East Lindsey

The political composition of East Lindsey District Council is as follows:

With a total of 55 seats, the Conservatives hold a 7-seat majority, following the defection of two councillors (David Mangion and Sarah Parkin) to the Conservatives in 2020.[2]

East Lindsey has an area of 1,760 km², making it the fifth-largest district (and second-largest non-unitary district) in England. It was formed on 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, from the south-eastern area of the former administrative county of Lindsey. It was a merger of the Municipal Borough of Louth with the Alford, Horncastle, Mablethorpe and Sutton, Skegness and Woodhall Spa urban districts, and the rural districts of Horncastle, Louth and Spilsby, all formerly in the administrative county of Lindsey.

It borders North East Lincolnshire and the Humber River to the north, the North Sea to the east, Boston (borough) to the south, and North Kesteven and West Lindsey to the west. The boundary between the district and North Kesteven, and part of Boston borough, is the River Witham. The furthest west settlement in the district is Wragby, and the furthest south is Anton's Gowt, near Sibsey.

It is bigger than many English counties. On the list of largest counties, it compares to the 29th largest county, being larger than counties such as Surrey, Berkshire, Worcestershire, Bedfordshire, Greater London & Hertfordshire.

The economy in the district is divided between the coast and rural inland areas. The coastal towns of Mablethorpe and Skegness attract recreational and tourist traffic, and are characterised by a highly seasonal economy. The rural inland areas are dominated by agriculture.[3]

In terms of transport, the district is well served by buses and taxis. However, it is mostly cut off from the main railway network. Only the Poacher Line connects the south end from Skegness to Nottingham via Boston and Grantham. The main connection in East Lindsey was the East Lincolnshire Railway, which connected Boston to Grimsby via Alford and Louth. There were also spurs and branch lines, which included Mablethorpe loop railway, Horncastle Railway and Spilsby branch. These connected sparse towns with the mainline and all closed between 1950 and 1970, with only the spur at Louth to Grimsby surviving until 1981. Only a heritage railway remains at Ludborough.

East Lindsey District Council had a high rate of residential recycling; it was the UK's best performer in Defra's local authority and disposal authority 2007/8 statistics,[4] with a Household Recycling and Composting Rate of 58.4%.[5]

In 2013 councillors voted to introduce a charge to garden waste collections of £25 per year. This was met with controversy both by residents and councillors, becoming council policy by a majority of only one vote. Councillor Neil Cooper stated "The green waste charge is probably as popular as the introduction of poll tax" and in a public consultation of 1,120 respondents, 77% stated they did not wish to pay the charge.[6]

A Freedom of Information Request submitted in June 2014 confirmed significant drops in rates of green waste recycling, for the period April–May 2013 compared with April–May 2014 a drop of almost 400 tonnes was recorded; whilst at the same time an increase in domestic waste collected was recorded of over 380 tonnes.[7]

East Lindsey has two of the best state schools in the East Midlands, but it also has the worst one, as judged by results. St Clements College, a secondary modern school in Skegness, got the lowest GCSEs in 2007 in the East Midlands.

In May 2020, East Lindsey district council and Boston borough council announced proposals to merge gradually over 10 years, with the intention of saving taxpayers £15.4 million. In June 2020, a vote on the proposals due to be put to councillors was cancelled after the leader of Boston borough council, Paul Skinner, considered the plans would be likely rejected. He told the Lincolnshire Live newspaper "The motion was withdrawn because some people were making it known that they might vote against it".[8][9]