In 2019, InvestSK spent £6023.40 of public money on a specially commissioned film about “Inspirational Women of South Kesteven”.

The film was supposed to show that our district has some other famous and remarkable women beside the much venerated Margaret Thatcher. Unfortunately, three years later, the film has yet to see the light of day. It is not available on YouTube, Vimeo or any other platform.

The film does not feature Lady Charlotte Bertie of Uffington who was a pioneering translator, industrialist, linguist, collector, and mother of nine.

This expenditure explains £6,000 of InvestSK expenditure. Another £14,000 was spent on a knees up at Stoke Rochford hall. £50,000 was given as grant funding to a dance school based in Grantham. If you want to know what happened to the rest of the THREE MILLION pounds spent by InvestSK during its three year existence, you will have to do your own research!

The title of this particular blogpost is a direct quote spoken by leader of SKDC, Cllr Kelham Cooke (Con), at a Cabinet meeting on 19th April. The comment was in response to a question from Cllr Phil Dilks (Ind) asking why the Chair of a Scrutiny Committee had tried to prevent a member of the public from making comments at the start of a meeting on 3rd April about the Deepings Leisure Centre. Cllr Cooke’s further comments revealed that he did not understand the Constitution about which he was preaching.

It is intended that South Kesteven DC makes radical changes to its constitution at the Council meeting on Thursday 26^th May. In the last few weeks, various new articles and schedules have been drip-fed to members. A real overload of paperwork as well as many hastily scheduled meetings and workshops. Nevertheless, a meeting of Constitution Committee on Monday 16th May will discuss the changes and decide whether to recommend them to the Full Council.

The proposals will be presented on Monday by Cllr Linda Wootten, the Cabinet Member for Corporate Governance and Licensing.

The review of the Constitution was supposed to be a tidying up exercise to make the document easier to read which is a challenging task for anyone. However, in the process of ‘tidying up’, Cllr Wootten is proposing that several of the rules should be changed:

• The Leader would have far more ability to ignore and/or shutdown unwelcome comments and questions
• Where Councillors request items for discussion, the Chairs of the Scrutiny Committees (currently all Conservative) would have the opportunity to delay debate for 3 months.
• Members of the public would have to register their wish to speak several days before the meeting, and submit any questions in advance. The only reason for introducing these new restrictions is, in the words of a recent edition of Private Eye, “to give slow-witted Councillors time to come up with answers to tricky questions” (see attached).
• Restrictions on the ability of Councillors to participate and contribute to the scrutiny process.

Personally, I am appalled at the proposals to restrict freedom of speech for Councillors and members of the public. Last August, the Council received a report on its scrutiny functions which was critical of the current procedures which are ineffective. The report has been deliberately hidden from public view and instead we are expected to accept rule changes which will make it far more difficult to hold our local politicians to account.

Given the recent tradition of Conservatives at a national level to make up the rules as they go along, and mainly to suit themselves, we need to be increasingly vigilant that such injustices do not continue at a local level.

I have had some really positive feedback my election communication flyer. I am really grateful to my friend Andrew for his help with the design.

A couple of people have commented that the leaflet doesn’t say much about the specific problems of the rural villages of the Deepings West and Rural electoral division. I admit that I struggled in writing the leaflet to make particular reference to the villages for a number of reasons, the main one is that there is only so much one can fit onto a sheet of A4. A paragraph about each village would have filled the page.

The questions about the leisure centre, waste and recycling, highways and the ubiquitous pot holes affect the whole of the electoral division and I did consider giving a roll-call of Baston, Braceborough, Greatford, Tallington, Uffington, West Deeping, Wilsthorpe, Newstead, Barholm and Stowe, but to do so would only have proved that I can read a map, and I thought that mentioning the scarecrow festival or any events in other villages would be disingenuous because while I have enjoyed them, I can’t claim credit for organising them. Naturally, having served Market and West Deeping ward for 6 years, I have many examples of activity in that part of the Division but on briefly re-reading the flyer in response to a couple of e-mails including yours, I notice there are not many mentions of specific Market or West Deeping either!

With hindsight, I regret not saying much about the lack of cycle and pedestrian infrastructure. An stark example is the lack of any sensible pedestrian route between Uffington and Tallington. During the last year I have been running around (literally) in order to become more familiar with the patch. The main road has a long stretch from Copt Hill Enterprises to Tallington with no footpath at all. The official footpath route would take you via Casewick and Barholm and the river route is not a right of way and impassable other than via farmers fields.  I’ve written more about my journeys elsewhere on my blog. https://deepingdo.com/runmyage/

In response to the specific questions posed by one of my correspondents, Nick of Uffington, I can’t put the detailed answers onto a leaflet but I am happy to publish them here:

What is your stance on the Tallington crossing?

I am hesitant to make any promise about the crossing because I remember, eight years ago, a Conservative candidate made reference in his leaflet about the need to find a solution to the Tallington crossing. I believe it has proven to be an empty gesture because nothing has happened. The County Councillor will not be able to make changes to the management or route of the East Coast Mainline. I will of course support a solution which improves road safety and decreases congestion. I attended a meeting of Uffington Parish Council (via zoom) where members of Tallington Parish Council made a short presentation with a potential solution. The solution was dependent on the construction of a Stamford Northern by-pass. In theory this seems more practical than a bridge or by-pass for Tallington alone which would only result in traffic arriving earlier to join the existing queues at the Morrison’s roundabout in Stamford.

The construction of a Stamford Northern by-pass seems plausible given the number of additional houses planned for the town but, let’s face it, it will take much more than four years to gain consensus on the solution, let alone build the road. Therefore, it is important to take action to mitigate the existing problems by encouraging vehicles heading from Spalding direction to choose alternative routes to the A1; and by improving highway safety on each side of the crossing. The next chapter in that particular story is a likely argument about a new vehicular access to Tallington lakes about which I am currently corresponding with the SKDC planning enforcement team.

Do you have an opinion on the quantity and speed of traffic on the roads connecting the villages, particularly the number of quarry trucks coming from Baston and other places?

Yes, I think that a number of rural roads have become ‘rat-runs’. I was reminded of this recently when cycling from Uffington to Belmesthorpe delivering my leaflets. King Street between Baston and West Deeping has also become a bit of a drag strip and the junction with Stamford Road needs to be made safer. The number of quarry vehicles is part of the reason for the deterioration of rural roads and the almost ubiquitous potholes in our area. LCC have let residents down by granting so many mineral licences without due regard to the condition and consequent safety of the roads.

How has Covid affected the rural economy?

The global, national and local consequences of Covid are obviously massive and largely detrimental. I am not only worried about the impact on livelihoods and the economy but also on mental health and social interaction. I spoke to someone in a village the other day about the impact of Covid on their kennels and cattery; while no-one has been able to go on holiday, the demand for boarding kennels has evaporated and these businesses have really struggled. My own work as an energy consultant has also suffered and I have had to take casual work in order to keep my family.
On the other hand, there are a few positive aspects to the Covid response including the reduction in vehicular commuting and people spending more time with their families. As we emerge from the crisis I hope that we will be able to remember some of the lessons we have learned including being thankful for what we have previously taken for granted.

Do you have thoughts on how affected business e.g. village pubs, cafes etc have fared and how they can be supported?

I have been a member of CAMRA for many years and I have always thought the government could do far more to support local pubs, eg. by reducing the price differential between drinking at home and drinking in the pub; for many people there choice between £4 a pint in the Bertie Arms and £1 a pint in your own living room is a no-brainer. The County and District Council could be better partners with local businesses rather than just appearing to be an enforcer of health and safety and other legislation (although this also important).

I genuinely intend to represent and communicate with the residents of the villages if I am elected. National and local circumstances have changed in the last four years which make the Deepings West and Rural seat far more ‘marginal’ than it was last time. My fear is that people in the Tallington, Uffington and Baston will not realise that their vote in this election actually carries far more influence than in other parts of the county or in the parliamentary elections.

Thanks again to everyone for your ongoing feedback. If you would like to keep in touch, please ‘follow’ me on this blog, or Twitter or Facebook.

I do hope you will feel able to support me on May 6th.

Best wishes,


Ashley Baxter
Independent Candidate
for Deepings West and Rural division

01778 344070
07799 077090

In yet another astonishing U-turn, South Kesteven Council has announced revised plans to unveil the controversial statue of Margaret Thatcher this summer. Having taken into account concern about public disorder in Grantham, a decision has been made to relocate the 10.5ft statue to Market Deeping.

The decision was announced as part of public realm improvements to the town centre which will also include the reconfiguration of the market place car park as well as a ban on the sale of takeaway food.

The bronze statue of the Rt Hon Baroness Thatcher or Kesteven will be situated in front of the ‘Cigar Box’ emporium in order to underline Thatcher’s long association with the tobacco industry. The ‘Iron Lady’ will not face towards the roundabout because of her predisposition against u-turns. However, the statue’s plinth will be of an particularly innovative design which include secure parking facilities for bicycles, which have been the focus of animated conversations among many Deepings residents in recent months.

Local councillor, Mrs Dilys Philkes commented “I realise Lady Thatcher was not everyone’s cup of tea, so to speak, but this monumental erection is bound to attract sightseers from far and wide which can only be good for the town”.

Councillor Ashley Baxter was less enthusiastic and suggested “If residents don’t want the Deepings to be dominated by a Conservative with little or no local connection, they must vote Independent on 6th May!”.

At Monday’s meeting of SKDC Full Council, the Portfolio Holder for Housing announced his intention to build new council houses at a small number of houses across the District. These include 14 houses at Wellington Way in Market Deeping.

The housing schemes have been ‘in the pipeline’ for several years but, as with so many other SKDC projects, the pace of progress has been almost glacial. I was shown some plans for the Wellington Way scheme, in confidence, way back in 2018. I don’t know all the reasons why it has taken the council nearly three years to ‘go public’ and start the process of applying for planning permission but it will be due in part to the large turnover of senior officers at SKDC in general and in the beleaguered Housing Department in particular. The changes in Cabinet roles (three different portfolio holders in three years) and of course the global pandemic will also have had an impact. The current Portfolio Holder, Cllr Robert Reid (Con) stated said that he hopes the scheme will be presented to the council’s internal Housing Group (composed of senior officers and cabinet members) later in March and then Planning Permission will be requested in May.

I do not have accurate up-to-date information regarding the details of the new ‘housing units’; they might be flats or bungalows but I think they will be small houses. As for the precise location on Wellington Way, you don’t need a Town Planning degree in order to make an educated guess at where it might be physically possible to build 14 homes, especially if they are to be built on land owned by the Council.

In 2018, I was assured that the future of the Scout Hut would be secure; and I have no reason to believe it is at risk now.

The other South Kesteven sites progressing in 2021/22 financial year are: