A report from District Councillors Jim Clarke and Steve Clegg on achievements over the last year, provided for the May 2021 Parish Council meeting
The last 12+ months have been very challenging for everyone, and although much of our work has been conducted in a ‘virtual’ environment, we are pleased to report a number of important achievements for North Kesteven District Council.
The following items are far from comprehensive, but we believe it will give you a flavour for what has been done in addition to the regular Parish Council reports you have received from NKDC.
The Covid-19 Pandemic
The Council has actively engaged in and supported the Lincolnshire Resilience Forum and Public Health partnerships in relation to Covid. The response by our local communities has been phenomenal. NKDC has forged even closer links with many community groups, which we hope to maintain hereafter.
We have actively helped more than 2,000 businesses and administered over £28m in Covid-support grants to date.
Our staff were promptly equipped to work agilely from home, delivering the majority of services provided by NKDC. They also made over 15,000 phone calls to our most vulnerable residents throughout the year supporting their wellbeing.
Covid Ambassadors were deployed District-wide to support Covid-compliance and to bolster confidence within businesses, in public spaces and within local centres.
We also co-funded with the Lincolnshire Community Foundation a £40,000 fund to support Covid-19 response and recovery initiatives.
We facilitated local provision of Covid-testing in Sleaford for key workers.
Key Projects
The £1.2m refurbishment and re-modelling of the National Centre for Craft & Design in Sleaford (now rebranded again as ‘The Hub’) is completed and is open from May 17th. The improvements have given the facility a real vibrancy and we’re sure residents will appreciate these.
Our Economic Development team has lead the construction of an additional 15 business workshop units at Discovery Court, North Hykeham. We have invested 2.2m in extending the Council’s estate of business units, stretching to 126 across 11 locations District-wide. These are now being let out.
Whisby Natural World Centre has continued to welcome visitors to its outside attractions during the pandemic, and we have improved disable access to facilities here too.
NKDC Policy and Strategy
We have embraced the challenges to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by approving and progressing an ambitious action plan to achieve carbon neutrality for the Council by 2030. We are also looking at ways to help residents and businesses to do the same.
We recently set out and approved a Community Strategy which aligns the Council’s established Priorities alongside the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals in pursuit of a net-zero carbon future with better levels of health and a more vibrant economy.
We are working positively with partner organisations to review the Central Lincolnshire Local Plan, seeking to set out a roadmap to carbon neutrality for the area by 2030.
We now have a Tree Strategy which includes provision to increase tree cover including on our own land.
Our Council
We have developed a 10-year capital programme of £230m in investments in housing, infrastructure, economic growth potential and resources whilst maintaining a low rate of Council Tax at £174.90 for a Band D property.
The Council secured the prestigious Investors in People gold standard in recognition of his high level of colleague welfare, engagement and empowerment.
We put in place measures to ensure safe Covid-compliant elections on May 6.
Our Communities
Despite the trying circumstances, we still managed to hold the annual Community Champion Awards celebration honouring the best in community endeavour – widening to 12 the categories to reflect amazing Covid responses.
In partnership with the owners of the Sleaford Renewable Energy Plant, we have established a five-year community fund of £125,000 into which 28 parish areas can bid within a five mile radius of the plant.
We completed a successful trial of paper and card separation across 1,700 NK properties to enhance recycling quality, value and sustainability; informing the county-wide rollout of purple-lidded bins in all of North Kesteven from this September.
Our waste team maintained the efficient delivery of our waste collection services - emptying 3.7m bins across four waste streams.
We actively enhanced how we tackled anti-social behaviour issues, littering and nuisance; dealing with 460 noise complaints, 107 fly-tipping complaints and 160 smoke complaints.
The Council’s Stepping Out Walks supported increased access to the countryside, with usage increasing 25% to 251,330 users in 2020/21 .
Our Environment
As mentioned earlier in this report, we have pursued the Council’s Climate Emergency declaration by planting trees, enhancing carbon storage, further reducing carbon outputs.
We completed a project in partnership with Sleaford Town Council and Historic England to restore heritage shop fronts in Sleaford.
We are working on a project with South Kesteven District Council, Natural England and other partners to enhance the river environment of the River Slea for wildlife and access.
We have allocated a £50k-plus budget for the restoration and improved interpretation and accessibility of Cogglesford Watermill in Sleaford.
Our Economy
We have started to roll out a masterplan for a £56m eco-conscious business expansion programme at Sleaford Moor Enterprise Park.
We have contributed to the delivery of highway improvements at Sleaford, on the A17, at Holdingham Roundabout and the Rugby Club junction of the A153, opening up opportunities further investment, jobs growth and housing.
As we emerge from the impact of Covid on our tourism sector, we have supported activities to increase its value – which currently generates £162m to the local economy and supports almost 4,000 jobs at a summer peak.
Our Homes
NKDC is leading by example, with new principles for carbon-neutral house building within the NK council stock, including highly efficient Passivhaus standards.
We have started work on 33 additional homes at Welchman Way Heckington (an investment of £4.68m), completed four flats in Heckington and started eight more Passivhaus homes a Potterhanworth, plus the commissioning of 19 in Navenby where the eco-credentials are being raised before being transferred as NK housing stock.
We are partnering with Lincolnshire County Council to develop a scheme of extra-care and specialist housing in Sleaford to meet the District’s needs.
We are on track to deliver 42 new properties at Station Road Waddington under the Council’s private rental arm Lafford Homes, which has 72 homes already within its portfolio and 128 more at various stages from concept to near-completion.
Our annual benchmarking exercise with Council tenants showed particular excellence for high levels of satisfaction, property quality and value-for-money.