North East Lincolnshire is again a national leader in sustainability
After 37 years at the Lincolnshire Co-op, 18 of which as CEO, Ursula Lidbetter will be retiring from the role that made her one of the county’s most prominent figures.
She is a former Deputy Lieutenant for the county of Lincolnshire, and has honorary doctorates from both the University of Hull and Lincoln’s Bishop Grosseteste University. It is safe to say she has left her mark on our county for the past, present and future., Ursula Lidbetter shared the fond memories of her time at the Lincolnshire Co-op, how she utilised her locality to put the interests of residents first, and the many obstacles she has had to overcome along the way.
After heading off to the University of Hull to complete her degree, Ursula found out about the Co-operative movement and wanted to be a part of it, so her first job was inside the Co-op department store on Silver Street in 1985. Three years later, with plenty of experience under her belt, Ursula was moved out to Gainsborough to run the store and oversee a large development, including the installation of a glass life, a multi-storey car park and a food hall.
She was the first woman to ever be given the role, and it is one she relished at the time, with time proving her to be more than capable at it. “There weren’t any female role models, I didn’t have anyone alongside or above me to look at as a blueprint, so I just made it up as I went along in terms of how you be a woman in this environment, because you don’t want to wear a pinstripe suit and try to be a man.
“I’ve always tried to encourage all of my teams to be yourself and lead in your way, because that will be the best version of you. Don’t try to be someone that is a stereotype of your role, do it your way.”In 2013, with the national Co-operative Group struggling, it was Ursula who was called upon to steady the ship. She spent two years as the national chair of the business, leading it through a major reform period before serving as a director of Co-operative Federal Retail and Trading Services.
The £70 million regeneration scheme saw the Lincolnshire Co-op take centre stage in safeguarding the future of Lincoln’s economy with a series of new shops and experiences, including Everyman Cinema, The Botanist, Hobbs, Whistles and Phase Eight. “I think I got some of my inspiration for the Cornhill Quarter from what the public had said to me over the years, I was told Sincil Street was close to everyone’s hearts and everyone has their own stories about places they visited in the area.”Ursula added: “It’s not been easy in terms of the economics of the times, but we kept true to what we wanted to do. In the first phases we said we weren’t going to take businesses off the High Street, because that doesn’t add anything for people.
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