Another acronym under the microscope

Hard on the heels of the news that the Boston Area Regeneration Company is under fire comes news that the quango that helped establish it is being investigated by MPs.
East Midlands Development Agency (EMDA), the government body responsible for boosting the region, will be looked at by members of the new East Midlands Select Committee which will hold its first hearing in Nottingham rather than at Westminster.
EMDA was set up 10 years ago and has spent almost £1bn - but critics claim it is not accountable.
Its original purpose was to invest in businesses and projects which would benefit the wider economy.
BARC, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the council, is a lot newer, having been created in April 2006, since when it has been responsible for more than £1 million
of investment in Boston.
It is under attack for its "lack of strong financial management and financial reporting," undocumented and unclear financial procedures, grant applications that don’t meet the required standards and contracts that weren't signed until they had already come into force.
And although we couldn't possibly comment, a screen dump from Boston Borough Council's website taken on 23rd April produced the picture that says a thousand words (below.)
Someone obviously noticed what we did ... because it was changed a couple of days ago!
Was someone sneakily commenting ... or was there just a slip of the cursor when the link was created?
We leave you to decide!

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BBI "should remember what they said"

The debate over who-said-what-and-when about plans to improve Boston's roads ahead of any future by-pass has been moved on by Borough Council Conservative member Raymond Singleton-McGuire.
"Whatever Councillor Richard Austin and his Bypass Party say in defending their position on the Boston road widening, the facts cannot be changed," he says.
"In light of the Standard article on 15th April, perhaps the electorate of Boston should be reminded of these facts and what was said, as seemingly, Richard Austin, and his Bypass Party appear to have forgotten what they told the people of Boston two years ago.
"Councillor Austin said: 'When that was said there was no certainty about the widening of the level crossing at West Street, and we said as soon as we got into power that in no uncertain terms did we want this (the extra lanes) to go ahead unless the West Street crossing was widened. Railtrack are very difficult people to deal with and Lincolnshire County Council dealt with that matter on our behalf. We changed policy. We got them to switch off the traffic lights and the level crossing was to be widened. We had the choice not to support it and it was definitely in our court whether we did that or not.'
"Councillor Austin added: 'We are very honest people and we do not say things we don’t mean but on the other hand we have to be good managers. Situations change and we need to react to what happens.'"
"In his comments about the extra lanes on the front page of Boston Standard on April 15th Councillor Austin said: 'The Government demands that we do all we can with existing road systems before it will contemplate a bypass.'"
Councillor Singleton-McGuire continued:"There is no getting away from the truth, and whatever the people of Boston are told by Councillor Austin and his Bypass Party, the facts paint a very different picture.
"I would like to quote Councillor Austin’s very words from 2007. 'If we had those roads widened, the Spalding road had got three lanes, and Liquorpond Street had got three lanes, as planned, at huge cost, if that was already in place now, it would not have made one little bit of difference to the tremendous problems we have got at the moment, so it will be a complete waste of public money and will cause years of further congestion and more than that, it will mean that a Bypass, a proper solution is deferred indefinitely.'"
Councillor Singleton-McGuire went on: "The Conservative position regarding reducing traffic congestion has been straightforward and consistent for many years at county and borough. Due to lack of necessary approval and financial support from Government and Region the only way to progress the bypass is to look for other sources of funding - e.g. developer contributions, which will unfortunately take longer, so in the meantime we need to invest in town centre improvements to make some immediate progress. This was not a widely popular position but it was honest.
"The various Independent Bypass Candidates were extremely irresponsible and misleading in suggesting before the 2007 elections that they could deliver a Bypass within a few years. This was evidenced by them having won the election almost immediately reverting to the Conservative responsible position before the ink was hardly dry on their election literature. Councillor Austin was a County Councillor and these uncomfortable facts were pointed out to him before the election so he cannot plead ignorance.
"Since then nearly all the progress has been courtesy of the County Council. Level crossing agreements, removal of traffic lights etc., were delivered without any help from the new borough councillors, indeed, they have insisted that none of their council's money is spent on highway improvements so it is not credible for them to take any credit for them now.
"Indeed, the one thing they should be organising, the Local Development Framework or future building proposals to enable the bypass to be progressed, they have totally failed to get on with - despite offers of support from Lincolnshire County Council.
"We are still committed to providing a bypass for Boston, but the lack of support from the current ruling Bypass Party administration in the town is proving frustrating.
"Sadly, Boston motorists will now have to put up with further congestion while the works which were put on hold by Richard Austin and his Bypass Party, and should have been completed, will now begin two years late."

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Bypass campaign group chief calls to lobby county

More today on the bypass debate from one of the main campaigners.
"We are now entering the season where every political party is either blaming the other for not doing anything or trying to take the credit for something which they had little to do with.
"The Conservatives keep attacking the present Boston Borough Council ruling party for not getting on with a bypass yet when they were in control in Boston it took the Bypass Pressure Group to convince Lincolnshire County Council to go ahead with a traffic survey.
"The Boston Bypass Independents are now claiming responsibility for turning off the lights at Liquorpond Street and Wide Bargate, but this was agreed under the Transport Strategy before their time and, indeed, was a part short term improvement suggested many times.
"The only credit Councillor Richard Austin can claim is the routing of buses through Strait Bargate. The improved buses were agreed in the aforementioned strategy, but not through the pedestrian area, which was over 90% a non starter from a public consultation.
"Prior to being elected, Councillor Austin was quoted as saying that the road widening would be a waste of money. He nows says that this widening must take place before a bypass/distributor road can be considered. Presumably these are his thoughts as there is no mention of this being a requirement before submitting an application for a bypass. Indeed, if the road widening goes ahead, any thoughts of a bypass could be years away, and we have said time and time again the £10m should be used towards the first part of a bypass.
"The resulting traffic chaos and gridlock will bring further misery to the residents of Boston and vehicles passing through. Traders will lose more trade in these already difficult times and to what end? This road widening only takes one direction of flow. Perhaps someone would consider the flow from the A52/ A1121 through Sleaford Road. This can have tailbacks far past the Tesco area.
"The real crunch though, comes when we consider the actions Lincolnshire County Council are taking in preparing the next five year Local Transport Plan.
"Included in this are details of the progress on major schemes and under Boston are two entries - Boston road Widening and Boston bus related work.
"No mention of a distributor road.
"However the following schemes are listed:- Lincoln Eastern, Lincoln Southern, Lincoln East West Link, together with Grantham Southern Relief Road which it is understood will be funded from growth point funding.
"Schemes under investigation are:- Skegness Relief Road, Stamford Bypass/Relief Road and the Spalding Western Relief Road.
"Perhaps we should all contact our County Council representative and ask why Boston is being left out once again.
"We are now in a far worse position towards getting a bypass than when the BBI came to office.
"Until pressure is put upon Lincolnshire County Council once again we will never get a bypass.
"They are the ones dictating the order, and Boston Borough Council has little say in the matter."
Michael Borrill
Vice Chair
Boston & District Bypass Pressure Group

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Back office savings "could already be made"

If you're not early birds like us, you won't have heard the business news on Radio 4's Today programme at 6-20 last Friday morning.
What you missed was an interview with Richard Cuthbert, the Chief Executive of Mouchel.
Mouchel is a company that helps the public sector save money - and by all accounts has done a good job for Lincolnshire County Council.
Last year the duo won the Municipal Journal's annual award for the Public Private Partnership Achievement of the Year. The award was announced as the partnership between the County Council and the company was extended to 2011 - and in less than a decade it has made savings of more than of £60m, in areas such as personnel, IT, finance, property and catering.
Mr Cuthbert told Today that local government had been seeking "more for less" for some years now, and whilst it had done quite well, there was still room for improvement.
So what has this got to do with Boston?
Quite a lot by the sound of it.
The borough council is presently making a considerable song and dance about saving on what it calls "back office services" by combining resources with neighbouring authorities South Holland and East Lindsey.
As usual this is going through all the exploratory fun and games, with Boston chucking £20,000 into the pot as a contribution towards the process.
Enter Mr Cuthbert from Mouchel.
He told Today:- "We have a customer in Lincolnshire (the county council) where there are six or seven district councils in the second tier who are currently doing a lot of their own back office work and services, and actually it would be a lot more efficient if it were to be done through a single tier (Mouchel.)
"We've invested a huge amount of money over the last seven years to put a platform in place of IT that would actually help save all of those councils quite a lot of money."
Asked how realistic it was that the councils involved would use such a platform, he replied:- "Politics and economics don't always match up, but maybe we're reaching a tipping point in those shared service opportunities now."
It would seem not.
Even though what sounds to be a useful alternative already exists to cut back office costs, Boston Borough Council is forging ahead with its own solution - which we can't help but feel will be more expensive and less efficient than the option Mouchel might provide.
Certainly, we have seen no mention of Mouchel being considered as a possible contender to help solve the problem of rising costs in the back office.
Can anyone tell us why?


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Week ending Friday 24th April

Friday again, and time for our weekly awards for some rather strange categories.
Services to Journalism seems like a tough nut to crack in Boston, but the Boston Standard has earned it for a couple of contributions in recent weeks. Yes, the paper that warned "dosey" parkers about the risk of getting a ticket, has now been working overtime in the imagination department to come up with the idea that "you may as well refer to the Queen's daughter as the Pilgrims' Princess, due to the amount of time she spends in the town." We're as certain as we can be that her heart skips a beat each time she turns to her engagments diary and sees her day blanked out for a trip to "Boston, Lincolnshire." If the Standard likes a challenge why not try to ask HRH how she feels about her nominal link to the town's white elephant on Boardsides.
Then there are Statistics award goes to the Lincolnshire Fire Brigade for a piece of self-congratulatory nonsense concerning a fall in the number of deaths in accidental house fires which has been praised by the Audit Commission. The figures come after a 600% increase in home fire checks in the four years since the government pumped £36m into a national fire prevention initiative which has seen nearly 7,000 home fire safety checks carried out and 6,690 smoke alarms installed in the county. Chief Fire Officer Mike Thomas is quoted as saying: "The increase in our fire prevention work shows the dedication of our community fire safety team." The fall in fatalities? They were "halved." From four ... to two. Whilst every life saved is well worth the effort, we feel that such a low number has little, if anything to do with all this time and expense.
Port of last Resort award goes to former Boston United player Chris Cook who suggested on BBC Radio Lincolnshire that - rather than rely on FA judgments - the side preferred to go out and "do their business" on the pitch. Perhaps there should be an inspection before tomorrow's final game of the season so that there are no nasty surprises in store for visitors Cammell Laird.
Ask and you shall be answered....Eventually award. After our piece earlier this week in which we asked where we might find a copy of the Go Walking in Boston booklet, we found the answer in the local papers. They are available from the council offices in Worst Street or the TIC in the Haven .... both of them an inconvenient walk away for most people to got to collect!
Sorry is the hardest Word award. Perhaps we got it wrong when we mocked Chief Executive Mick Gallagher's suggestion that the Borough Council's management team was currently working six or seven days a week. One look at the frazzled individual in the photo on the front page of this week's Standard and you cannot help but believe that the claim might be true after all!

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Don't care councillors snub those who do

A summary of that once a year occasion when Boston Borough Council recognises the "unsung heroes" who give freely of their time to help the life of the town is minuted as the sole activity of the last full meeting of the council.
And what a slap in the face it must have been for the people who were selected to receive an award.
This is meant to be a community highlight, the subtext of which is to spur others on to going that extra mile to serve the community - usually without charge.
And did the councillors go that extra mile to attend the meeting in Worst Street?
No, they did not.
There are 32 members of Boston Borough Council - 31 if you take account of the current vacancy.
Of that total, just 18 turned up for the award ceremony.
Nine sent apologies, but four neither turned up nor bothered to apologise for their absence.
Yet again it is an example of the indifference that our current elected line-up shows towards the people they allegedly represent.
Yes, the meeting was at 6-30pm and lasted just half an hour, and we expect that a lot of our councillors would argue that having just returned home from work or whatever, they didn't want to have to turn out again for such a short ceremony.
But an event like this would have meant a lot to the recipients - and to treat them with such disdain is both shameful and disgraceful.
This is the same council that is constantly spurring people on to do more to improve the town and the rest of the borough.
But if councillors don't care, why should we?

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Three months in ... and BID is becoming a stooge

Three months in, and Boston BID's manager declares that the organisation has got off to a flying start.
But even at this early stage, we are worried about the direction that the organisation is taking.
Its key six objectives are to make Boston safe and secure; clean and attractive; improve the perception and image of the town; improve accessibility; to be a voice for business support; and to deliver matched funding.
Looking from back to front - our speciality - we note that match funding to date totals £20,000 .... a sum that we're sorry to say doesn't get you too far these days.
Business support includes a cut in local brochure advertising rates and a seminar (talking shop) or two.
No projects have been completed under accessibility.
Perception and image includes riding piggyback on the Stump's 700th anniversary celebrations, and working with the Boston Area Regeneration Company to produce ... wait for it ... a town centre map.
We note that the net winner here is Boston Borough Council, which refused to help fund the Stump celebrations, whilst trousering many thousands of pounds in insurance funding aid which the church had foregone in the hope that support for the appeal would be coming. Also, until now the borough has produced maps and the like .... but has now been relieved of that cost
The move to make Boston cleaner and more attractive has seen the sponsorship of the Big Boston Clean Up and removing chewing gum.
Again, the net winner here is Boston Borough Council, which organised the clean up last year, and which until now was responsible for removal of chewing gum from our streets. We note that the Borough Council press release on the clean-up somehow omitted any mention of Boston BID ... a reader would assume that it was an entirely council run initiative.
That leaves the safety and security issue.
The Town Rangers have been added to the Pescod Plods, and this in turn has now increased demand to expand the radio facility that washes the town with its waves. If you've not encountered it, look around next time you shop. You will always find a member of staff bellowing descriptions of suspected criminals to their colleagues. They seem to think that it makes them look important.
Most worrying is the news that BID members may soon be given access to an "offender's database" giving them access to a "mug shot gallery" and the ability to complete incident reports.
We are uncertain what right a bunch of shopkeepers has to intrude into people's lives in this way.
We are sure that even if the gallery starts out containg photos of known offenders, that it will expand to include people that are "fancied" as likely suspects.
There is a major breach of the right to privacy here, which our elected representative should stand up and oppose - although of course we know that this will not happen.
The net winners here are Boston Police - who can sit back behind their desks whilst a bunch of amateurs do their jobs for them.
Boston BID needs to recognise that it has rapidly become a stooge for the council and the police and take urgent steps to get its act together.

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How dare idle cops use shame signs as weapon!

In the way of the film title, we seem to be falling into an "If it's Tuesday, this must be police bashing day," rut - but we honestly have nothing against out local lads and ladettes in blue.
We just wish they'd get on with the job they get paid for, and stop trying to do everything in their power to stay off the streets they are so famously supposed to hit.
The latest piece of serge-wrapped nonsense appears on one of our local paper websites. It tells us that "the town's police say they are attempting to put the brakes on dangerous parking with a sign campaign, created as a result of persistent problems involving drivers ignoring School Safety Zones, in particular parking on the zig-zagged area designated outside schools."
The signs, outside each school in the area, will read 'Shame on You' and 'What will it take to stop YOU parking here?'
"If road markings are not enough to reverse the offenders' decision to park outside a school, it seems unlikely a shaming sign will have any extra effect," the piece goes on. "But the Neighbourhood Policing Team say it is the next best thing to having a physical presence outside schools."
A PCSO is quoted as saying: "Much as we'd like to be outside every school in the mornings and at the end of each school day, it is physically impossible.
"We know that a high visibility police presence does make a positive difference with parents and carers abiding by the rules when we attend, but we're hoping that because we can't be at every school every day, these signs will make drivers think about the dangers of parking on zig-zag areas, prompting them to think again."
We accept that the police cannot be outside every school, every day.
But is it not beyond their abilities to draw up a list of schools where the parking problems are more acute, and tackle those with a physical presence.
The problem with this one-size-fits-all approach to problems starts at the bottom rather than the top.
It says that because we cannot do everything, it's ok to do nothing - which is not the way to go about it. There is always a middle path.
We think that the police who buy into the latest big idea should join the kids back in the classroom, where they might learn to grow up and stop finding ways to dodge their responsibilities.

You can write to us at boston.eye@googlemail.com Your e-mails will be treated in confidence and published anonymously if requested.

This will hurt you more than it hurts me!

We are agog at the jaw-dropping tomfoolery of the latest news concerning a bypass for Boston reported in the Boston Standard.
If we understand correctly, six months from now we will embark on the thick end of a yearsworth of roadworks on Spalding Road, Queen Street and Sleaford Road at a cost of up to ten million pounds - just to make a point.
Council leader Richard "Papa Dick" Austin claims that this is another vital "step towards a bypass."
Given the traffic chaos that is likely to ensue, we think that it will be a stumble rather than a step, and that it will turn the clock back a couple of years to the time before the traffic lights were either switched off or re-phased.
Since the council took that obvious and highly effective step, traffic flow in and around the town has improved considerably.
So, why try to fix that which is now not broken?
The answer appears to be that you have to spend all this money and cause all this pain to show that what has been done hasn't worked, and that the town still needs a bypass.
In this respect, Councillor Austin resembles a Dickensian headmaster about to administer a thrashing and telling his victim that he will appreciate the reason in years to come.
He is quoted as saying:- "The whole point is that we have got to do this. We have introduced a bus service which is taking a lot of cars off the road. We have got to encourage as much cycling and walking as we can, and if we still have a problem we can still push for a bypass. We can't push for a bypass without all this."
Does this argument sound stupid, or does it sound stupid?
We will believe that the Into Town bus service "is taking a lot of cars off the road," when someone shows us the proof, and not claims it as fact, as is all that has happened to date. So far, the evidence suggests that the bulk of the passengers are concessionary users, who use the service because it is free, and who probably have not previously used cars to travel into town.
Then what about all these people that Councillor Austin wants to encourage to walk or cycle on their journeys?
These people must be few in number, and live in or near to the town in the first place - as it would be unfair to expect anyone to walk any serious distance to work or shop. So the walk/cycle option seems pointless, as the Into Town bus service can already take care of these travellers.
We cannot, for example, imagine the Councillors Austin trotting gamely along for what Google Maps calculates is a 2.2 mile journey from Wyberton to Boston that takes around 45 minutes each way.
Councillor Austin was once photographed with a bicycle, we recall - but in fairness that was just for publicity purposes.
We have always felt in our heart of hearts that Boston does not truly need a bypass.
What it needs is a radical look at how its traffic problems are caused, and then taking the best steps to solve them.
It may well be that this autumn's pain will lead to gain, and prove a by-pass is not needed after all.
Then perhaps the Bypass Independents might get on with something useful and productive for the town instead of all this waffle.
Incidentally, Councilllor Austin's latest offering comes just as Boston Borough Council's website is promoting a new leaflet encouraging people to take part in a choice of walks around the town.
It sounds like a great idea, and we would pick one up - if:-
a) the website told us where they can be found or failing that
b) told us when the launch of the leaflet was taking place, and
c) told us the location of the launch venue.
We say snoitacnummoc - getting communications back to front!


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Week ending Friday 17th April

Time once again for our week ending awards of the week, starting with ...
Winners and losers award. Back in February, we reported a Victor Meldrew moment in response to a suggestion to cut back the council management trio's working week from five days to four - which it was claimed would save £85,000 a year. Chief Executive Mick Gallagher was was on top comic form when he retorted:- "The management would like to reduce to a five day week because we are currently working six or seven days a week." Lines like that always make us laugh.
However, the exchange did prompt us to do some simple maths. If £85,000 represented one-fifth of the management trio's annual income - then in a full year the bosses would trouser a monster £425,000 .... more than £140,000 each.
Could that really be the case, we wondered?
Well, the good news is that it is not ... if you see what we mean.
The "Rich List" published by the Taxpayers' Alliance tells us that none of Boston Borough Council's staff earns more than £100,000 a year.
It also turns up an interesting reverse earnings statistic in the sense that the longer ago a person worked as Boston's Chief Executive, the more they earn.
Mr Gallagher's fragrant predecessor Nicola Bulbeck, now at the helm in Teignbridge, earned £112,500 in 2007/08 - a £10,000 rise on the previous year.
Going back still further, Mark James, who now heads Carmarthenshire, earned "£100,000 plus" last year, and £148,867 the year before. As it's unlikely he's taken a 50% pay cut out of the kindness of his heart, we can assume a pay rise, and blame the TPA for asking the question in the form of how many staff are earning over £100,000, which allows the authority to dodge the precise detail in its answers.
In the local league, aside from Boston, only North Kesteven paid its top team less than £100,000. Of the rest, East Lindsey's Chief Exec was top on £121,337, followed by Lincoln on £118,191, then South Holland (£106,922) South Kesteven (105,532) and West Lindsey (£104,454.)
Service with a smile award. Talking of Mark James, he receives some pretty short shrift from the people he now "serves" in his present post. You can read more at http://www.carmarthenplanning.blogspot.com/ We were particularly intrigued by the quote "We just hope the Chief Executive still isn't chauffeured around in that large engined Mercedes (at the cost of £66,000 a year.) " In Boston, we make do with bicycles!
Not looking good award. Call us doomsayers if you wish, but we couldn't help but nod sagely when we heard that the £700m redevelopment of a shopping centre in Nottingham will not now go ahead this year as planned. The developers Westfield say plans to renovate the Broadmarsh Centre have been delayed due to the weak economy and confirmed work will not start for "at least two years". Unlike our local developers Modus, who are supposed to be creating the apostrophically-challenged Merchants Quay, Westfield are a big fish in a big pond. If they can't make a development like the one proposed in the capital city of the East Midlands, then what hope is there for a minnow like Boston?
Court in the Act award. It's been said for sometime, but we are now starting to see proof of a reverse flow of immigration to Boston. Why do we ask? Because in the court pages of the local papers in the past couple of weeks, local names have not only once again been making a reappearance - but have even dominated the lists on occasion!

Don't Come To Us for Help award. Almost every page of Boston Borough Council's website invites used to "get texthelp Browsealoud." We imagine that this is not just another example of the authority's approach to English, but a helping hand for the hard of hearing. Unfortunately, we'll never know. If you click on the link you receive the message that the page is unavailable!

You can write to us at boston.eye@googlemail.com Your letters will be treated in confidence and published anonymously if requested.

Chambers plan for precinct peace is potty

This is the Lincolnshire Police press release that led to our piece on Tuesday complaining about how easy it is to see your town rubbished in the media. The original release appears in black type, with our line by line analysis and comments inserted in red.

Tackling ASB in Boston's Town Centre. Date: 9 April 2009

Boston's Neighbourhood Policing Team is sending out a warning to youngsters congregating in the town centre, (by issuing a press release on the Lincolnshire Police website) following an increase in complaints about anti-social behaviour (wouldn't it be interesting to know whether the "increase" was so great as to warrant this press release, and why if there was an "increase" nothing had been done about it before?)
The increase in activity is believed to be caused by the lighter evenings now the clocks have changed, generally mean (sic) there are more people around and more time for the youngsters to offend. (Is it not rather insulting automatically to equate extra time available to young people with the apparent truism that they should use it to offend. Incidentally, this sentence of the release is not written in English.)
The area worst affected is in Straitbargate (this is how the name appears, although there is no such place as "Straitbargate" in Boston. Perhaps our local police could be better acquainted with the names of our streets! To this end, the force could possibly devise a 'local nomenclature descriptive initiative' to help those heroes and heroines on the beat recognise intimately regional positional indicators - aka street signs) the pedestrianised part of the town. The young people, believed to be local and aged in their early to late teens have been verbally abusing visitors, shoppers and shop staff, kicking footballs around the area, cycling and generally being loud and inconsiderate to others. (So, if these offenders are at operating whilst visitors and shoppers are in the precinct, the move to British Summer Time has made no difference to their presence as they are not there in the lighter evenings after the shops have closed.)
In a bid to put a stop to this unacceptable behaviour, the town's Neighbourhood Policing Team is stepping up patrols in the area and asking parents and relatives to play their part in the crackdown. (You cannot "step up" something that does not exist! Police team patrols are seldom if ever seen in "Straitbargate.")
PC Martyn Chambers who is Community Beat Manager for the town said, "We need parents and relatives to ask themselves if they know where their children are and, just as importantly, what they are doing? Although the majority of our local young people are by far, well behaved, there are some who insist on causing a real nuisance with stupid, thoughtless and inconsiderate behaviour," he said. (How does the fact that a parent knows where its child is change matters? Some of these acts of "stupid, thoughtless and inconsiderate behaviour" involve children kicking footballs, cycling, and generally being loud. This was once known as playing, Constable Chambers.)
As part of the latest crackdown, (so what exactly does the rest of it involve, then?) any reports of anti-social behaviour in the town will be investigated (we thought that this was what the police were supposed to do anyway) and enquiries carried out to identify those responsible (see our previous comment!).
The outcome of those investigations will be the use of unacceptable behaviour warning letters to the parents of individuals responsible for causing a nuisance.
If advice is ignored it is likely an Anti-social Behaviour Contract will be drawn up, again with parents being involved.
If this fails to address the behaviour then the process of applying for an Anti-social Behaviour Order will commence.
In addition footballs being kicked in the shopping area will be seized and anyone cycling in the pedestrianised area will be issued a £30 Fixed Penalty Ticket. (The police in Boston NEVER, NEVER issue tickets to cyclists. This statement is just a simple untruth.)
"Causing a nuisance might not seem serious to those responsible, but in policing terms it can be a criminal offence and if this is the case, we will deal robustly with those responsible," explained PC Chambers.
PC Chambers finished by warning, "If unacceptable behaviour is brought to our attention by members of the public, shop staff, security staff and the town rangers, then we will take action." (We are placing ourselves at the end of the list ... as far as possible away from the risk of any real work. In the event that the trouble does not stop of its own accord, we can then blame the public for failing to work with us in the unceasing battle against boys kicking a football around in the street.)
In order to assist officers policing the town centre, anyone witnessing individuals involved in anti-social behaviour in the area should report it to Boston's Neighbourhood Policing Team by calling Boston Police Station on 01205 366222. (Only in these circumstance might they then consider leaving the building and doing something.) Anyone with information about those involved in causing a nuisance in the Straitbargate area of the town is also asked to call the police. (Dunno about you, but we'd call them useless!)

Boston Eye says: This is policing at its worst, launching a press release on the internet that exaggerates the level of crime, dodges responsibility and blackguards groups of people - most of whom are doing nothing wrong. And they call it Policing with PRIDE: Professionalism Respect Integrity Dedication Empathy. We don't recognise a single one of those adjectives in the press release above!
Is there no-one in authority prepared to stand up to these ninnies in blue and tell them to get up off their backsides and out on the streets to do the jobs they are well paid for rather than just issuing press releases from the comfort of their offices and calling it policing?

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By-election looks unlikely to have much bite

The lure of capitalism has brought about yet another by-election on Boston Borough Council.
Tory John Rylatt has quit his Kirton post to join his son in business in somewhat violent circumstances if our clip from the Boston Standard (right) is taken at face value.
So what does this mean for the future line-up of the council?
Not much, we fancy.
The BBI does surely not have a snowball's chance in hell of winning the seat from a Tory, and neither would a Labour candidate, were one to stand.
The Lib Dems ... who are they?
The Better Boston Group will certainly not bother to stand, as it only expands through internal resignations.
That leaves the BNP, which has previously declared Boston an area where it could well gain further seats, but again, we somehow doubt that they will take up the challenge in a place like Kirton.
No, we either fancy a replacement for the Tories, or an Independent to take the seat .... so long as the irrepressibly inactive Lincolnshire Independents, whose website remains mired in the past don't then try to claim the victory for their group and then somehow drag it under the auspices of the BBI, given the dual role of Councillor Richard Austin as treasurer of LI and leader of the BBI.

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Don't miss out on our Easter blogs.

In case you didn't check our pages over Easter, we've still been publishing, and hope you can find time to take a look.
We particularly recommend Sunday's piece, which shows how a determined traffic warden in his best poncho can bring misery to people on our holiest day.
Today's piece is below this note, with the others in date sequence.

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Idle hacks combine to slag Boston off for cheap headline

Here's how a town's reputation can be rubbished within 24 hours, due to a combination of a long bank holiday weekend and lazy journalsim.
This week's story about a the police getting tough in Boston, appeared on the Target's website early on Good Friday under the heading "Crackdown launched to tackle town centre problems."
Must be at least a week since the last one, we thought, as we went on to read that "police are sending out a warning to youngsters congregating in Boston town centre amid an increase in complaints about anti-social behaviour.
"Strait Bargate is said to be the worst affected area with reports of youths verbally abusing visitors, shoppers and shop staff, kicking footballs around and cycling in the pedestrianised area.
"In a bid to put a stop to these problems police are stepping up patrols in the area and also asking parents and relatives to play their part in the crackdown."
Last night, we took a bedtime look at the BBC's website page for Lincolnshire (it always helps us to nod off,) and saw the front page above - as will anyone else taking a look at what's happening in Lincolnshire.
Needless to say the lead story is about Boston.
It began:- "Officers are concentrating on the Straitbargate (sic) area of Boston following complaints from residents. There have been reports (ie on the Boston Target webpage) of young people verbally abusing shoppers, cycling and kicking footballs around the pedestrianised area. "
The look at the headlines, you would think that Bosnia, sorry Bostonia, sorry Boston, was in the grip of feral gangs who make the daily life of the townsfolk a living hell.
But no, the town has just been slagged off unfairly once again by a bunch of listless, idle hacks.
We and our colleagues are in and out of town at varying times on different days - and as with many of these so-called crackdown scenarios, find ourselves wondering what on earth is happening ... and more importantly when it is happening.
Strait Bargate at its termination point with W H Smith and the entrance to Pescod Square must now be one of the most heavily "policed" parts of the town.
There are Pescod's own security staff - identified by their fetching black ensemble and a tendency to slouch in doorways like a uniformed version of the people they are trying to deter; and then the Town Rangers - brilliant in blue tops, which we fear have washed none too well in such a short space of time. Then there are the PCSOs, who sometimes like to sample the windbreak attractions of Pescod on breezy days, and now we hear that - fate forfend - even the real police may well be thinking of pitching up.
Ironically, on the very day that the Target piece appeared, we were outside Waterstones and absolutely agog to find the entrance to Pescod Square all but blocked by PCSOs talking to Rangers, talking to Pescod security staff - all the uniformed Easter eggs in the same basket!
A case conference perhaps?
If not, why are these limp symbols of authority always out in force when the trouble they are there to prevent is nowhere to be found....
Oh, and where do these "residents" of "Straitbargate" live?
Can no-one make some effort to spare Boston from unnecessarily bad publicity such as this?
Sadly, we doubt it.

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One in eye for Boston mouth!

A letter in the current issue of the Boston Standard has caught the eye of by-pass campaigner Michael Borrill.
In the way that this blog represents the Boston Eye, Councillor Ray Newell represents the BBI mouth - and as a result is often writing to the local press to fight his party's corner.
His latest missive is headed "Work continues" on Boston bypass bid," and we'll let you read it on page 7 of the Standard rather than repeat it all here.
Mr Borrill e-mails Boston Eye to say:-
"I am intrigued by a letter in the Boston Standard from Councillor Ray Newell detailing work that is being carried out towards a bypass/distributor road.
"Firstly, Lincoln does not have 'several' of these roads, only one at present.
"The Lincoln Eastern is the next one to be progressed, followed by the Lincoln Southern bypass.
"As only one major scheme is usually granted in a five year period, that takes us until at least 2020 before any other scheme will be considered for Lincolnshire.
"In Parliament, when the case for a bypass was debated, following a petition presented by the Boston and District Bypass Pressure Group, the case was firmly thrown back at Lincolnshire County Council, and it is they who dictate which schemes are passed on through the channels to central government.
"Boston, I am afraid, does not have much say in the matter, which is why we hoped that when the BBI were elected a firm approach would be made to county hall.
"Unfortunately this did not happen and the opportunity was lost.
"Once the Local Development Framework (LDF) and the Coastal Strategy Reports are completed it is hoped the route of a distributor road can be quickly established.
"Unfortunately, as developer contributions are only being looked at, and a stage completion of any road is contemplated, it seems that the old Southern Link Road plans (SLR) are being assessed once again.
"It does not leave much to the imagination to consider the traffic implications at the Chain Bridge Road/Tesco/ Sleaford Road sections of this increased traffic flow over the railway level crossing if the road terminates at the Tesco roundabout.
"I wonder how Councillor Richard Austin will explain to his constituents that he is agreeing to this when he opposed the road prior to being elected to the County Council."


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Just the ticket for Jobsworth the Easter Sunday Bunny!

It's 10-15am on Easter Sunday, that holiest day of the year.
All around us the bells have been tolling, and as their last peals roll away, a peace descends over Boston as it has on this day for centuries past.
Aside from a few shops whose owners apparently know no better, everywhere is closed ....
Barely a soul is stirring.
But wait!
For one person this day of rest means a window of opportunity.
The chance to catch a few motorists unawares, as they innocently assume that Easter Bank Holiday Sunday is perhaps the one in the year when you can park without needing to pay.
WRONG!
In the time we took to make a circuit of the forlorn Central Park (when did all the rose beds get grassed over then?) the Easter Jobsworth Bunny had doled out at least a couple of tickets .... well, you've got to get the cost of your shift back, or it's not worth the effort, is it?

Not only that, but he went from car to car along the road, photographing each one front and back, to record a memento of the occasion ... doubtless important "evidence" ... but equally an intrusion into the privacy of the car owners, whose documents and belongings may well also have been pictured.

It's come to a shabby pass when, today of all days, Mammon is at work.
Words do not fail us.
The ones that spring to mind immediately are:-
Petty ...
Mean spirited...
Spiteful...
Jobsworth, jobsworth, jobsworth .....
A few others do not bear repeating here ....

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Happy Easter from the Into Town bunny service!

We'll be back on Monday. We hope that you have a restful Easter.


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Odd ode to birthday "opposition"

Today sees Boston Eye's 150th blog .... but in one shape or form we are now marking two years of commentary on local issues.
The Eye has gone through a number of incarnations since it started two years ago , and we hope that you have enjoyed them all.
The blog format has been most successful, and is now generating record numbers of visits.
Thanks for taking a look, please keep on calling, and tell your friends all about us.
Sadly, one or two of our contributors have fallen by the wayside over time - in some cases we know due to fear of our leaders in Worst Street, to whom free speech is an anathema.
But our pages remain open to all, and our promise to honour requests for confidentiality has never been broken - we don't even tell our friends who they are!
Whilst we're not afraid to blow our own trumpet on this auspicious occassion another group which has just marked its first year of existence is sticking to its vow of silence.
We refer, or course, to Boston's second largest political party - the so-called Better Boston Group.
We've had a dig at this lot in the past, but its members still manage to sleep serenely on, doing nothing, saying next to nothing and contributing even less.
We think it is quite bizarre.
If Boston's political climate was replicated nationally, it would equate to David Cameron sitting on his hands whilst the government did whatever it pleased. And if that were the case there would soon be justified uproar among the voters.
But not in Boston.
Here the Better Boston Group has no cohesive identity, and its members are seldom if ever reported as saying anything much at meetings.
Councillor Anne Dorrian is quoted occasionally, and of the three remaining members of BBG, Councillor Brian Rush has been mostly silent in council for ages, whilst his son Paddy, who declared a lifelong interest in politics when seeking election, seems to have moved on to new hobbies since then.
Councillor Tony Clarke is the remaining quiet man of the party.
A lot of people have suggested that since the Better Boston representatives originally stood on a Bypass Independent ticket, they should resign and seek re-election to again allow voters the choice of who they want to represent them.
We don't subscribe to this view, as it is not uncommon for people to change their party allegiance and to remain a potent force in the altered political structure within which they work.
But this has not been the case with the Better Boston Group.
They are the political equivalent of the Princess Royal Sports Arena - they cost the ratepayers money and give little if anything in return.
If their desire is truly to create a better Boston, we think that the time has come to start doing something about it.
We wondered if a little anniversary ode might give them pause for thought....

The role of councillor Dorrian
is now a rather sorry 'un.
While pere et fils Rush
maintain their long hush.
And councillor Clarke
Stays out in the dark

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Anti-drink war is bad for town image

It may be timely to remind new readers that one of the reasons for the general negativity of tone of our blog pages is because there is sadly a lot to be negative about in Boston.
The latest disappointment to come our way was to learn that "hard hitting" posters are to be slathered over empty shop windows around the town (of which there are many) to warn of the dangers of the demon drink.
Boston used to be regarded as a town with a drink problem, but we thought that this particular spirit had now been laid to rest, and that we only had obesity as our main health issue to overcome.
But now we are to be treated to graphic poster scenes showing a family of four in in angry confrontation in their bottle-strewn kitchen as part of the "Truth May Hurt" campaign funded by NHS Lincolnshire and organised by Lincolnshire Drug and Alcohol Service.
Preaching your message in this way sounds all very well, and we have no doubt that drink problems do exist in Boston.
But there is also the problem that in the recession, many shops go to the wall, and their windows are left unappealingly empty.
Whilst it is a great chance for the nanny state to slap up a few "hard hitting" posters and get loads of free advertising, it is also sending a wrong message about the town where these posters are displayed.
Loads of empty windows equal loads of posters on display - and this equals visitors to the Boston town centre getting the impression that we are a load of feckless drunks who put the bottle before the baby.
We are sure that the problem is not as bad as this, and it is a bad thing to create a bad image where none exists.
In other towns where recession has left windows blank and bland, enterprising councils and businesses have posted large attractive poster displays - with sometimes even a single illustration taking up an entire window.
The result is attractive, appealing, encouraging and image-enhancing.
Why do we want to depict ourselves as an offshoot of Hogarth's Gin Alley or Beer Lane?
We wish that the do-gooders would think more carefully about the potential of their actions before they reach for the poster brush and glue.

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Dead sails in the sunset?

The news of a setback for the Boston College rebuilding plans has really come as no surprise.
The first plan to dump a new building inappropriately in the heart of the proposed West Street redevelopment fell through the net after those involved seemed to agree that it was not really the right place - and now there are problems with the West Street plans themselves with the loss of the "anchor" store that would have been used by Debenhams.
Undaunted, the college went on to announce last year an ambitious £79 million campus and asked the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) for much of the cash.
But now a funding crisis at the LSC has led to the chief executive resigning and decisions on a number of projects being put on hold.
Boston College is just one of 144 colleges directly affected by the delays in funding decisions about building projects and a spokesman for the college said they were confident that the situation will be resolved shortly.
"We have had a wealth of positive feedback concerning our plans, not only from the public but also the funders, who all know what a central role Boston College plays in supporting Lincolnshire people.
"We are currently liaising with all the relevant parties involved and remain positive of a successful outcome that will benefit students, local businesses and the wider community."
Unfortunately, we're slightly less relaxed.
The big problem with the LSC crisis has left many colleges without buildings at all, as they have already demolished out of date premises on the promise of cash.
Others have half demolished premises, and are in a similar boat.
So how far up the list Boston's plans may be after the dust quite literally clears is anyone's guess ... but we suspect that it will not be a very high priority.
Architects said the plans were influenced by the town's nautical heritage, with "sail" and "wave" themes included in the design.
Perhaps now the project will "wave" goodbye and "sail" off into the sunset.
It would not surprise us.
Nor, having glimpsed the sketches of how the new college might look like, would it really disappoint us.

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Does best mean worst?

Being in the word business ourselves, we are always keen to study their use and the way that they can be interpreted.
Particularly so when the wordsmith involved is the council's deputy leader Councillor Peter ("we walk on water") Jordan.
His latest quotations appear in this week's Boston Standard.
The issue under discussion is the council decision to ask the private sector to bid to run some services.
In the newspaper item, Councillor Jordan is asked why the council is undertaking the exercise, and says that the idea is to give "value for money - the best possible service at the lowest possible cost. It's that simple."
In fact it's so simple that he tells us again, when asked: "What do you want to achieve?"
The reply: "The best possible service at the lowest possible cost. "
So now that we simpletons have heard the answer, how do we interpret it?
In our book it means that we are going to end up with the worst service available, not the best.
That's because the "best possible service at the lowest possible cost" is a service set by price rather than quality.
In other words we are asking bidders to use cost as the controlling factor - instead of giving them targets to be met and then seeing who comes up with the lowest bid to achieve it, which we always believed was the way that these sort of things were usually done.
Whilst Councillor Jordan's words seem to tell us that we will be getting quality for our money, when one looks more closely he really seems to be saying something different altogether.
And we wonder whether he really meant to say what he did.
We think the questions need asking again .... "why is the council undertaking the exercise, and what does it want to achieve?"

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Friday footnotes ...

Getting away from it all award of the week.... goes to one of our local political hopefuls seen spending time eyeballing the last minute offers in the window of a Strait Bargate travel agent We wondered whether his wanderlust yearnings were in any way connected with a recent media contribution.

Gnasher way to do it award .... also out and about, we noticed one of our local councillors tottering tight lipped from a denture repair shop in town. Too much gnashing of teeth during sessions at Worst Street, perhaps?

Doing your head in by numbers award of the week. Boston Borough Council's supersaver council tax demands come with a 14 digit council tax account number. Even during the G20 week we're no experts when it comes to digits ... except perhaps giving one ... but 14 of the little monkeys puts the potential number of accounts into the thousands of trillions. That's enough to count every leaf on every tree in Boston along with all the grains of soil as well. Why do councils come up with such malicious systems that almost guarantee people will get them wrong when completing forms?

How to woo the visitors to your town award goes to Lincoln City Council. Although they're closing the city's Tourist Information Centres to save cash, space for tourism access centres might instead be created in shops, restaurants, banks and even Lincoln Cathedral. What a good idea, and one that would work well in Boston. It would be far better than moving the TIC yet again to a place which hardly opens and is seldom visited when it is. And remember that we suggested the Stump as an ideal TIC ages ago...

Saving shoe leather award of the week goes to the Neighbourhood Policing Team for Boston Urban West. They've announced a series of dates when they'll park up and sit in their mobile police station so that the punters can drop in for a cuppa "and discuss local problems or issues that need resolving." Fie on those bad old days when the police has to "pound a beat" - whatever that may mean. It didn't take long for our PCSOs to follow the cushy route taken by their real police colleagues - don't leave the office if you can possibly avoid it, but if you must always do it in comfort. We also like the timescale for the monthly visits ... Staniland Road/Broadfield Lane area at "about" 10am; Tennyson Close/Peck Avenue from 11-30 for "about an hour" - then the rest of the time until 3pm on Boston West Business Park (a crime hotbed noted for having so many local residents.) What great idea...spend longest where most likely least needed, and still be back in time for tea.

Finally our There is nothing like a Dane award of the week goes to the interestingly named Christopher Whippey, a Boston RSPCA officer, who has successfully persuaded the appeal court that there is no harm in allowing his 12 stone Great Dane called Hector to run off its lead - even though his boisterousness led to a runner in a park rolling into a ditch and breaking an ankle. All this happened in Leeds almost five years ago, but we would nonetheless advise fresh air fans in Boston to keep a beady eye open now that Mr Whippey has carte blanche to let Hector have his head in public places. We hope that by-laws in Boston regarding the exercising of dogs are more robust than in other parts of the kingdom.

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"Typical attempt to inject false readings into bus poll"

We hope that you are all calm again after yesterday's sideslapping seasonal entry ... now it's back down to business.
Our piece on Tuesday about the ongoing manipulation of the survey to gauge opinion to help decide the future of the Into Town bus service generated an interesting reply.
Councillor Brian Rush, of the Better Boston Group, says: "It seems to me that this BBI/LCC initiative is being foisted on the people of Boston despite protests, and public condemnation, of the needless invasion of Strait Bargate.
"Your observation regarding hand delivered questionnaires is not surprising. This is a typical but not unusual attempt by these councillors to inject 'false readings in everything they do' so as to deceive the public into believing that the project is more popular than it is - they are always claiming other agencies projects as their own ... the barrage, water link, etc.
"I questioned the professionalism of the Norwich company that had charged with the task of information gathering, I was assured that 'this is what they did.'
"I however expressed doubt that any 'company worth their salt, that operated in this field', must be aware that there should be very little effort and no expense incurred by respondents in order to collate a widespread result of public opinion, thereby returning a valid borough wide consensus. It seems to me that this was not the point of the excercise. I wonder why."
One has to note that the 'town wards' are the beneficiaries of the service, so a vested interest might be considered. I wonder if any off route and rural wards were given the same consideration?
"I recently asked a simple enough question of Richard Austin in full council, as to whether there was an alternative route for the buses, if for some reason the present 'invasion route' proved inappropriate? He refused to enlighten me; he said he was not prepared to speculate until the results of the trial were known. (In other words He Has No Idea!)
"So this suggests to me that your opinion is correct, there is no alternative!
Because in fact this is not an experiment, this is IT, and to hell with public opinion, peace and safety!"
But we do have the forthcoming County Council Elections in June, when we can expect the same councillors standing, so here is an opportunity to put them in their place.
"Can they realistically expect to be trusted again as a voice for Boston. I think not!
"The Into Town service is unique; it is over and above the nationwide concessionary travel scheme - but with this comes some considerations. It must be paid for by the borough, so this is an extra burden on already scarce funding.
"We must consider the implications of the costs of the service increasing with popularity, and it will.
"We all need to be aware also, that not all residents can access the service, even on expansion, but all residents have to pay - through their council tax."Even the £1 fare payers are paying twice through council tax."Fare payers have no guarantee of travel either, if a bus is full of concession passengers it's full ..."
But remember, we were told in the beginning that the service HAD TO BE VIABLE!!!!
"With this in mind it will be interesting to see what this cost will climb to next year, and the year after, but at least we will finally get to see the end of the Boston Bystanders.
"So life's not so bad,
"But what will their legacy to Boston be!!!!"
So as we said, this is not an exclusive County Council organised "poll" of opinion. The grubby fingers of the BBI are again in the pie ... doubtless to pull out the plum that has the sweetest answer for their purposes.
Don't they just give you the pip!!

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Walkies! - not us say Boston shoppers

Boston Eye has been told that a £1 million airport-style moving walkway is to be installed in Strait Bargate after pedestrians complained of discrimination.
The protesters say that they are being victimised because they have to window shop physically, whilst passengers using the Into Town coach service are driven slowly past the shop displays giving them ample time to view possible purchases without having to make any extra effort.
Oliver Beese, a spokesman for the Boston Branch of Shopalholics Unanimous told us: "Some of our heavier members have a real struggle as they totter from shop to shop to see what's on offer, and it drives us mad to see the smirk on bus passengers' faces as they glide past and window shop from the luxury of a comfy seat. We did consider asking the council to bring back sedan chairs like those in use a couple of centuries ago, but they told us there were health and safety issues beyond their control which made it impossible. There was also a problem because there was never enough wood up for auction on the Green on Wednesdays to make enough chairs in the larger sizes needed these days"
A council spokesman told us: "A million pounds may sound like a lot of money, but it's chicken feed if we're to keep our place in the UK obesity leagues. If these people have to walk, their fitness might improve, and that would never do."
Asked where the money was coming from in these cash-strapped times, the spokesman added: "In the past, we have used a London firm called State Street, who have already lent us a million pounds on dead easy long term payments over fifty years. In fact it was so easy there doesn't appear to be any record of the deal in our files, so you can bet your boots we'll be going there again."
But the plan has not met with complete approval in the town.
E. C. Rider, of the Town User's Bus Association (TUBA) said: "This is a big blow for TUBA. If these people get their way, they'll just be able to step off the moving walkway and run off with all the best bargains at sale time. So if the plan gets the go ahead, we'll demand emergency stop buttons beside all the bus seats to that we can halt it in an instant and chase the bargains along with the rest of them."
Also on transport issues, a spokesman for the Princess Royal Sports Arena denied that the venue was to be added to the Into Town bus service route.
"I thought that everyone knew by now that we don't welcome coaches from other organisations," said a spokesman.

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