We are not a-moosed!

In his latest rant to the local papers, Boston Bypass Independent Councillor Ramonde Newell is trumpeting the news that the BBI has now been accepted by the Independent Network as an endorsed group, which in turn now has the power to endorse independent candidates locally, both into the BBI, and into the Independent Network.
“Recruitment of independents, in the true democratic sense of the word, has already begun,” he waffles, before lapsing into his customary rant about how marvellous the BBI is and how corrupt every other political party has become. You know the one we mean.
So what is the Independent Network?
It’s a non-profit organisation that provides support to candidates who are “not members of political parties.” Its supporters and endorsed candidates are asked to agree to the Bell Principles - a code of conduct for elected representatives formulated by Martin Bell OBE, and which includes among its aims:-
A: Abiding wholeheartedly by the spirit and letter of the Seven Principles of Public Life set out by Lord Nolan in 1995: selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty and leadership.
B: Being free from the control of any political party, pressure group or whip.
C: Making decisions transparently and openly at every stage of the political process, enabling people to see how decisions are made and the evidence on which they are based.
D: Listening, and consulting our communities constantly and innovatively.
E: Treating political opponents with courtesy and respect, challenging them when we believe they are wrong, and agreeing with them when we believe they are right.
F: Resisting abuses of power and patronage and promote democracy at every level.
We don’t need to spell out chapter and verse of the number of occasions these praiseworthy aims have been abused by the BBI – anyone with a memory will have no trouble recalling countless occasions when these objectives above have not been met by the BBI.
We just have to remind ourselves that the BBI is a political party; that it ignores transparency in favour of an approach that takes decisions in secret and uses the cabinet structure to ride roughshod over both its own non-cabinet members and the combined opposition parties. And we have lost count of the number of times we have heard of the rude, arrogant and ignorant treatment of non BBI members by the leadership.
Things have come to a pretty pass when in the same week that Councillor Newell’s letter is published, there is another from Better Boston Group Councillor Anne Dorrian accusing the BBI of breaching the council’s constitution at full council meetings by using their block vote to stymie calls for a suspension of standing orders - thus preventing proper debate and discussion.
As no-one from the BBI has leaped forward to denounce Councillor Dorrian’s allegations, we assume that they accept them.
This makes Councillor Newell’s latest letter even more impudent than usual, and we hope that someone within the opposition groups take the opportunity to alert the Independent Network to the BBI’s pre-existing breaches of its code, and seek to get them thrown out as soon as possible.

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First the buses wreck Strait Bargate

surface - next threat is "silent running..."

A few days ago, under the headline “None so blind” we reported on the reaction of Brylaine buses and Lincolnshire County Council to complaints by Better Boston Group Councillor Brian Rush that damage was being caused to the surface of Strait Bargate by the intrusion of the Into Town buses.

Councillor Rush has kindly provided us with a detailed account of a meeting he had with the county council – and their reaction to his complaints.

“I was disturbed by responses of County Council Highways Officers, Anita Ruffle and Hamish McConchie, regarding my concerns about the growing damage being done to the pedestrian precinct Strait Bargate, so I arranged to meet them on site, Wednesday the 10th of November.

“I wanted to ask them also, about the blatant abuse of this area by vehicles, other than the buses, that seem to think it is a legitimate highway.

“I have tried to create a flavour of how the conversation went, so it may need a little reread every now and then.

“Mr McConchie, I have to say, is a fairly straight talking officer, but when we visited the point of most serious damage he began with the claim ‘that he is unsure how this damage is being caused.’

“I had to smile.

“While he, Anita Ruffle and myself, were inspecting this damage, two buses drove very close to us, both sets of nearside tyres ran the full length of the depression, almost like a predesignated track, which should have been a clue.

“‘Well now, after all this used to be a road,’ he said.

“When?

“'Way back`

“I must say I do remember it .... just.

“But has it been upgraded since then.

“Silence.

“He kindly offered ‘to rectify this damage, however caused,’ which was welcome.

“And the funds?

“His county highways budget!

“No... not his budget, our taxes.

“I reminded him that the consequence of his generosity means that someone somewhere, or rather many residents, will have less pothole filling done, or suffer a reduction in repairs, somewhere across the area. Yes?

“Yes, he said, but this is what happens when we repair highways.

“I told him I knew that but if it wasn’t for these d*** buses, no damage would have be done...Ahhh!

“Ok, so when would the work take place... ‘well, after Christmas to avoid disruption...nice of him... would the buses be diverted...yes. Oh! So it is possible to reroute them then ..Mmmmm!

“Ms Ruffle thought that I was wrong when I reported the continuing dissatisfaction of the majority of people regarding the ongoing INTRUSIVE INVASION.

She suggested that in her opinion people were now quite happy, in fact they had become very comfortable with the route and were no longer fearful or annoyed.

“To test her opinion, I offered to tap a few random people on the shoulder, and see if she was right. S`funny, but her response was that ‘she wasn’t here for that’ and in fact gave a definite little shrug of emphatic refusal.

“Why did she do this?

“Here was a chance to have her opinion confirmed.

“If she was right the chances are I would have picked some of her very happy shoppers, and ended up with egg all over my face....Yes? Er, no, I don’t think so!

“Do you know, that they didn’t know either, they didn’t know that other vehicles, other than buses were coming and going in the precinct as well...

“How could this be, I asked...?

“I have received numerous calls about this happening, in fact I witnessed one or two myself.

“`Well if that was the case,’ they said, ‘it is a matter for the police.’

“Oh really!

“Well maybe Boston Borough Council vehicles - i.e. stall erectors/movers had been given some police clearance or other permission to drive through? ‘No’ they said.

“So our own council are breaking the law every Saturday and Wednesday it seems.

“I pointed out that such vehicles did not have the mandatory beepers etc, ‘Ah well, Ms. Ruffle said, ‘we were thinking of trialling the buses without these, ‘cos shopkeepers are not happy with the disturbance.’ Really, so what about safety of hearing impaired pedestrians?....Mmmmm.

“I asked if some clearer signage might help at either end of the precinct to warn prohibited vehicles to keep out. Ah! This was a signs and lines issue, not their department ... budgets, as well you know.

“Do you know, I think I wasted my time, but I am looking forward to seeing just how much damage has been caused to the underlying drains, and how long it all takes.

“And I am going to ask for a full and complete breakdown of the costs involved..

Maybe Papa Dick can deliver the bill to Brylaine.. Now that’s a good idea, isn’t it? “Errrrrr!

Cllr. Brian Rush.

Editors's footnote: Whilst we fully understand that local councils not longer keep footpaths clear of snow in wintry conditions we wonder what the legal situation is on days like last Saturday. Whilst general pedestrian traffic through Strait Bargate had turned the surface to a navigable slush, the sheer weight of the Into Town buses had packed their route down to a perilous icy track. Who is responsible if anyone slips and falls as a result? It is one thing to claim that as footpaths are no longer cleared, the duty of care falls on the pedestrian user. But when the surface is made unexpectedly worse by the intervention of vehicles, is the bus company at fault ... or the county council ... or the borough council? Let's hope someone thinks about this before the next serious snowfall, and before someone falls and is injured.

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The week in words

The words most used in Boston Eye in the last seven days

Click on the photo to enlarge it

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Week ending 26th November

Our Friday miscellany

of the week's

news and events

Ten out of Number Ten … Congratulations to Conservative group leader Councillor Raymond Singleton-McGuire for taking up cudgels on Boston’s behalf at a face-to-face meeting with Prime Minister David Cameron. Although Cameron spoke on several issues, Councillor Singleton-McGuire reports: “I felt the bigger picture for Boston was to try and promote Boston in light of the forthcoming visit by Caroline Spelman MP,  Secretary of State for DEFRA, who will be visiting Boston, accompanying our own Mark Simmonds MP to illustrate the need to establish Boston firmly on the map with regard to the Boston Flood Barrier, which in light of the Government’s comprehensive spending review we need all the support and exposure we can get.” Which reminds us …. weren’t there suggestions that a “government minister” was going to pay the Boston 200 floodfest a visit? Could it have been the same Ms Spelman, who subsequently decided it was better to keep the visit in the “family” rather than throw a publicity lifeline to the Boston Bypass Independents?

Pathe(tic) Pictorial … The BBI has splashed out on a new tin of magnesium powder and produced another video nasty on its blogsite - this one starring council leader Richard Austin. Filmed on location at the community rooms, he spends five minutes telling us how marvellous Boston 200 was. Sadly the soundtrack is so poor it is all but impossible to hear what he is saying, and one has to peer through the grain to make out the detail. The bottom line is that the video is a short, dreary presentation by a short, dreary presenter. However, we did note a passing resemblance between the leader and a far more famous star of the silver screen.

What do you think?
Yule regret it … Why is it that Lincolnshire County Council appears to have such a down on Boston? We ask, because the final issue of the year of Inside Lincolnshire – the county’s totally useless free newspaper  - devotes an entire page to Christmas markets around the county. As you would expect, Lincoln’s market is given the lion’s share of space. But the paper goes on to add: “The Lincoln Christmas Market isn’t the only event of its kind. Why not visit one of these if it’s closer to home?” Yes, why not? According to the paper there are other markets in Grantham, Sleaford, Stamford, Gainsborough, Alford, Louth and Holbeach. Can you spot an important omission?
The way we were … We’ve been talking in recent days about the restoration of Boston town centre. Co-incidentally, we stumbled across this splendid blog http://bostonpast.blogspot.com/  and recommend that you take a look if you want to see how Boston looked in days of yore (granny.) Congratulations to the blog’s creators for producing a splendid record of the town’s past – and some previously unseen photographs.
Grave matters … across the ether comes a response from the late Herbert Ingram, after we published his letter last week. “Thank you for airing some of my concerns. It was so nice to be back in ‘print’, a medium I feel very much at home in. My central concern, even after 150 years, is the state of this town and in particular the cemetery I repose in. Do the people of Boston know they have an Historic Grade 2 Listed park, garden and  cemetery of concern to English Heritage, Lincolnshire Heritage, The Victorian Society and many other Historic Conservation Groups but not, seemingly, the local Borough Council...?"
Double take … For a moment, our jaw dropped as we read the letters in this week’s Boston Standard. Under the heading “Drivers are treated like cattle – herded from jam to jam,” the writer launched a vitriolic attack on Boston Borough Council - aka the BBI - in particular, Lincolnshire County Council, and Boston police over the state of traffic in and around the town. As we glanced down at the signature, we wondered whether the BBI leader had undergone sort of Damascene conversion, and chosen to repent. Then we realised that the letter was from A R Austin of Boston – whilst the leader is R W Austin. Phew!
Vanishing act … We know that the BBI is pretty hot on abolishing democracy in Boston, but unless its our imagination two or three committee meetings have mysteriously disappeared from the council’s November list. Is this the start of a trend that will see command by cabinet, we wonder?

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Pictures that say saving

the town centre may

already be too late

We mentioned yesterday the optimistic report on Boston Town Centre commissioned by Visit Lincolnshire.
Later, we took a stroll around the town centre to see for ourselves some of the places mentioned.
They say that every picture is worth a thousand words, and our montage below, just about says it all.

Click on the photo to enlarge it

Scruffy, neglected shop fronts.
Surely pressure could be put on national chains such as Edinburgh Woolen Mills, Timpsons, Jessops, Thornton’s and the like to keep their shopfronts decently painted.
And look at Marks and Spencer – what a disgrace.
Signage is appalling.
How can character ever be brought back to the Market Place, when shop owners can all but paint their name on a sheet and hang it out of their window?
Look at Strait Bargate. What a mess.
And everywhere, traffic travelling in every direction.
And, of course, the buses.
Two came through 30 seconds apart whilst these photos we being taken.
Boston can never thrive whilst it remains a victim to traffic.
The queues may be diminishing, but the heart of the town should be a haven for shoppers and visitors, rather than forcing them to look over their shoulders at every step in case cars or buses are dogging their heels.
The vision of the report we mentioned yesterday “is that Boston will be the best market town in England.”
These pictures show what an uphill struggle lays ahead.
In fact, we are sorry to say that on the evidence of our eyes, it may already be far too late.

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