Cllr Mark A Kirk

I am pleased a public inquiry is to be held into the planned increase in Humber Bridge tolls, as widely reported in today's local press. But at the same time I don't want people to think the battle has been won - because it has not. This issue is not the result we are after, we want the tolls either scrapped or reduced to £1 for maintenance.

There has been a significant amount of pressure from the four Humber unitary councils, local MPs, business, Humber Action Against Tolls and other groups. We have been united and I am pleased with our efforts. Without such a reaction the increase would have been a formality. The Government would have nodded through the Humber Bridge Board's request and the increase for all classes of vehicle would have taken immediate effect. Without such levels of opposition, the Government, under the existing legislation, would have had no option but to have approved the increase. So today I think we should celebrate people power. It does show people can make a difference.

But this is only the first stage in the overall campaign and there is still a long way to go. We must not lose sight of the bigger goal.  We oppose the tolls and we have the evidence to show we are right to oppose them. We do not intend to let up on this fight. We will only have really made a difference if and when the tolls are either scrapped or substantially reduced.

I welcome an announcement by Drax Group Plc of plans to invest £500-600m in two new renewable energy power plants, one of which will be situated on the South Humber Bank, and Drax Group expect that these plants will be up and running by 2014. This investment is part of the Drax Group strategy to invest in renewable energy. The plants will use virgin wood pellets as fuel. Some of this wood could be sourced in the UK and transported via the rail network. But most of the fuel will be sourced abroad and imported through Immingham port. It is expected that the plant will use 1.4m tonnes of wood pellets per year. However, the plant will also be able to use pelleted straw if required.

This is a massive investment by Drax Group and one which we welcome as it will generate 100s of jobs for people in this area. North Lincolnshire Council's Strategic Regeneration unit will be working closely with Drax to assist the project and deliver the development as quickly as possible. This is yet another example of confidence in the local economy as recently North Lincolnshire Council announced major potential development plans at Normanby Hall Country Park. And in April this year the council announced that 310 new jobs would be created by a £60m investment by specialist packing company Can Pack UK Ltd.  The plants will be using renewable energy sources which is obviously beneficial to the environment, and Drax Group also anticipate that less than five per cent of the wood used will be transported by road. All in all, this investment will be greatly beneficial to North Lincolnshire.

Whilst I expected difficult questions with a political slant from the opposition at Cabinet last night, I did not expect them to use the Humber Bridge tolls as a political football.  From the outset I have ensured the campaign to remove or reduce the tolls has been business led. We must work together, united, whether it be local groups, the media, the public, businesses or as political groups. Labour, Tory, Lib Dem, Independent - it should not matter. We should all be singing from the same hymn sheet. There has been a united front at the Unitary Leaders' group from all political parties. Decisions made by that group have been unanimous.

Last night the Tories not only accused me of using the campaign for political gain, they also accused the officers of this council of witholding information. This is an entirely false accusation. If the Conservatives have any proof of this I would very much like to see it. If they have nothing, as I suspect, I hope they will have the decency to make a public apology. The issue of the tolls is not a political football. I will say this again - if we do not work together, if we are not united on this issue, we will not get anywhere. Making false accusations is not constructive and will not help us to achieve a positive result. We must take the politics out of this campaign.

Tonight the Cabinet is due to meet and on the agenda is a report by the Chief Executive on the Humber Bridge tolls research and a review of domestic violence service provision. The director of finance, Mike Wedgewood, will also report on the budget at the half-way point in the year. I am sure the issue of the Icelandic banks will be mentioned and as I have had comments and read remarks in the local press I wanted to stress some of the key facts on my blog.

The council does not take risks with taxpayers money. We work to a Treasury Policy that follows government guidelines and seeks to ensure the security of the investment as well as maximising our return from it. In deciding where to invest we look at the credit ratings of the particular bank which are determined internationally and only invest in those with the highest ratings. We also take advice from Brokers at the point of investment. In the case of the Icelandic investments the money is cash received prior to it being spent, for example from council tax, business rates and government grant.  £2m is with Landesbanki, an icelandic bank, and £3.5m with Heritable, a UK subsiduary of Landesbanki. Both institutions had high credit ratings until a few days before their collapse.

At the time the investments were made the independent assessment of both banks was that they represented a secure investment.  Because of the period of the investment it could not be recalled at short notice. The interest rate receivable was similar to other investments with British banks. It is still not known whether some, all or none of the investment is lost.

However, and this is the point I wish to stress the most, the current budget and financial plans are deliverable. Services WILL NOT suffer. Staff and creditors will be paid as normal. Not only that but we will make sure the taxpayer does not suffer huge council tax rises. At the last full council meeting I gave the commitment that we would not increase the council tax by 4.6 per cent as the Tories did, year on year. That commitment still stands.

Last Tuesday I attended the official opening of the new St Lawrence Academy in Scunthorpe. The new school was officially opened by the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Rev Dr Rowan Williams. The school is the former High Ridge School and is the first-ever church backed education in the region.  

I took this photograph especially for my blog. It features the Archbishop alongside local dignatries and the mayor, Cllr Ishaq Jawaid.

North Lincolnshire Council has received an inward investment enquiry from Investorin Ltd to create a state of the art sport and leisure complex at and around Normanby Hall Country Park. The project could cost in the region of £30-million and would create 180 jobs.

If the scheme is given the go ahead it would provide an equestrian school of excellence with three polo pitches, polocrosse, eventing, archery academies, a new hotel, log cabins, improvements to the existing golf course and motorsport for corporate entertainment. Existing facilities, such as the Hall, the Victorian walled garden, paddocks and children's play areas would remain.

We are very excited about the proposals but it must be stressed that this is only an enquiry at this stage. It could provide a fantastic boost to the local economy and create jobs for local people. We would have a first class toursit destination, capable of holding top national and international events at Olympic standard - all on our doorstep.  I will update my blog and keep residents informed as this develops.

I am pleased to note a North Lincolnshire Council study into the Lincolnshire Lakes project has revealed that the scheme is technically and financially feasible. The report has looked into the reality of the Lincolnshire Lakes scheme, taking into account the ways the area is currently being used and how best to develop the land for maximum impact.

The project plans to create a series of lakes at the western edge of Scunthorpe. These lakes are hoped to create a whole new economy, which will include the potential for green tourism and the creation of hundreds of new jobs. The scheme aims to incorporate the different uses for the land - leisure, housing and business - and how to incorporate these together in an ecologically sound environment.

The council has produced a master plan that sets out how the scheme will progress. The Lakes study area runs west from Scotter Road to the Trent in the east and from Messingham in the south, up to the northern boundary of Scunthorpe. Phase one of the plan is in the south-east corner of the Lakes study area.

The master plan also sets out:

• Where the inter-connecting canals will be
• A new road layout.

There could also be a potential new train station for the Lakes area. To progress further, the project must next obtain approval from the Environment Agency. The recent report will show that this development is needed in North Lincolnshire and that the location has been researched and is justified. This stage will be completed by November. Residents in North Lincolnshire will be given the opportunity to have their views heard as part of a public consultation, which will take place later this year.