Week ending 11th June

Our Friday miscellany of the week's news and events
Not me guv ... Despite Councillor Richard Dungworth's claims on BBC Radio Lincolnshire, Conservative group leader Raymond Singleton-McGuire points out that he does not form part of the "Old Guard" referred to in the current debate on the funding of the Princess Royal Sports Arena. He tells Boston Eye:

"There is no denying that I was on the last administration, however, I question Councillor Dungworth's sweeping statement, which includes myself when he refers to 'these are the people who voted things through, they gave an open cheque to the PRSA to spend whatever they wanted.' In light of the seriousness of these allegations by Richard Dungworth, for example, if what he claims is true then surely the Financial Regulator should be called in, perhaps the Electoral Commission in light of political irregularities with public money, or even a complaint to the Standards Board, and, least of all, I would expect no less than to be reported to the police! I would like to set the record straight where Councillor Dungworth’s naivety is concerned. In my previous period as a councillor I never had to make a decision or vote on any issues regarding PRSA. Clearly Councillor Dungworth has illustrated yet again how he gets things so wrong! Perhaps Councillor Dungworth should recall in 2008 at full council when it was claimed within nine months the PRSA is likely to break even. But how much extra ratepayer’s money was it he wanted to support the PRSA in the meantime? It’s now added up to be in the hundreds of thousands of wasted ratepayers' money. Incidentally, Richard Dungworth voted for it, and I voted against it (as did all the others he’s now trying to shame.) Also at full council in November 2009, he stated that the PRSA was now in profit. Funny how the PRSA was suddenly in a loss when I requested repayment of loans. I have some precious and sound advice for Richard Dungworth, 'People who live in glasshouses shouldn’t throw stones’.

Billed for what ... ? After our recent piece about Boston BID, an e-mail from Darron Abbot raises an interesting point. "Dear Boston Eye: Perhaps you may be able to come up with the answer? I have asked representatives of the council and Niall Armstrong this question. Why does an empty business premises have to pay the bid levy, even if the Borough Council acknowledge no business is being run from it, and are not charging business rates because it is empty? One of my clients has just received a summons - should be an interesting day on 21st June when we attend the court." More about Boston BID - and how it spends its money - next week.
Road to nowhere? ... News that the £130 million eastern bypass for Lincoln could be under threat after the Government refused to guarantee it would be spared from cash cuts comes as no real surprise. But we wonder what the implications are for Boston. Certainly we think we can wave goodbye to any possibility of a bypass or distributor road - certainly for the five years of the present parliament. But we wonder whether someone in Whitehall might question whether the pointless £10 million spend that has just begun is now worth the candle.
Shaky start ... New Mayor Peter "Old Grumpy" Jordan's professed aim to make the council "a more cohesive, positive and efficient force for good," got off to an inauspicious start at Monday's full council meeting. Attempts by Councillor Anne Dorrian to raise issues concerning the BBI and its decision to embrace pornography were routinely shouted down by the man whose job is supposedly to ensure that council affairs are conducted impartially and with decorum. Management is notoriously difficult, but perhaps when he's had a little more practice ...

Beats walking the beat ... We note that Boston West Urban Neighbourhood Policing Team - famous for holding "drop in surgeries" rather than trudging the mean streets of their patch - are continuing their work avoidance programme by manning a display stand in ASDA to "support" National Child Safety Week. The event is the responsibility of an organisation called the Child Accident Prevention Trust and it is completely beyond us why the police need to poke their truncheons in. Unless, or course, the long term plan is to drag out the Marler Haley for every appropriate "national" week. This month alone there are 25 such awareness days or weeks including "National Insect Week" and "Wrong Trousers Day." Plenty of scope for Boston's Keystone Kops, then?
Flat spin ... Try as they might, the Boston Bypass Independents cannot seem to capture the hearts and minds of the people who elected them. Sample headlines from this week's local letters pages include: "Spare us the bypass drivel," and "Enough of the spun truths and waffle, where's our bypass?" So it's true - you can't fool some of the people some of the time...
Extra, extra ... So much is happening that Boston Eye will be publishing throughout the weekend. Tomorrow, look at the PRSA accounts returned to the Charities Commission - and ask yourself why more than £800,000 was earmarked as "retained for future use" when so much debt was outstanding ... And there will be more on Sunday. As the old News of the World slogan once said "All human life is here" - and if we include some members of the BBI, sub-human life as well!


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