ABSTRACT
Back on Steep Hill, the gradient means that vehicles are excluded from the central part of the street where the shops thin out and housing predominates. Then the final push takes you into Bailgate, once more lined with shops and cafes, and onward to Castle Hill, where you may find a market in operation. Today the people who throng the street are tourists rather than travellers or old centurions, but Steep Hill continues to perform its historic function of connecting ‘uphill’ and ‘downhill’ Lincoln. For those who find the slope a bit much, there is a ‘walk and ride’ bus shuttling passengers to the top of the hill. This was threatened with closure a few years ago following the withdrawal of funding. It was saved by the Lincoln BIG (Business Improvement Group), which was set up in 2003 and became a Business Improvement District in 2005 when more than half of the city centre retailers agreed to contribute a penny on their local rates to fund the scheme. The scheme employs city centre wardens providing security and helping to manage the public realm. It also organises activities like Lincoln in Bloom and the Christmas Markets as well as managing parking and bus operation, like the Steep Hill service. On the Academy assessment team’s visit it was the work of the BIG that was credited for the immaculate condition of Steep Hill despite its heavy usage. It is a street whose modest appearance belies its historic importance, and which has managed to retain the feel of a real street rather than becoming a museum piece.
