< Previous30 LINCOLNSHIRETODAYSCUNTHORPE© Shutterstock / Neil Mitchell Scunthorpere-invents itselfIt’s hard to imagine that the retirement of a used car dealercould be such a catalyst for change in a town – but that’swhat’s happened in Scunthorpe30-33_Layout 1 18/10/2017 09:34 Page 1LINCOLNSHIRETODAY31SCUNTHORPEKen Cross had been selling cars at thebottom of Scunthorpe High Street fordecades, and over those years hadacquired a little land and a number ofbuildings in what had once been thecentre of town, but which had declined inimportance as centre of gravity shiftedfirst to the west and then out of townaltogether. But now it’s coming back, aspart of a £60 million regeneration set intomotion by North Lincolnshire Council.The council has bought Ken’s premisesand embarked on ambitious plans thatwill see it extend its HQ next door andbuild a home for Ongo, the area’s socialhousing provider, for which the steelworkis already going up. Hardly surprisingreally, since the council had long sinceburst the seams of the Civic Centre builtfor the former Scunthorpe BoroughCouncil back in 1963.A lot’s happened in local governmentsince then; the council no longer exists,having been swallowed up with Glanfordto become the North Lincolnshire in 1996,since when the authority built itself a newbuilding close to Ken’s used carshowroom, and runs the area from thereand premises in Brigg, a dozen miles away.North Lincolnshire’s plans forScunthorpe come in at a little over £60million, which doesn’t seem a lot thesedays. Nevertheless, it will buy the counciloffice extension, at £5.7 million, and theOngo premises for a slightly larger sum.There will also be about £15 million fornew University Centre, £3.9 million toprovide up to 60 one and two bed homeson nearby Lindum Street – with privatesector investment – £14.7 million for anew 200-unit facility to provide homes forNHS employees, five commercial units,refurbishment of the library, and £4million improvements simply to make thetown look more attractive. Council leader Rob Waltham says: “Thisis a significant investment never seenbefore that will transform the town andcreate a vibrant and thriving place wherepeople will want to live, work, study,invest, visit, and spend leisure time. “Our aim is to create a centre forlearning and business – a place andwhere people will want to stay. That’swhy part of our ambitious plan includesbuilding a new 2,000-place UniversityCentre right here in the heart ofScunthorpe town centre.“Equally, we want to give people theopportunity to work in this fantastictown. To enable that to happen, we arecreating more business opportunities –including retail and leisure. Already, wehave seen a rise in number of investment33 Á30-33_Layout 1 18/10/2017 09:35 Page 2neilvesseystorage tanks ltdt: +44 (0) 1724 850224 | f: +44 (0) 1724 289317e: sales@neilvessey.com | w: www.neilvessey.comSince 1972, Neil Vessey Storage Tanks Ltd. hasspecialised in the supply of new and usedstorage tanks as well as ancillary equipment.From our premises in North Lincolnshire, we supply allsizes/capacities of tanks (300 gallons/1,350 litres to 28,500gallons/130,000 litres) to a diverse client base throughout the UK andoverseas. New tanks are manufactured and used tanks arerefurbished on-site. Our 4-acre yard enables us to keep on stock ahuge range of good quality used storage tanks of all types suitable fora wide range of applications.We deliver the complete solution with the supply and installation of awide range of storage tank ancillary equipment including pumps,alarms, and fuel monitors. Our in-house and highly skilled team offitters can install pumps and pipework to tanks and carry out pipeworkinstallations at customer’s premises if required.Specialistsin StorageTank HirePlantcraft Ltd was established in 1980, when Neil Vessey, thecompany's founder and Managing Director, identified a gap in themarket; the need for short and long term hire of storage tanks.With over 20 years experience in the storage tank industry,Plantcraft Ltd is the leading independently owned storage tankhire company in the UK and is proud to supply its services to theworld over. Operating from the head office in Scunthorpe, NorthLincolnshire, Plantcraft Ltd guarantee an efficient, professionaland reliable service, meeting the demands of a varied clientportfolio.Flixborough Industrial EstateScunthorpe, North Lincolnshire DN15 8SHt: +44 (0) 1724 850224 f: +44 (0) 1724 289317e: sales@plantcraft.co.uk w: www.plantcraft.co.uk32 LINCOLNSHIRETODAYAuctioneersAsset ValuersOnline Auctions On Site or at The CJM Auction CentreIndividual Machines to Complete FactoriesOnsite Sales & Nationwide CollectionsRICS Registered ValuersGlobal MarketingRegular Auctions of Antiques & CollectablesRICS Registered ValuersCommercial & Residential Property Clearance SpecialistsEntries Invited for Forthcoming SalesThe CJM Auction Centre, Dunlop Way, Scunthorpe, DN16 3RN01724 334426or 07970 126339paul.cooper@cjmasset.comvisit our website cjmasset.comFree Antique Valuation ClinicsEvery First Tuesday of the Month 10am 12 noon at:Melcot Garden Centre, Kirton Road, Messingham, DN17 3RDEvery Thursday 9am to 12 noon at:The Angel Suite, Market Place, Brigg, DN20 8LDEvery Friday 9am to 12 noon at: The CJM Auction Centre, Dunlop Way, Scunthorpe, DN16 3RNHOLME HALLGOLF CLUBTel: 01724 862078 • www.holmehallgolf.co.ukNewcard bookingsystemavailable for nonmembers We lookforward towelcoming members,visitors and societiesto our course,acknowledged as one of the finestin NorthLincolnshireScunthorpe: 01724 863 684 •Leeds: 0113 243 8574Lincoln: 01522 540 100 • Bolton: 01204 659 308Rugby: 01788 565 850www.tjs-selfdrive.co.ukOur self drive rates are very competitive whilstproviding close attention to our customer needs.30-33_Layout 1 18/10/2017 09:35 Page 3LINCOLNSHIRETODAY33SCUNTHORPEenquiries interested in the town centre.”Out-of-town shopping has alsoblossomed in Scunthorpe as it haselsewhere; it would be odd if it hadn’t.However, the lively independent storesfamiliar to those of us of, a’hem, a certainage, are still to be found. Here, as inmost towns up and down the land,names so familiar for years are still abovetheir shop fronts in the lattice of streetsaround the High Street. They deal inspeciality goods the national chains don’tsee fit to stock, offering them with freeand unbiased advice from people whowant customers to get the best deal, notjust any deal. After all, they’re so veryoften the people who own the shops,and it’s in their interests to serve clientswho want to return… The influx of somany students, council and NHS workersmust surely secure the position of theindependents are still there, andencourage the arrival of new ones keento broaden the town’s retail base.Of course, all of that council-ledchange begs the question about whatwill happen to its old premises; after all,it’s not possible to move on withoutleaving something behind… The oldbuilding is a brutalist structure very muchof its time, and is now Grade II listed.Some call for it to be levelled in akneejerk reaction because it’s alleged tobe an eyesore; others plead its case asnothing of the sort. Sure, it uses concreteas a building medium but inside,especially in its Council chamber, thedesign belies its 50-plus years, and offerssomething of a timeless quality.But it’s not only the heart of the townof Scunthorpe that’s undergoing arenaissance; the steel industry on whichthe town is built is doing the same.Mergers and acquisitions have seen theindustry taken into public ownership,then pushed out again, united with theDutch, then taken over by an Indiancompany, and finally moving back towhat is was in the Sixties – a companyowned and run in the town.That happened a little over a year ago,and a business that appeared to havebeen teetering on the brink has provedthat, left to its own devices, it’s doingnothing of the sort. A year in, and thereborn ‘British Steel’ is in profit, taking onnew employees, and only a matter ofweeks ago announced that it intends tobuy a Dutch producer of steel wire. It’s the kind of turnaround in fortunesthat Scunthorpe has always believed itselfcapable of, inside steel industry and thetown alike, given the opportunity.They’re working together to mutualbenefit. The steelwork being formed intonew offices was made by the town’ssteelworkers little more than a mile away.Adds Rob Waltham: “We plan to put ourcounty town well and truly on the mapand, over a period of time, changeperceptions and create a lasting legacyfor future generations of a prosperousand vibrant town, no less than peopledeserve.”And in that respect, as far as the townis concerned, it has a lot to thank aretired car dealer for… not to mentionthe departure of Tata!© shutterstock/sattahipbeach30-33_Layout 1 18/10/2017 09:35 Page 434 LINCOLNSHIRETODAYCHRISTMAS© Shutterstock / Impact PhotographyTis (almost) theseason to be jollyChristmas is here (well almost) – which was great as a child, butmarkedly more frantic for everyone else. With a thousand and onethings to get done, we look at how to make life a little easier forthe most festive month of the year. 34-37_Layout 1 18/10/2017 10:13 Page 1If you’re like me, then you probably made adecision last year that you’d be prepared thistime; that everything would be done inadvance, that the 2017 Christmas wouldbe a stress-free one. You probably madethe same heady claim the year before aswell, and each year before that – to thepoint that such claims have becomenothing more than a Christmas custom,themselves. And so, November rollsaround and with it the reminder ofDecember. Whether this means re-decoratingthe house, sending out invites to the family,and/or prepping your Santa Claus outfit for thekids, it’s always a time of upheaval. It’s a time of showing off too, not that anyone will admit it. Ifyou’re hosting a Christmas Dinner, it has to be the “best dinner”,replete with the finest turkey and boasting side dishes no one hasever heard of, let alone knows how to make. If you have asignificant other who handles the cooking, it’s around this timethey started to pull off their Gordon Ramsey impressions,declaring the kitchen off-limits, and the dining room aDemilitarized Zone.Don’t forget the Christmas crockery, either. It’ll be hidden in theloft somewhere, some eldritch collection of knives, forks andspoons that have never seen the light of day but are marginallybetter than what is usually on offer. A personal tip of mine is toadd a little class to the whole affair by changing the names ofeverything you serve into something infinitely more complicated.You could serve pizza rolls for instance, but an enterprisingrestaurant would rather call them pan-roasted pastry rolls, layeredwith herbal tomato puree, a creamy blend of artisanal cheeses andtender bites of aged salami. Bonus points for translating it allinto French.The kitchen out of the way, it’s time to move onto otheraspects of the house such as décor and ornamentation.Christmas treesnormally go up on the 5thto the 11th of December, andshouldn’t be left up any laterthan the Twelfth Night – the 5thof January. To keep it up anylonger is to invite bad luck. This applies to Christmasdecorations, too.LINCOLNSHIRETODAY35CHRISTMASConsider eatingout for Christmas Dinner. Why deal with the stress, cost and eventual clean-up of all yourpreparations when one ofLincolnshire’s restaurants will do itbetter and with less effort? It’llbe a more satisfying meal for all,and it doesn’t leave the poor host running around trying tocater to everyone’sneeds.Visit Lincolnshire’s ChristmasMarkets for gift ideas. These areperfect for little trinkets andknickknacks, which is normallywhat you’re looking for as presentsfor distant relations, friends orcolleagues. The unique nature of thegifts will far outshine somefunctional, but boring item bought off EBay.36 Á34-37_Layout 1 18/10/2017 10:14 Page 236 LINCOLNSHIRETODAYCHRISTMASAccording to a recent survey, a fifth of Englishpeople put their Christmas tree up inNovember, but most consider it a bit sportingto at least wait until the first week ofDecember (less time and more stress that way– perfect). While baubles and stars arecommonplace, there’s always the potential todrain the house of electricity by decking thething in enough lights to attract a passingcommercial airliner. In fact, many largecompanies seem to be doing away with treesentirely and instead having large sculpturesmade entirely of lights outside of shoppingcentres. This seems an interesting way to cutout the middle man, but here at LincolnshireToday, we like to imagine a home contains aChristmas tree in some form or another. Call usold-fashioned. Meanwhile, heaven forbid you’re inpossession of a front lawn. It needs to be lit up.Nowadays, it needs to light up the road itself.The bigger the better and it’ll only be a successwhen you turn it on and it shorts out the entireneighbourhood. Anything less is an insult tothe Christmas spirit, especially if there’s a peskyneighbour who also gets into the habit. Neverhas there been a holiday more designed to tearcommunities apart, or to rack up energy bills(little wonder the Government is discussing aprice cap for Christmas!). Gift giving itself is another source of stress –but would it come as a surprise if I were to saythis was entirely the point? Believe it or not,gift giving was not a result of the tale of SaintNicholas, but rather a scheme created byAmerican politicians in the 19th Century.Before this, the traditional Christmascelebration was a mass drinking fest more© Shutterstock / NaturalBox© Shutterstock / Smileus© Shutterstock / pingebat34-37_Layout 1 18/10/2017 10:14 Page 3LINCOLNSHIRETODAY37CHRISTMASsimilar to what is seen in Ibiza. The aristocracy saw thisas something of a problem, however, because largegroups of drunken and revelling poor peoplehad the possibility of becoming an angry riot.As a result, they decided to changeChristmas to involve family dinners insideand gift-giving, keeping people lockedaway, poorer – and hopefully more sober.The latter failed, obviously, but the othertwo aspects took on, and soon the entireworld was handing out presents andcommercialising Christmas. So, in the spirit of preventing civil disorderand potential riots, it’s important to have giftsprepared for everyone you know, family and friends,and sometimes even those acquaintances that are seenonce in a blue moon, typically whenever there is free food on offer.Gone are the days where it was considered acceptable to give a giftcard, for that is the realm of the unimaginative or uncreative.Luckily, the internet has made things substantially easier, not onlyfor ordering gifts, but also for trawling relative’s Facebook pages tosee what products they’ve liked recently. Of course, when buyingfrom well-known and national chains, you always run the risk ofprocuring a gift someone else has – or worse, an article of clothingsomeone else is wearing! In this, it’s always best to visit theindependents, which Lincolnshire has plenty of. It’s a perfect way toget a truly unique present, and that kind of effort is usuallyacknowledged and appreciated all the more. The Christmas marketsacross the county are particularly good sources of inspiration, andthis year the Lincoln Christmas Market, by far the most famous inthe county, will be taking place from the 7th to the 10th ofDecember.Of course, it is all in jest. Christmas being what it is still marks oneof the most well-known celebrations across the globe, and withNovember already upon us, there isn’t much more time toprepare. We’ve compiled some top tricks here to help makeyour Christmas stress free. Use social media to see what close family have liked orviewed recently. While it maymake you feel like a stalker, it’s agreat way to see what items theyreally want. Just make sure they haven’t already purchased itthemselves!Take advantageof what’s going on inLincolnshire. A lot of Christmasis just building up to the one day,but there’s so much going on in thecounty that it can be a shame not toexperience some of it. Get out, visitsome of the Christmas marketsand fairs, and have fun. It doesn’t all have to be hard work.Contrary to what some may feel, less is more when it comes togarden decorating. Somethingsimple and elegant will capture theattention and inspire, while cramming a garden full of inflatableChristmas figures is more likely to cause a lot of visual noise for theviewer. There are a lot of famousgardens in Lincolnshire that canbe visited for inspiration.34-37_Layout 1 18/10/2017 10:14 Page 4ChristmasChristmas may still be, thankfully, afew weeks off, but that’s no reasonto pass up the opportunity tosecure a few presents in advance.It’s a great way to snag a bargain.Many of us enjoy a festive getawayand so stocking up on Crimbopresents in November or earlier is amust. To help alleviate a little bit ofthat festive mayhem, we’ve puttogether a handy gift guide toget you in the spirit. We’ll ofcourse be running our bumper giftguide in our highly anticipatedDecember issue, so keep your eyespeeled. gifts12338-39_Layout 1 18/10/2017 10:31 Page 14576891) This festive red and white Christmascloth from Ragged Rose sports reindeerand stars influenced by a folkloricScandinavian inspired look. A presentfor the whole family. 2) These adorable bobble hats justscream winter wonder and come in arange of pastel colours, both light anddark, each topped with a snuggly puff.You can pick up your hat in time forChristmas from Follie in Lincoln. 3) This luxurious shaving set from Edwin Jagger – and available viaAnnabel James – is stunning in chrome and blue. It includes a purebadger shaving brush and matching stand for storage. 4) When you’re tucked up in bed with your favourite book or magazine,what better way to read than by the glow of this whimsical bedside lampcourtesy of Smithers of Stamford. 5) Fiesta Crafts finger puppets include lots of little details, funbright materials and legs and arms so it can be animated, making this aperfect present for the little ones. 6) An elegant festive touch to the home courtesy of dar lighting group.This natural bark tree decoration is available in three sizes, ideal aloneor a stunning tiered effect together. 7) Charge your smart phone on the go whilst you fix your make-upwith this handy and elegant mirror powerbank from Gyrofish. 8) These beautiful wings on a stand from Shabby Store would lookgreat on a console table, shelf or even a bedside table. It isChristmas, after all, lest we forget of the archangel. 9) The Starman Vase from Smithers of Stamford is part ofthe larger award-winning Cosmic Diner Set and would be anideal pressie for any space buff.38-39_Layout 1 18/10/2017 10:31 Page 2Next >