Closed and opaque ... The Boston Target, which brought us the news that the mystery million pound loan taken out by Boston Borough Council was to tart up its West Street palace, blithely ignores this apparent inaccuracy with the headline: “Council's mystery million explained.” It quotes Interim Chief Executive Richard Harbord as saying that nothing has changed since he told the cabinet that no new information had come to light. All he can tell us is that the money was spent on whatever it was borrowed for, but that no-one knows what it was borrowed for. Some “explanation.” Very open and transparent.
We’ll always have Bournemouth ... All good things come to an end, and as Boston’s dynamic duo return home to hand out sticks of rock to fellow BBI members and tell them what hard work it’s been at the Local Government Annual Conference in Bournemouth, the outlook might seem a bit bleak. But fear not. The LGA annual rural commission, conference and exhibition is being held on 8th September in Chester. It has to be a must at a mere £229 apiece excluding accommodation for LGA members. Not a patch on this week’s conference at £519 but well worth the visit all the same.
Unlucky for some ... We never cease to be amazed by the variety of meetings which appear on the borough council’s agenda. One we’ve never heard of has popped up for the 13th. It's called a Consideration Hearing in respect of Standards Complaints, but that’s all we’ll ever learn, as the rule, rather than the exception, is to ban both press and public from the hearing.
Hot under the collar 1... The warm weather’s here, which means it’s time for the Boston Police annual warning to youngsters not to enjoy themselves if they encounter a stretch of water. Usually the line the police take is safety fears. But this year they’ve factored in “complaints from boat owners about incidents of anti-social behaviour “ and “increasing concerns for the safety of teenagers who may also be entering the water after consuming alcohol.” Were none of these people ever young?
Hot under the collar 2 ... Meanwhile we note a stern warning from Boston Police about cycling on footpaths. “My team will be cracking down on cyclists who continue to ignore warnings and who put the public at risk by cycling on footpaths,” says a spokesman. Apparently such behaviour can attract a £30 fine. We would be interested to learn when the last such fine was imposed, and how many there have been in, say, the past five years. This is one area where offenders are blatant, and the police useless.
Was it worth it? ... We were browsing the National Lottery list of grants for good causes the other day and note that over time, Boston Borough Council has received a total of £1,864,800 for buildings and monuments whilst Heritage Lincolnshire won another £444,800 for a Boston project. So much money ... but what is there to see for it?
Numbers game-1... Monday sees our 500th blog since we changed from the webpage format. All told we’ve been banging away to try to get a better Boston for more than three years. It seems that no-one listens, but we’re not going to give up.
Numbers game -2 ... And look at the calendar - just 300 days to go before the local government elections and the chance to hand the borough back to the people. The see-saw has tipped - all we now need to do is to be patient!
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