Louth Town Councillor Jill Makinson-Sanders said councils have "taken their eye off the ball"

A Louth councillor called for urgent action after the town centre appeared with several other East Lindsey sites on a list of heritage at serious risk of being lost.

Historic England’s Heritage at Risk Register gives an annual snapshot of the critical health of England’s most valued historic places and those most at risk of being lost as a result of neglect, decay or inappropriate development.

In November, 11 sites across Lincolnshire were added to the register for 2022, including seven in East Lindsey, such as Louth Town Centre, the Church of St Botolph in Skidbrook, and the Windmill on East Street, in Alford.

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According to Historic England’s website, there are 50 such sites in East Lindsey.

Councillor Jill Makinson-Sanders said councils have taken their eye off the ball.

In a motion before East Lindsey District Council’s full council this afternoon (Wednesday), she called for an independent review into the effectiveness of planning, historic environment and enforcement systems, as well as a timeline and funding estimates to tackle the issue.

She said: “Louth is meant to be East Lindsey’s foremost market town and, being Louth born and bred, I like to look after it.

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“We are having to spend so much time and effort on the Towns Fund deals that I think we have probably taken our eye off the ball.”

She said the council needed to get to grips, step up and do something about it.

“For Louth Town Centre to be deemed as at risk is pretty sensational,” she added.

“Unless we do something about it, it runs away with itself and we have got to be diligent and sort it out now before it gets any worse.

“We should be looking to improve things, I want to pass on a nicer town to my nearest and dearest when I pop off.