The new enemy of Christmas cheer? Health and safety

Since 1982, in the weeks running up to Christmas, the lanes around Lincoln Cathedral have played host to stalls, tents and marquees.

The Cathedral café dispenses mulled wine; gifts, arts and crafts are displayed around the grounds of the castle. Around The Lawn, an early 19th-century Greek revival building, is served freshly ground coffee and a huge array of food and other drinks, including local ales.

The Lincoln Christmas Market has provided heart and soul to locals and visitors, and trade to entrepreneurs and small businesses. The central streets of this ancient town come alive.

But this year, as dusk sets in on Drury Lane, Minster Yard and Castle Hill there’ll be no stalls roasting chestnuts, no chance of bagging some wrapping paper at the Christmas bazaar. You won’t see folk pouring out of the park-and-ride buses by the Tennyson statue.

For the City of Lincoln Council has deigned that enough is enough. The council met quietly in February and, after a 30-minute discussion, voted unanimously to scrap the endeavour. The market had become too popular, it attracted too many people. Councillor Chris Burke uttered the words: “Our paramount responsibility is to ensure visitors are safe.” An edict that no one can ever disagree with, a verdict that can never be reversed.

Lincoln council put out a statement: “We simply could not continue delivering an event that had been deemed a significant risk to public safety.” So that was it. Event cancelled.

Whatever the excuses for the closure, it is yet another assault on the British market town.

The council are barbarians, looking instead at the safe and wide-open spaces of Waterside and St Mark’s Shopping Centre and Valentine Retail Park. There, fuelled by giant Starbucks lattes, and Jolly Rancher candy at Sugar4Sweet, you can fill up on flavoured tobacco liquid at Eco Vape, get some new eyelashes at Beauté Lounge, wolf down a smoky bacon double melt at Burger King and shop for clothes you don’t need at Next and New Look.

Lincoln council’s attempts to protect lives – when not a single one has been lost in 40 years – are destroying the heart and soul of the city.