Lincolnshire Probation Trust, in partnership with South Holland District Council (SHDC), has been supervising teams of workers under the Community Payback scheme. Some of the work has been part-funded under the council’s designated members’ budget scheme, which gives individual councillors a sum of money to pay for grassroots community projects.
The Community Payback teams have been operating in a number of parts of the district including Sutton Bridge, Long Sutton, Weston and Spalding. Work has included gardening and tidying up communal areas on SHDC sheltered housing schemes. On the riverbank in Spalding, the teams have been renovating and replacing benches and have been praised for doing a fantastic job.
Councillor Gary Taylor, SHDC Portfolio Holder for Internal Services and ward councillor for Spalding Castle, said: "Residents in my ward have raised concerns with me regarding the condition of certain parts of the riverbank, in particular the condition of the wooden benches. We have now sought the services of the Community Payback team from the Probation service to carry out work in this area.
"Residents want to see offenders giving something back to their community and I agree. It’s vital that the public see that we are taking action and justice must be seen to be done and this should also be a deterrent to would-be offenders. This project and others are benefiting the community by making improvements to our local environment. Anyone can nominate an area to be improved. Please contact me with suggestions for other areas."
Councillor Christine Lawton, Portfolio Holder for Housing, said: "They have worked well, and to a high standard, and we will continue to use the Community Payback teams to tidy-up and improve our communal open spaces around our sheltered housing complexes."
Last year offenders, supervised by Lincolnshire Probation Trust, carried out more than 84,000 hours of Community Payback work in Lincolnshire, worth more than half a million pounds, calculated at the minimum wage. They have worked on a wide variety of projects, such as weeding and litter picking, painting and decorating, gardening and woodland conservation, as well as working in the shops and cafes of charities.
For more information about Community Payback or to nominate a project, please visit www.lincolnshireprobationtrust.org.uk
