A former social club which has stood empty for seven years will become an Indian restaurant, if given the green light.

An application has gone in to the planning authority to turn the old Kontak Social Club, on the corner of Barrowby Road with Mount Street, into an Indian fine dining restaurant which will seat up to 140 people.

And the man behind the plan, Mirza Iskander, hopes to have it open to customers by Christmas.

Asked why he chose the Kontak club, Mr Iskander, from Nottingham, said: “It’s my dream to set up a restaurant which will be luxurious and comfortable with an excellent atmosphere where customers will enjoy their time with food, service and environment. In all aspects this is the best place in Grantham.”

He added: “I am very much excited about this project. There are about 43,000 population in Grantham, they are happy to spend money but on quality food and excellent service.

“I think and believe I can fulfil their demand. Moreover, if I can ensure the quality, people from nearest towns like Newark, Sleaford, Nottingham, Melton, Loughborough, Bourne and Lincoln will come to my restaurant.”

There will be little work on the exterior of the building, but inside will be renovated. In addition to the restaurant area, the planning application shows an area for a children’s soft play area on the first floor.

Mr Iskander will employ 15 members of staff.

The Kontak club closed in May 2009 after operating as a social club for Kontak workers for more than 40 years.

As the committee were preparing to close it down, secretary at the time Frank Wright told the Journal they “simply cannot afford to run it anymore”. He added: “It is a bit of a blow because I have been there since the start but it is just a sign of the times.”

Kontak was a hydraulic engineering firm located on Londonthorpe Lane, Grantham.

In 2013, Castlegate Day Nursery announced its intention to turn the social club into a day nursery, but this never came to fruition.

Firearms officers arrested three men last night in Grantham following reports of an assault.

The armed officers were deployed to Grantham railway station. As a result three men were arrested in connection with an alleged assault in the town. A police helicopter was also deployed and was seen hovering over the town at about 10pm.

A police spokesman said: “There was a firearms deployment to locate people connected to an allegation of assault at a property in the town. Three men from Nottingham were arrested and are currently in custody.”

A celebration held by local table tennis organisations to commemorate 25 years of the Table Tennis Centre and 50 years of table tennis coaching in Grantham were held at The Meres leisure centre on Saturday, and was very well attended.

The event was organised by GAPS (Grantham Table Tennis Academy for Primary and Secondary Schools) with assistance from Cliffedale Chandlers TTC and Grantham and District Table Tennis League, and partly funded by a grant from the Big Society Fund from Lincolnshire County Council.

The event was attended by many players, past and present, young and old, and the highlight of the day was the Hard Bat Ping Pong Tournament (sponsored by Avanti Windows) which was free to enter and open to all-comers.

There were three age groups: Primary school, Secondary school and an Adult section, with all having a main and plate competition.

Results: Primary main – 1 Jake Crane, 2 Edward Day, 3 Joseph Marlor; plate – 1 Emily Winfield, 2 Billy Auckland, 3 Edward Hobbs. Secondary main – 1 Ashley Willows, 2 Aalhad Kulkarni, 3 Benjamin Rigby. Adult main – 1 Adam Ellis, 2 Jane Ellis, 3 Simon Raistrick; plate – 1 Shaun Bradley, 2 Mark Hobbs, 3 Rebecca Day.

Medals were presented by the day’s special guests Kelly Sibley (ladies’ national champion, Team GB member and newly appointed table tennis head coach at University of Nottingham) and Gavin Evans (winner of 40 national titles and newly appointed head coach at Grantham College Table Tennis Academy).

Also joining them was up and coming star Tom Jarvis who was selected as reserve player for the Team GB table tennis squad and joined them in Rio for this year’s Olympics. Tom also has a connection with the sport in the town as he regularly trains at Grantham College and The Meres.

They also handed over a cheque for £150 to Karl Bullimore, who was diagnosed with stage four advanced bladder cancer in October last year, to go towards funding his treatment.

After the presentations were done and dusted, the trio put on a series of fantastic exhibition matches which wowed the crowd.

The event was rounded off with a free buffet and table tennis stories of yesteryear.

United Counties League

Premier Division

Harrowby United 3

Sleaford Town 2

Harrowby responded with a great team performance against local rivals Sleaford Town after the disappointment of Saturday’s result.

Sleaford started the strongest on Tuesday night with Harrowby struggling to get out of their half and a few rash tackles gifted the visitor’s free kicks in dangerous positions, but Drury in the Harrowby goal was up to the task.

Slowly Harrowby settled and started to take control of the game and almost took the lead after 15 minutes when Harper’s pass found Callum Wilkinson in space but his powerful effort narrowly missed the target. The Arrows were again unlucky five minutes later after Ryan Parnell’s strong run and cross went agonisingly past the outstretched toe of Liam Harper with the keeper beaten.

Harrowby were now well in control but could not break down a well organised Sleaford defence. With five minutes of the half remaining, Harrowby got the reward for their hard work when Jack Whyley fired home from close range after some good work from Bolland and Parnell.

It got even better for the Arrows in time added on when Harper again found Wilkinson and this time his powerful shot from the edge of the box gave the Sleaford keeper no chance.

Sleaford started the second half well, forcing a string of corners but Harrowby’s defence held strong.

Harrowby should have gone three up on 50 minutes when Bolland’s header narrowly missed the target.

Four minutes later, Sleaford reduced the deficit after a goalmouth scramble. Harrowby captain Billy Stubbs was unlucky when a driven clearance hit his leg before passing Drury in the Harrowby goal.

Sleaford’s joy was short-lived when three minutes later Parnell picked up the ball on the half way line. His powerful run took him to the by-line and his pinpoint pass found Harper on the back post to again restore Harrowby’s two goal cushion.

The visitors then pushed hard and Drury was made to work hard keeping out efforts from Oliver and Bridge. With 10 minutes to go, the visitors gave themselves hope when Oliver fired home after a period of sustained pressure.

In the final 10 minutes, Sleaford pressed hard for an equaliser but Harrowby stood firm to take the bragging rights in the season’s first local derby.

Newport Pagnell 10

Harrowby United 0

Harrowby United felt the pain of a nightmare performance against a very good Newport Pagnell outfit on Saturday.

Getting off to a bad start, Harrowby fell behind in the fourth minute when Dave Baker fired home from 20 yards and before they had time to settle they were two down when Greg Ling tapped home after a goalmouth scramble.

Newport midfield dominated play and on 20 minutes virtually sealed the game when Dominic Lawless tapped home after a good interchange with Ling.

Harrowby then created a couple of chance of their own. Firstly Matthew Clarke fired over the bar from the edge of the box and then Joe Elliot forced a good save by the Swans keeper. But just when Harrowby had thought they had weathered the storm Bollond was unlucky when his attempted block deflected past spencer to give Newport a 4-0 lead at half time.

If Harrowby thought the first half was hard work, the second half turn out to be worse and they conceded a fifth in the 54th minute when Ling scored his second. Dominic Lawless then hit three unstoppable shots from outside the box, taking his tally to four and Newport’s to eight. Two further strikes from Smith and Koriya ended a nightmare day for the Arrows.

Grantham Athletic Club had 11 runners spread over five parkruns at the weekend.

Aaron Hunt had a good run at Belton House, finishing in second place, while George Hatton was less than 40 seconds behind to take fourth place.

Richard Hall continued his return to form with a decent 25-minute performance at Sherwood Pines.

Results: Beeston – 10 Paul Davidson 20:48; Melton Mowbray – 43 Janice Davidson 24:41, 64 John Ellerby 27:38; Belton House – 2 Aaron Hunt 18:46, 4 George Hatton 19:26, 17 Chris Hunt 21:19, 27 Rori Rodell 22:22, 40 Geoff Collier 23:28; Newark – 53 Keith Measures 25:15; Sherwood Pines – 46 Richard Hall 25:15, 133 Dona Hall 33:25.

Bingham Bowling Club won the Vale of Belvoir Bowling League Knockout Cup.

The final was held at Harlaxton Bowls Club on Sunday, with Bingham winning three rinks to one and by 101 shots to 72.

Results (Bingham bowlers first): J. Parker, R. Montgomery, S. Moncaster 23 P. Gallagher, R. Claxton, J. Searle 18; I. Cole, P. Thornhill, B. Emms 32 J. Dempster, P. Burton, D. Abernethy 16; A. Brailsford, K. Hackett, K. Brailsford 17 J. Towle, J. Dawes, S. Allcorn 23; P. Robinson, A. Fallows, K. Bell 29 M. Heighton, S. Dawes, I. Howlett 15

A serious crash is blocked the A1 southbound near Grantham this afternoon, Thursday September 8.

Three cars collided and one car caught fire. Police and fire crews attended the scene.

The crash took place north of Little Ponton and traffic queued for some six miles back to the A52 turning.

Motorists were advised to avoid the area as traffic also tailed back into Grantham town centre.

Details of injuries to those involved are not known at this time but the road has now been cleared and delays are easing.

More here as we have it...

Olympic gold medallist Shona McCallin showed off her gold medal last week when she visited a Grantham nursery.

Shona, who won her medal with the Team GB ladies’ hockey team in Rio, spoke to the children and staff of Stepping Stones nursery and signed autographs.

The children made flags and decorated cakes with the Union Jack for the visit.

Deputy manager Tracy Dixon invited Shona, of Dry Doddington, to the nursery. Tracy said: “I am hockey fan so it was lovely of her to come along. She chatted with the children and signed some autographs. We were absolutely thrilled she was able to take time out of her busy schedule. Nothing was too much trouble for her.

“She said it had been one big party since the Olympics and her feet had hardly touched the floor.”

Some children and staff were able to come over from sister nursery Headstart to see Shona aswell.

The hockey star was presented with flowers and cards by the children.

Shaun Balfe will be racing into the unknown at the Red Bull Ring this weekend in the Spanish-based International GT Open.

The Grantham-based driver, who won the Spanish Championship back in 2004, was fifth in last year’s championship with a Ferrari 458 Italia and is currently second, with only two events to follow after this weekend’s visit to the home of the Austrian Grand Prix.

“I am looking to hold on to second in the championship really as we have a bit of cushion, and we need to be in the right place in case the championship leaders slip up,” he explained.

Having started the season with the Ferrari again, Balfe and co-driver Phil Keen changed to a McLaren 650S for the last rounds at Silverstone. “It’s a stiffer car with a carbon fibre tub and we are still getting used to it,” he added.

Not only has Balfe to get used to his new car, it will be his first ever visit to the Red Bull Ring and with regular co-driver Keen unavailable due to other commitments, Irish driver Adam Carroll will be deputising.

“I haven’t even met Adam yet or shaken his hand, so that will be another first,” Balfe said.

But Carroll’s pedigree goes before him, having recently signed for the new Jaguar Formula E team, as well as being a former winner of the F1-supporting GP2 race at Monaco, an ex-F1 test driver and regular competitor in Sports and Endurance races worldwide.

This weekend’s races can be seen live on Motors TV.

Funds towards a judicial review into the closure of the A&E unit overnight have reached £1,500, says SOS Grantham Hospital.

The campaign group is working with public law specialist solicitors Leigh Day in a bid to challenge the night-time closure of the unit, claiming it is unlawful.

SOS has been busy raising funds and, although it says it cannot say exactly how much will be needed, the figure is expected to be thousands.

So far around £500 has been raised during the candlelit vigils. They are being held outside the entrance to Grantham Hospital every Wednesday until the A&E unit reopens. A further £1,000 has been pledged, said Councillor Charmaine Morgan, chairman of SOS Grantham Hospital.

Rosa Curling, a human rights solicitor at Leigh Day who is representing the campaign group, has previously said: “It is our opinion that the decision to close Grantham Hospital overnight for the next three months is unlawful.

“It was taken without proper patient involvement. Any decision to close an A&E department at a popular local hospital is a serious decision that clearly requires a proper consultation process.”

However, Dr Suneil Kapadia, medical director at ULHT, argues that the decision “had to be made quickly” and added: “As the closure is temporary and made quickly on the grounds of patient safety, unfortunately we were not able to consult the public.”

Coun Morgan is keen to point out that funds towards the judicial review should be made directly to SOS Grantham Hospital. Anyone wishing to make a donation to the cause is asked to contact her on 01476 574748 or 07429 334260.

Grantham Tennis Club finals day turned into a quite classy tennis extravaganza at Arnoldfield.

In the Open Mixed Doubles, Richard Cragg and Samantha Parker triumphed 6-1 6-2 over Sarah Patton and Rob Start.

Richard and Sam started the stronger pairing, playing with wonderful freedom, moving around the court quite effortlessly, although that being said, the first set score somewhat flatters to deceive. Sarah and Rob rallied well, keeping it competitive throughout, but for the odd unforced error creeping in at the wrong time.

Richard also won the Men’s Singles, beating Jonathan Cummins 6-2 6-2.

In windy conditions, Richard and Jonathan were very much unfazed as they battled it out for the championship trophy. The first set went to Richard with relative ease as he was the one who dictated play from the baseline. The second set saw more rallies, showcasing an array of different and impressive shot-making on display.

Richard was the worthy winner in this somewhat one-sided and yet nevertheless exciting encounter between two good friends.

In the Mini Red eight and unders tournament, two groups of five played first to 10 points until the winner and runner-up of each group played out a semi-final followed by the final.

Viraj Manocha beat Ed Gilbert 10-7 in the final, while in the third and fourth place play-off John Sheardown won against Sam Finlan, 10-3.

The awards ceremony is scheduled to take place sometime in October at the Grantham Tennis Club. For more information, visit www.granthamtennisclub.co.uk

Results: Men’s 60 Doubles: Peter Johnston & Neil Robertson bt Peter Elphick & Paul Kennedy; 18U Boys’ Doubles: Joe Patton & Lewis Picker bt Michal Cragg & Adam Tapson; 18U Mixed Doubles: Adam Tapson & Martha Patton bt Ciaran Clifford & Hermione Clark; 18U Girls’ Singles: Eleanor Hooper bt Hermione Clark; 16U Girls’ Singles: Hermione Clark bt Eleanor Hooper; 14U Boys’ Doubles: Jake Gibbons & Nitesh Shyam bt Connor Finlan & Freddie Finlan; 12U Girls’ Singles: Isabella Chapman bt Martha Patton

10U Girls’ Singles: Lilia Dunn bt Polly Cullen; 9U Mixed Singles: Joshua Harris bt Hugo Dunn; Parent & Mini Child Orange: Joshua Harris & Marie Harris bt Viraj Manocha & Munish Manocha; Parent & Child: Sarah Patton & Martha Patton bt Rob Gibbons & Jake Gibbons; Mixed Doubles: Richard Cragg & Samantha Parker bt Robert Start & Sarah Patton; Women’s Doubles: Melanie Bloodworth & Samantha Parker bt Martha Patton & Sarah Patton; Men’s Doubles: Michael Cragg & Richard Cragg bt Jonathan Cummins & James Drennan; Women’s Singles: Samantha Parker bt Melanie Bloodworth; Men’s Singles: Richard Cragg bt Jonathan Cummins.

Cases brought before magistrates sitting in Lincoln recently include:

Jonathan Frank Barr, 52, of Toll Bar Avenue, Bottesford: admits driving a Ford Focus in Sankt Augustin Way on July 20 having consumed so much alcohol that there was 74 microgrammes in 100 millilitres of breath. Fined £150, £30 victim surcharge, £85 costs and disqualified from driving for three years.

Liam Glyn Curtis, 26, of Larch Close, Grantham: denies taking a Peugeot Partner van on July 3 without consent and driving it in Uplands Drive otherwise than in accordance with a licence and without insurance. Remanded on unconditional bail to appear at Lincoln Magistrates’ Court for trial on October 26.

Casey Page, 18, of Tamar Court, Grantham: admits taking a Ford Fiesta without consent in Heathfield Road, driving it in Harlaxton Road otherwise than in accordance with a licence and without insurance, and failing to stop after an accident due to which damage was caused to a Ford Transit van, all on April 18. Driving licence endorsed with six points, £85 victim surcharge, £85 costs and handed a community order including 150 hours’ unpaid work over 12 months.

Russell Streeton-Pearson, 51, of Shakespeare Avenue, Grantham: admits assaulting both a woman and a man by beating in Harrowby Road on June 11, and damaging a television. Restraining order made prohibiting him from contacting either victim between 7pm and 9am, and attending an address in Harrowby Road between the same times, fined £340, compensation of £200 and £30 victim surcharge.

Maxine Parsons, 50, of Westerdale Road, Grantham: admits harassing a woman through making bogus emails to arrange medical procedures and through physical contact in Sainsbury’s, between May 20 and June 17. Fined £190, £30 victim surcharge and £85 costs.

Martin Cant, 31, of Brittain Drive, Grantham: guilty of using a Ford vehicle in High Street, Grantham, on January 30 when no test certificate had been issued. Fined £220, £22 victim surcharge and £85 costs.

Robert Edward Francis Lee, 25, of Stour Court, Grantham: guilty of driving a Vauxhall vehicle in Springfield Road, Grantham, when no test certificate had been issued, otherwise than in accordance with a licence and with no insurance. Fined £880, £66 victim surcharge, £85 costs and driving licence endorsed with six points.

Matthew Miles King, 20, of Brittain Drive, Grantham: denies inflicting grievous bodily harm upon a person in Grantham on April 2. Sent for trial at Lincoln Crown Court on September 20, released on bail with conditions not to contact three individuals nor be in Grantham town centre between 1am and 6am on Saturday and Sunday mornings.

Adam Louis Buff, 23, of Larch Close, Grantham: guilty of using a Volkswagen vehicle in Goodliff Road on April 30 without insurance, when no test certificate had been issued and otherwise than in accordance with a licence. Fined £660, £66 victim surcharge, £85 costs and driving licence endorsed with six points.

Gail Carley, 45, of Grantham Road, Hough-on-the-Hill: guilty of failing to give information relating to the identification of the driver of a Mercedes vehicle who was alleged to have been guilty of an offence, on January 12. Fined £425, £43 victim surcharge, £150 costs and driving licence endorsed with six points.

Egidijus Klinauicius, 33, of Shaw Road, Grantham: admits assault by beating in Shaw Road on July 4. Discharged conditionally for 18 months, £20 victim surcharge and £85 costs.

Gregory John Robinson, 47, of South Parade, Grantham: accused of driving a Ford Focus in Dysart Road without due care and attention on February 7. Adjourned to November 1.

Christos Symeonidis, 62, of Harrowby Road, Grantham: guilty of driving a Peugeot vehicle in London Road on November 2, 2015, without insurance and otherwise than in accordance with a licence. Adjourned to September 14 at Lincoln Magistrates’ Court for a special reasons hearing and attendance by a Russian interpreter.

Paul Richard Bostock, 31, of Belton Lane, Grantham: admits sending a number of messages that were grossly offensive or of an indecent, obscene or menacing character on June 20, and failing to surrender to custody at Lincoln Magistrates’ Court on July 28. Fined £80, £30 victim surcharge and £45 costs.

Lee Russell Gray, 33, of Oxford Street, Grantham: admits stealing a Sony Blue Player worth £75 and two DAB radios worth £90 from Sainsbury’s on July 12, stealing three bottles of vodka worth £102 from Morrisons on May 28, and failing to surrender to custody at Lincoln Magistrates’ Court on August 15. Community order made and £267 compensation to pay. Also admits stealing a McAllister cordless chainsaw worth £142 from B&Q and handling stolen goods – namely eight wheelbarrows – worth £184.24 from Jewson. Compensation of £142, £85 victim surcharge and £85 costs.

Barry Winston Eite, 51, of Riverside, Welham Street, Grantham: admits damaging a computer monitor worth £130 at Carphone Warehouse on May 10. Compensation of £130 and £100 costs.

Arkaduisz Rychter, 27, of Harlaxton Road, Grantham: admits driving a Skoda Fabia in Grantham on September 29, 2015 otherwise than in accordance with a licence, without insurance and without due care and attention. Fined £400, £35 victim surcharge, £85 costs and driving licence endorsed with six points.

Six men have been released on bail pending further inquiries in connection with an assault at a property in Grantham.

Police responded to the incident on Wednesday (September 7) by deploying its firearms team and helicopter to locate those involved.

Three of the men arrested were from Nottingham, two from Grantham and one from Derbyshire. Three were arrested at Grantham railway station and the others at separate addresses in the town.

Police are appealing for information from the public to aid their investigation.

Detective Inspector Claire Hammond, from Grantham CID, says: “We specifically want to hear from local residents who were in Warmington Avenue, George Street, Alexandra Road or Greyfriars during the evenings of Tuesday and Wednesday, September 6 and 7.

“If you were, we need to know if you spotted a silver Vauxhall Corsa which is a mark 2. We also want to hear from anyone who saw a Black Vauxhall Zafira, a white Kia, a silver Peugeot 307 in these streets or anything suspicious.”

If you have information about this incident call police 101 quoting incident 142 of September 7. To report information anonymously you can call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Supermarket chain chain Morrisons has today made a “checkout promise” that it will open extra checkouts for customers if there is more than one person ahead of them in a queue.

A Morrisons spokesman said: “The pledge comes after Morrisons listened carefully to customers who said that queuing was their top frustration in supermarkets (70 per cent) ahead of unhelpful service (67 per cent) and poor quality products (66 per cent).”

Research conducted for Morrisons found the average person can only last a maximum of six minutes and 48 seconds in a queue before losing their patience.

So Morrisons’ checkout managers will now be directing customers to newly-opened checkouts when they see queues building.

Thousands of Morrisons staff have been trained so that they can quickly turn to operating a checkout when stores become busy.

Gary Mills, Morrisons Retail Director, said: “While we are proud to have one of the shortest queue times in the industry, we want to serve our customers better.

Our new checkout promise will ensure our eleven million customers get the best shopping trip possible even as our stores become busier.”

Morrisons research reveals that the average British shopper spends three months of their life waiting in line – the equivalent of one day a year.

It also found that more than half of UK adults (56 per cent) avoid shopping at places known for queues and that two thirds (64 per cent) would leave shops rather than join queues at tills.

Night-time closures of Grantham Hospital’s A&E department are having a knock-on effect on the ambulance service, says its general manager.

But we have received contradictory claims from the United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust, which told the Journal this week that there “hasn’t been an increase in ambulances transferring patients from the Grantham area to Lincoln or Pilgrim”.

On average, between Monday and Friday during the night East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAS) takes seven patients to Grantham’s A&E department, a number which can increase over the weekend.

Blanche Lentz, EMAS general manager for Lincolnshire, said: “The temporary closure means that on average we are taking seven patients at night further afield for their treatment. This results in additional travel time, additional miles covered and more behind the scenes work to ensure we have ambulance resources covering the areas that require them.

“It’s still early days and together with ULHT and our commissioners we are monitoring the impact the temporary change has had on our service; we have not been commissioned to increase the number of ambulances available during this temporary change.”

However, Dr Suneil Kapadia, medical director for ULHT, claims “there hasn’t been an increase in attendances to Lincoln and Pilgrims A&Es, to GP out of hours service or an increase in ambulances transferring patients from the Grantham area to Lincoln or Pilgrim”.

He added: “We are monitoring the situation daily and working with local partners to provide safe services for the population of Lincolnshire.”

Patients are reminded by both EMAS and ULHT to only use A&E if they have an emergency care need or have had a serious accident. Dr Kapadia said: “Many could be seen and treated elsewhere such as NHS 111, pharmacist or GP and often could be seen quicker. We ask people whose condition is neither an accident nor an emergency to consider one of the alternatives.”

A local artist from Woolsthorpe is celebrating after reaching the finals of a national art competition.

Annie Samuel has made it into the top 55 artists selected from more than 2,000 entrants for the Jerwood Drawing Prize.

The Jerwood Drawing Prize is the largest and longest running annual open exhibition for drawing in the UK.

Annie will exhibit her work at the Jerwood Space gallery in London on September 14.

“To me this selection means recognition as an artist,” said Annie. “This drawing prize is a prestigious and notable accolade in the artistic world.

“I am also excited to be holding my first solo exhibition at the EPOK gallery in Stockport this weekend.”

Annie, who describes herself as an illustrator, will find out if she is a winner at the preview event on September 13. The exhibition will be on display from September 14 to October 23.

Two people were taken to hospital yesterday with minor injuries following a crash on the A1 at Little Ponton.

Police described the crash as a ‘minor injury incident’ which involved three cars, a Ford Mondeo, a Vauxhall Vectra and a Vauxhall Astra.

The crash blocked the southbound carriageway at 2.40pm. Police and fire service personnel went to the scene which was cleared by 5pm.

The injured were taken to the Queen’s Medical Centre in Nottingham.

One of the cars in the crash burst into flames. There were tailbacks into Grantham as a result of the collision.

The MP for Sleaford and North Hykeham has told the Department of Health to give as much help as possible to Grantham A&E which has been closed overnight.

During Wednesday’s session of the Public Accounts Committee at Westminster, Stephen Phillips QC MP questioned the Permanent Secretary at the Department of Health, Chris Wormald, on the response to the overnight closure of Grantham A&E.

Mr Wormald replied that he was aware of the issue and the problems with staffing, but that it was the responsibility of NHS Improvement.

Mr Phillips said: “I want your assurance that the Department is on top of this and giving as much assistance as possible to the Trust… the Secretary of State and the Department are still responsible for the health service, ultimately, so it is to you that I look to be on top of this issue.”

Mr Wormald promised to consult with NHS Improvement and write to both Mr Phillips and Nick Boles MP with an update on what the department is doing to help United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust (ULHT).

Mr Phillips said afterwards: “The service offered at Grantham is an important one, even though the majority of those in need of emergency care in my constituency are treated at Lincoln. There is no excuse, in my view, for ULHT finding itself in this position given the levels of increased funding which have been made available to the NHS and, going forward, I want to ensure that the current situation cannot happen again.

“I have already written to the Secretary of State and the Chief Executive of NHS England for their assurances that the problems will be resolved as soon as possible, but I wanted to make sure that the Permanent Secretary is also aware and doing what he can to assist.

“I look forward to hearing from him that the Department is doing whatever it can to help ULHT to resolve this and get the A&E service at Grantham working fully again.”

ULHT said it had closed A&E overnight temporarily for three months in order to transfer staff to other hospitals at Boston and Lincoln where staffing levels were in crisis.

Community Books was set up in November 2006 – and in that time it has donated almost £25,000 to local good causes.

The wonderful work of its manager, Nean Asher, and nine volunteers led it to win the Best Not-for-Profit/Social Enterprise award in this year’s Grantham Journal Business Awards. Here, Nean tells us what makes Community Books a deserving winner.

**What are your main aims?

Our aim is recycling good quality books, CDs, DVDs, jigsaws, bric-a-brac and toys to raise money for good causes within the local community.

**How did it feel to win the Best Not-for-Profit/Social Enterprise category?

I never thought we would win with such high calibre finalists in our category but it was a great honour to receive it on behalf of everybody at Community Books. It’s an accolade to all volunteers, customers and those who donate to us. It’s brilliant to see our work within the community be recognised.

**How many charities/good causes have benefited from the money Community Books makes? How much do you think you’ve given to charities and good causes in total?

I believe we have supported around 100 local good causes over the years, some causes we support each year and this year we should hit £25k with our donations.

**How does it feel for you on a personal level to be able to support so many good causes?

It’s very rewarding to have a business like this. I enjoy my day-to-day work and with being a single mum I love that my children are part of my work and they both enjoy being part of the fund-raising events. It’s a bonus at the end of each year being able to meet the organisations and give out the donations, hearing from them how our money helps them, knowing we are making a difference.

**How has Community Books changed over the years, as times have changed?

Over the years we have diversified to include seasonal goods at Christmas, Easter and Mother’s/Father’s Day.

We have body bars and nose studs following the closure of other nearby shops that used to sell these items. We have several ladies that make and donate knitted wear and other items to us. I decorate wooden gifts for all occasions and personalised items which are available to order. Our newest line is memorial gifts as we were made aware there aren’t many in town and many people like something to remember a loved one.

We hold two craft fayres a year and a bingo/beetle night.

At the end of the day we are not just a book shop; many people, especially those living alone, just pop in for a chat as they don’t see anybody.

** Keep up to date with events by searching for ‘Community Books’ on Facebook.

Although I voted for the UK to remain in the EU, I am determined to support Theresa May in her commitment to deliver Brexit.

The British people made a clear choice and they have the right to expect their MPs to implement their decision. As an independent MP on the Conservative backbenches, I intend to follow the negotiation of our new relationship with the European Union closely and to contribute to the debate in Parliament and the media about what new arrangements we should be seeking. As the process unfolds, it is bound to throw up lots of tricky questions. I will do my best to keep my constituents informed and offer them opportunities to let me know what they think, both through this column and via Facebook and Twitter.

Although the Prime Minister is characteristically keeping her cards close to her chest, and refusing to provide a running commentary for fear of undermining her negotiating position, one thing is already clear. Our new relationship with the European Union will have to give us what our current membership does not: control over levels of immigration from Europe and an end to freedom of movement. I believe the PM is right to have been unequivocal on this point. In the end the referendum boiled down to the following question: “Which do you think is more important, being part of the Single Market or controlling immigration?” And a clear majority of the British people replied: “Controlling immigration, thank you very much.”

If the EU were to decide to let members of the Single Market introduce controls on immigration from other EU countries, we might be able to have our cake and eat it too. But I don’t think anyone should hold their breath. If the EU had been willing to contemplate relaxing the rules about freedom of movement, they would have offered this to David Cameron during his renegotiation. It might have been enough to swing the referendum vote the other way.

Decision-making in the European Union is often tortuous and bizarre. But even they must realise that to offer this concession now would be like shutting the stable door, walling up the entrance and building a moat around it – all long after the plucky British horse has bolted.