North Lincolnshire Council is planning a mobile app for easier residents’ access to services.
The council’s digital plan was approved by its cabinet on Monday, July 29. It includes plans for more public Wi-Fi and a council mobile app. A senior councillor said it would put North Lincolnshire “at the very forefront of digitalisation in local government”.
The council’s cabinet also recommitted to a Greater Lincolnshire devolution deal, and an update on various government awarded schemes in Scunthorpe and North Lincolnshire was discussed. This included new estimated completion dates – a proposed new Scunthorpe police station has been set back to March 2026.
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The council’s digital plan, has seven priority areas. These include improved digital infrastructure, making council services more accessible, and use of data analytics to inform decisions. Cllr Tim Mitchell, cabinet member for connectivity, confirmed at cabinet the digital plan included Project Gigabit. This is a rollout of gigabit-capable broadband to thousands of hard-to-reach premises in North Lincolnshire and elsewhere in Humberside.
“We will develop a mobile app to improve access to council services, and ensure all our systems are compatible,” Cllr Mitchell said. The council was committed to improved communications with residents and making it easier to give feedback.
“We will maintain a range of contact methods with the council,” he said, which includes face-to-face contact at community hubs. He also spoke about the use of AI around voice recognition systems and enabling communication in a range of languages.
The digital plan would “support a digital transformation with the aim to improve outcomes for our residents”. Labour opposition Cllr Mashook Ali raised about digital poverty, and sought assurances for support for vulnerable people with digital training. “Training and digital literacy will be one of the key priority areas,” Cllr Mitchell confirmed in reply.
March 2026 police station completion
The cabinet also discussed government cash-awarded schemes in the local authority area. This comprises £64m of already spent cash and another £40m previously promised by central government. £20m Levelling Up Fund (LUF) cash for Barton’s transport transformation was included in the already granted column.
(Image: North Lincolnshire Council)
£15.9m LUF cash for Scunthorpe town centre vibrancy and transport hub improvements by March 2026 was part of the promised cash column. An accompanying council document gave fresh project completion date estimates.
This included completion in August of the enterprise and innovation hub and café/bar element of Project Anchor at Scunthorpe’s old market site. The linked accommodation block was completed in spring and been leased to the NHS.
The proposed police station at the same site has a March 2026 completion date. Summer 2025 was the previous estimate. The planning application for it remains pending.
Restoration works to St John’s Church are expected to be finished in October. The free attraction of Discover@20-21 there is to be installed by spring 2025. The council document also suggests by April 2026 to have established an advanced manufacturing park at unused British Steel land.
(Image: LDR)
“We could do with details as early as possible really,” Labour group leader Cllr Len Foster said of the mostly Scunthorpe projects that have been already granted cash. “I think it’s really important that we identify that’s an awful lot of money that’s been spent and a lot of money that’s been promised,” said Conservative council leader Cllr Rob Waltham.
Devolution
The council’s cabinet recommitted to the proposed Greater Lincolnshire devolution deal. “We are starting to look a bit like the bit that got forgotten if we don’t seize the opportunity that comes along with this,” said Cllr Waltham. He had been to be a Local Government Association (LGA) meeting last week, where he had met deputy prime minister Angela Rayner.
He welcomed their devolution commitment. “I was actually heartened by the words of the deputy prime minister, which is something I never thought I would say.”
Cllr Foster emphasised the Labour group’s position in favour of devolution, but not a Greater Lincolnshire elected mayor. He suggested on transport and flood management terms, a Greater Lincolnshire deal would have greater priorities in Lincolnshire County Council area. He added if anyone had travelled there recently, “You can’t fail to see the problems they have.”
Cllr Waltham pointed to South Ferriby and Burringham defences as examples of Environment Agency spend in North Lincolnshire. “£720m worth of money would be at risk for local people, things that make a significant difference like starting to tackle the A15,” he said of not carrying on with the proposed deal.
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“If we end up renegotiating a devolution deal, you can be 100 per cent sure that three years of our lives will be lost in the negotiations.” He earlier noted a Hull City Council Labour group rejected motion the week before. This had called for a Humber-wide deal. “Hull City Council resolved last week not to work with south bank.”
Original artice: https://www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk/all-about/scunthorpe
