Leave The FA Cup Alone!

And still it goes on. The desire to ruin the greatest club cup competition anywhere in football. Turn into something that does not really matter and has no kudos! All down to the Premier League small-minded, narrow-minded and introverted clubs.

There were nearly 750 football clubs that entered the FA Cup for this season. Of that number all but 20 were outside of the Premier League but it is the will of the 20 and not the approximately 730 that counts. Football really has gone to the dogs since the Premier League was formed. Why so many? Simply because of the magic of the FA Cup. The ability to take on the big boys. Attend the big grounds, earn some much needed revenue. The wonderful feeling of watching the third round draw and knowing that a minnow, the smallest and lowest placed team left in the competition could draw the biggest and best and compete with the on an even footing.

So what am I ranting about, getting me hair off about? The totally unnecessary reforms that are being suggested so that the poor old multi-millionaire footballers that play in the Premier League don't get too tired by having to play too many games. It is sickening! Do they not realise that the FA Cup has been in existence since 1871-72? That is 145 years. The Premier League since just 1992. Do they not realise they should be giving it the respect it deserves?

We have heard of proposals relating to the seeding of teams, making the competition a mid-week competition with no replays when a draw occurs. This along with other suggestions about lower league teams playing at home when drawn against higher league teams. Why? What is the point?

I will tell you what I believe the point to be. Simply because Premier League teams do not want to play two games a week. The poor over-paid "stars" get tired. If they have the honour, at least it used to be an honour, of being selected for the English national team, those few English players that actually play in the English Premier League, they may be too tired to play properly in the summertime international competitions because of the previous winter's exertions. Bless them! How do they cope? There is no other reason. Sadly, it would appear that the Football Association have now fallen for this nonsense and are willing to change the rules of their cup competition.

So what about the rag-bag 730 teams that do not compete in the Premier league? Well they really don't matter. The fact that a good cup run brings in hugely needed finance is irrelevant. The fact that for a lower league team to get a tie at a Premiership ground, either via the draw or by earning a replay, can have huge financial benefits along with exposure to the wider footballing audience doesn't matter. In essence, football outside of the Premier League no longer matters to either the Premier League itself or the Football Association.

The Premier League has done little or nothing for football in this country since it's inception and with these changes will help to force non-Premiership football into further decline. Decline you may say with some surprise? Absolutely, decline. It has been declining in importance since the day the Premier League was formed.

I fear for football in this country and the ordinary football supporter should too. Unless of course they feel that the heart of football is he Premier League!

Caravan Sites - Longer Opening Period - East Coast

Further thoughts to my previous article on this entitled 12 Months Caravans And Flooding. East Coast. That article brought forward several comments relating to the fact that there is a petition in existence regarding the lengthening of the caravan site season but not relating to the desire to have them open for 12 months of the year. I was aware of the petition but was actually commenting on the desire of some caravan owners to see 12 month opening as they were on sites which only close for a short period in the depths of winter.

Given that, I thought I would put forward some information that may be of assistance for those looking not to have their site open for 12 months but to extend the season from the beginning of March to the End of October from the present opening dates.

Firstly a little explanation. The reason that there are different opening dates on different caravan sites is that the understanding of the flood risk by the Environment Agency (EA) has changed over the years. This is important as the EA have, for all intents and purposes, the final say on opening dates and have changed those dates as their understanding has changed. This is important as the opening dates are laid down in planning conditions when the original planning application has been successful when it has appeared before East Lindsey District Council (ELDC), the Local Planning Authority (LPA).

So back to the petition. As I understand it the petition set up by caravan owners has been worded to encourage ELDC to make all caravan sites opening dates the same, beginning of March to the end of October. That is a sensible request in my view and one which I investigated with the Planning Department at ELDC when I was a District Councillor. It is unfortunate that due to planning regulations the District Council cannot do that. My understanding is that the only way that the required changes can be achieved is for the caravan site owners to apply to the LPA to have the planning conditions changed for their individual caravan sites, which means basically that they would ask that their individual site could be open from the beginning of March to the end of October. It would then be up to the LPA to decide on whether the request would be granted and for the EA not to object to any change. So in effect the present petition has very little chance to get the changes that are wanted by the authors.

For what it is worth, my advice is for those caravan owners that want to see a change to the opening dates of the sites on which they are situated to approach their site owners and request that they approach the LPA with a planning application to vary the dates. That may or may not be more effective than the present petition depending on whether the site owners wish to see a change.

The present situation whereby one site is allowed to be open for 11 months of the year and the site next door to it can only open for 7 or 8 months of the year is ludicrous. Even more ludicrous is the situation where one part of a site is allowed to open for longer than another part of the same site. Believe me this is the case.

I hope that the present situation can be resolved but I fear that it may be a long haul. Good luck to those trying!

A Non-Obese Tax Rebate?

Not trying to be rude here but it looks as though there might well be an extra tax burden on us all soon simply because there are a large number of obese people in this county! The Sugar Tax.

A tax that could be put into place simply to try and stop people becoming obese. There is no other real reason for one to be introduced. But what about those amongst the population who use sugar, like sugar, like the occasional sugary product but are not obese? Are those people going to be unfairly taxed because as far as I can see everybody that likes the sugary products will be hit in the pocket by The Sugar Tax.

So. If this tax is brought in then how about a Non-Obese Tax Rebate to compensate those people for whom the tax would be clearly unfair? Every year on their income tax return the tax-payer could include his/her height and weight and if not declared obese could have a rebate on their tax. Those on the PAYE scheme could have the same done by their employers. Result. Those that need taxing over their sugar intake would pay The Sugar Tax and those that don't need it would not be hit.

Good idea eh? Now where is my MP's contact details, I am sure he will see the sense in this? Toodle ooh!

Travelodge For Skegness - Best Location For It?

With the fairly recent news that Travelodge is following hot on the heels of Premier Inn with a strong interest in opening a new hotel in Skegness it has set me thinking where would the best location for it to be built.

In my view it would be on North Parade where the recently defunct Dinosaur attraction, The Lost World Adenture Park, was located.

The now closed Lost World Adventure Park.

There are two reasons for this in my view. Firstly, it would bring extra life and footfall to the northern end of the promenade, something that has needed to be done for several years. This land, owned by local businessman Dave Scott of the Jewellers fame, which I believe is up for sale, already has outline planning permission for a hotel that was granted some time ago by East Lindsey District Council. If the permission has lapsed it should be very easy to have it reinstated or for a new planning application to go through the system.

In my view that would be an ideal location. I am sure that there are other locations that people can think of, the planned business park on the A52 for one but in my view, if I was to build a hotel here, I would want to be in the town itself.

I have no idea if Travelodge will make an appearance any time soon but if they do then that is where the hotel would best be placed in my view! Wherever it finally goes, if it does, another national chain should be welcomed with open arms.

East Lindsey District Council To Receive More Government Money!

It has been announced today that East Lindsey District Council is to receive nearly half a million pounds more money from central government for budget year 2016/2017 than had previously been the case. This is great news and will go a long way to covering the deficit being experienced at the council.

The County Council will receive an addition £5.1 million of funding.

This is as a result of rural MPs from around the country meeting with the Chancellor to thrash out a new deal for rural counties.

I don't know exactly what this will mean but I hope that it will result in less service cuts than those already planned by both councils. Fingers crossed!

Skegness Is A Product

Now that may seem like a strange thing to say but that is how I view our town. It is a product. Something like a tin of beans or a car. It is, of course, the place where we all live and that is just as important but for now I am talking about the economic side of our town, the side that provides the jobs and pays the wages.

What is this about? Why does the statement "Skegness is a product" need to be made? Simply because that product is under threat, understandably, but under threat none-the-less.

East Lindsey District Council is under severe financial pressure. Nothing unusual there. All councils at a district level or above are. The noises coming out of Manby are that there have to be cuts, which is the case, but that they will give some priority to Economic Development, ensuring that the economy of the district moves forward. I think that outlook has a lot of merit. As a result of this outlook the council have created a councillor who has the responsibility for Coastal Economy and another that has the responsibility for Market Towns and Rural Economy which should be seen as a positive move.

Having said that, I cannot understand how, going back to "Skegness is a product", planning to reduce the attractiveness of the town to the very people that support the economy, our visitors, is going to help to develop the economy. If you are trying to sell a product, do you remove the ingredients? If you make beef stew that is selling very well, do you then reduce the beef content? Would that make the product more or less attractive to the buyer? Logic tells me it would be less attractive.

From what I understand the following ingredients that make up the product that is Skegness are in danger of being removed. The Fairy Dell Paddling Pool, the public toilets and the bowling greens.

Now there may be others that I have not heard about as well.

The much loved Fairy Dell Paddling Pool. 

I really cannot understand how removing those three facilities from the town will not have a long term detrimental effect on the tourists going forward. Can you imagine coming to a seaside resort for a day, day-tripping is the bread and butter of our resort, and not being able to find a toilet for either yourself or the kids when you need one? That to me is something that would be a huge detriment. The Fairy Dell is hugely popular with both tourists and local alike. It is very unusual for a resort to have such a lovely, free to use, attraction. Again it would be detrimental to lose it. As for the bowling greens. Well they are slightly different. They do not get the use that the other two do but they are very important to the hoteliers due to the large bowls competitions that are held at intervals during the summer. These include a national competition that is run and organised by the English Bowling Federation. What would it say about our town and the economic development of it if these greens were taken out of commission. Not a lot.

I believe that, given recent events elsewhere, the district council will place the onus on keeping these resources open on Skegness Town Council. Would they be able to take them on, could they take them on. That is a whole different issue given recent decisions. That will make a blog of its own.

We have seen some excellent inward investment from the private sector recently with the probability that there could be more to come. Our local district council should look at that as a huge positive and do their utmost to back that investment up, not remove the ingredients of our beef stew. Final thought. What are our local District Councillors doing about this? They are all very quiet.

It's A 5 O'Clock Thing

If there is one thing I hate about winter time it is the fact that it gets dark so early. Wandering about in the gloom ate 3.30 in the afternoon is just not right.

There are two points in winter when I start to feel that the year is heading in the right direction.

The first is the 21st December, Midwinter Day or Yule as it was once called. Yes folks your Yule Log comes from this Pagan festival celebrated mostly by the Norsemen of old. The birth of the new sun when the days start to lengthen and we move inexorably towards the spring.

The second is just a personal thing for me. No historical or religious significance. It is when it is still light at 5 o'clock in the evening. Don't ask me why I feel this way as I could not give you a logical

answer. I just do.

When it is 5 o'clock and still light it tells me that we are nearly there, nearly out of the darkness of winter and into the real New Year rapidly heading towards spring.

Daft as it seems, I just cannot wait for that to happen. Lifts the spirit and the heart. Definitely not a 5 o'clock shadow!

Soon be summer!

12 Month Caravans And Flooding. East Coast.

Today is the anniversary of the East Coast Floods that devastated our area in 1953 during which over 300 people lost their lives. This disaster alone should tell us that there is a need for flood protection in our area both physically and through legislation. Over the last few years there have been many "near misses" when the sea threatened to inundate the land once again, with December 2013 being the one that came the closest to being another disaster. It caused much damage along the coast but thankfully, in the main, the flood defences held and no lives were lost.

I raise this issue not only because today is the anniversary of the 1953 disaster but also because there is now a push to allow caravan parks to be open and occupied 12 months of the year. I can fully understand why people who own caravans and also the caravan parks would wish to see this happen. I also understand the economic arguments for allowing it to happen. The wishes and the arguments need to be set against the issue of safety of the caravan occupants.

Caravans during the 1953 flood.

In the event of a serious inundation, caravans become flotsam and jetsam. Large metal boxes that are at the mercy of the onrushing waters. A flooding tide moves at incredible speed and caravans stand little to no chance of being stable even if chained down.

The caravan parks we have are not residential, they are holiday parks. Any residential park would already be allowed to have people on them 12 months of the year. None of the holiday parks would have received planning permission if they had originally applied for residential status. Why? It was not deemed safe to do so and still isn't under planning legislation.

It is for that reason that those wanting to see caravan parks open for 12 months of the year in the flood zone have a forlorn hope. The Environment Agency will not let it happen and would oppose any move for it to do so.

It is a real pity that is the case but in my view there is not good enough reasons to put people at risk.