Set sights lower for more realistic future

We hate to say we told you so .. but we told you so.
The Merchants Quay project (now we'll never know where the apostrophe would have gone) project is now "on hold" after Modus Eastern (Boston) - the company behind the scheme - called in the receivers.
We predicted something like this after the news that Debenhams had withdrawn from the proposed project. The store chain was the sole partner with Modus in many of its other similar developments, and its departure more or less left the firm high and dry unless anyone else was daft enough to consider such a huge investment in such an unrealistic location as Boston (and we're being realistic here.)
We suspect that it may be years and years before another plan is forthcoming - if in fact one ever does.
Ironically, we are reminded that the borough's head of silly quotes - deputy leader Peter Jordan famously described Modus as "a wonderful company. They are the sort of straight dealers I want to be in bed with."
Heaven help whoever he chooses as his next bedfellow. The word nosophoros* springs to mind.
The loss of the £80 million Modus proposal comes at the same time as the news that plans for a £79 million campus planned for Boston College has failed for lack of financial support.
We think that something of a pattern is beginning to emerge here.
The great and the good of Boston seem to be big on ambition, imagination and ideas, and poor on delivery.
We think that they would do well to set their sights on lower, but more achievable targets.
In that we would include the idea of a bypass for the town.
It's just not going to happen, and now would be a good time to admit it and look for a simpler and quicker solution.


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

*The Greek word nosophoros is defined as “plague-carrier.”