thorpe on The Hill, Morton, Witham St Hughs, Haddington, Thurlby, Norton Disney, Bassingham and Boothby Graffoe will affect North Hykeham, Navenby and all our cliff and lowland villages to Brant Broughton, as the applications connect. It changes the nature of our attractive villages set in rural and productive farmland to industrial solar.
There are 13 connections proposed, and Fosse Green is just one of them. The cumulative impact of industrial development is horrendous, swallowing 40 sq. km of farmland, an area bigger than the whole of Lincoln.
Plus, acres of up to 1,324 shipping containers filled with Lithium batteries, close to our villages, with all the risks that entails to us, and to our water supplies following fire.
The Fosse application is for 2,643 acres (5 miles) over 60 years. Almost a quarter is best quality land 3a. Solar panels are 3.5m high in fenced concrete compounds with their own inverters etc. Lithium batteries are either in the compounds or together in 128 acres. Cables up the Cliff Edge to Navenby take 867 acres of farmland. For context, a football field is about 1.5 acres.
Huge thanks for the letters you have already signed for me, over a thousand in total! I am meeting with the minister again next week, but online this time! I have asked our MP to organise an event for us to attend in Parliament to make our voices heard in the New Year.
Speaking on local issues
I spoke on BBC Sunday Politics East Midlands this week, available on BBC iPlayer 7/12/25. Topics below.
Tourist Tax
We all need local services, and we pay council tax for that, which of course, tourists do not pay. So, it’s not unreasonable, as long as it little enough not to put people off and the money is guaranteed to go back into locally enhancing our visitor offer, so people want to spend more days here.
But it should be to our local Councils, not the Mayor. Local councils have councillors from across the area with brilliant local knowledge, important in improving the offer.
It needs to be easy to collect, not another administrative burden for businesses. Proud of our heritage here, so much to discover.
Minimum wage
£10.85 16-21 from April this year. Apprentices £8/hr 21 and over £12.71 from Nov
Yes, of course we want young people to earn more, but small business will need to have their burdens eased. Small businesses have seen increases in National Insurance, tax, pension contributions and now even tax on the tips you give.
What the government should be doing is focussing on the global businesses, the likes of Google and Amazon who avoid paying billions, leaving the rest of us to pay more.
Union flags
Of course, we all like to see our national flag proudly displayed, but do we need it on every lamppost and how often will they be replaced? A scruffy flag is certainly worse than no flag! The money could be better spent on our local communities, a fund which has been reduced.
Tree Honour: East Midlands Tree outside number 10.
Delighted, it’s a good job the area had not been covered with solar panels! Lincolnshire has just 4% tree cover, compared to ten times that in Europe. The Government aims to have 16.5% with an interim target of 106,000 acres more tree cover by 2030. With all these demands on our land, we need to put solar on roofs, not farmland.
Street Lighting
Following complaints, I have investigated the delay in getting streetlights repaired. Dean Kelly explained that lights in NKDC are coming to the end of their useful life. In some the inside socket is rotted, meaning we need specialist contractors to work on the live wires, without turning them off. (Called a Distributer Network Operator with fuse and socket.) Thus, it is not a simple job, and needs licence from National Grid, a specialist sub-contractor (3 months allowed) and may need a road closure. (12 weeks’ notice required).
Other simpler lamp replacements can be done when the new replacement lamps arrive.
Meanwhile NKDC is having to replace all their lights over to LED in a programme-managed by Ruth Denton, NKDC.
Saving Energy
A new guide is out helping you to save money this winter.
• Switching devices off at the plug instead of leaving them on standby can save up to £45
• Turning the thermostat down by just one degree can save around £90 a year
• Replacing old bulbs with LEDs can cut lighting costs by up to 75%
• Boiling water in a kettle instead of on the hob uses less energy
The full guide is here 104 energy saving tips for your home or visit the Centre for Sustainable Energy’s page to find out How to make a draught excluder.
You can upgrade your boiler or have a more energy efficient heat pump under the Boiler Upgrade Scheme at thermly.co.uk.
We have pushed Government to put more grants into making homes warm and they have responded here.
A full run-down of Grants was in my previous newsletter. Let me know if you need it resending.
Welbourn Horse Chestnut tree
What happened in 1897?
To celebrate Queen Victoria's diamond jubilee on the throne, a tree was planted on Welbourn Green. Sadly, that tree has finally got diseased and had to go. We tried pruning it in the hope of a rejuvenation, but no luck. It's time to plant another tree.
Q1 What kind do you think would be best? Oak, Beech, Hornbeam?
Q2, Shall we have an event to mark the new planting?
Q3 What memories have you got of events on The Green under the old Horse Chestnut Tree?
Our Nature Reserves
Serving on the Advisory board of the Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust for many years, I have been pleased to support many improvements and areas protected to help everyone get the chance to experience our local natural world, close up. I am newly appointed by the County Council to the Snipedales Nature Reserve Management Committee. Our most local nature reserves are probably our gardens – worth a thought!
Have you seen the Autumn flocks gathering together and enjoying our fields lately? In the last week, we have seen 500 plus lack-headed gulls, 150 Pink-footed geese, 50 Redwing, 60 Goldfinch, 400 Fieldfayre, 150 Skylarks and 5,000 Starlings. Fantastic to see, right in our home area.
Food Waste
Food waste is collected in North Kesteven from 2026, as required by Government. You get two smaller plastic caddies with a weekly collection. The food goes to make green electricity in a biodigester near Lincoln.
Business Spotlight
Welcome to new businesses in Navenby High Street, the Tethers at “Dress me Up” for smart clothes and wedding dresses, and Italian hairdresser, Salvatore Visconi, for drop-in men’s haircuts. Great to meet you and good luck!
Want to keep in touch?
If you know anyone else who would find this newsletter useful, please suggest they drop me an email here. I write a weekly bulletin which you can find here. Please keep in touch with social media
Best wishes,
Marianne
Marianne Overton MBE