DO YOU LIVE in or near Lincoln? If so, please consider contacting the City of Lincoln Council about their failure to take responsibility for a burst pipe that led to flooding, inconvenience, loss of sales and stock damage for their tenants in Lincoln Central Market this week, including our very own Melanie Carroll at Unicorn Tree Books.
Read all about it as reported at thisislincolnshire.co.uk:
Lincolnshire Echo: Market traders angry as council refuses to cover cost of flooding caused by burst pipe
STALLHOLDERS have reacted with disbelief after the City of Lincoln Council refused to cover the costs of flooding in Lincoln Central Market.
Water cascaded from inside the roof of the Central Snacks café for more than half an hour on Monday morning, and ran “like a river” towards nearby Unicorn Tree Books.
But now traders Barry Reeves and Melanie Carroll say the council has told them to claim on their own insurance as the burst pipe which led to the damage was “not a maintenance issue”.
“The council is trying to wangle its way out of it,” said Mr Reeves, chairman of the Sincil Street Traders Association.
The report continues quoting Mr Reeves as he describes the appalling situation of a leak that simply went on and on pouring water into the marketplace because “the caretakers didn’t know where the stopcock was.” Yet here is the common sense advice that the City of Lincoln Council offers to householders who may be concerned about the possibility of burst pipes in their homes:
Preventing frozen and burst pipes
- Make sure you know where your stop tap is and that it is working.
How can a Council which offers that advice to householders not know where the stopcock is in its own premises — especially when it rents those premises out to other people? Prospective stallholders at Lincoln Central Market are offered the following assurance:
The City of Lincoln Council works in partnership with the regional Business Link service to provide access to all the information, advice and support needed to start, maintain and grow your business.
If you think giving Melanie and other tenants in Lincoln Central Market the brush off instead of helping them to brush up and recover from this flood is an act of negligence, please drop the City of Lincoln Council a line and say:
You made BBC Radio 4′s ‘World at One’ on December 1st when you cancelled the Lincoln Christmas Market because of the bad weather. It was a sensible decision under the circumstances. It would be an even more sensible decision to support the Lincoln Central Market which is there all year round! You have a duty of care towards your tenants to ensure that the space you’re charging them for is fit for purpose — and when accidents happen because of your neglect, the least you should do is cover their costs!
Please take remedial action now for your existing stallholders that will reassure prospective stallholders that you can and will live up to your promise to provide all the support they need to not only start but to maintain and grow their business.
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