Could cuts threaten

Market Place plans?

As we reported yesterday, the £2 million refurbishment of Boston’s Market Place is on the agenda at tonight’s borough council cabinet meeting.
A year ago, this looked like a bright opportunity to make a major improvement to Boston in one fell swoop.
But, reading between the lines, it looks as though the government cuts may well rein in some of the ambitions.
English Heritage, whilst apparently fully supportive of the scheme, is facing a 32% cut in its £136 million grant.
It has decided to protect its planning advice services, the maintenance and conservation of its properties, and “all existing grant commitments.”
As far as we can see, English Heritage has not yet committed funds, and if it does not, then money for the Market Place could dramatically be reduced.
English Heritage says that as a result of government cuts it will reduce grants by around one third and will shortly publish a corporate plan providing greater detail. There are also problems with support from Lincolnshire County Council, which recently decided to divert £250,000 of its £450,000 matched funding for the Market Place, to buy the listed former bank at 116 High Street Boston to bring it back to its former glory and to seek to use the investment as a “regeneration catalyst” for the High Street area.
Whilst this is a separate issue, it is one which nonetheless causes us concern. The restoration of the building has been handed over to Heritage Lincolnshire, in a similar way that the St John's workhouse on Skirbeck Road was – for restoration. It is now owned by Lincolnshire County Council and is a resource centre for adults with physical disabilities.
The High Street project has an ominous ring to it. We are told that it will provide a base to deliver adult social care (through a third sector deliverer) and “social enterprise incubator units” – which we take to mean accommodation for problem tenants.
The report goes so far as to point out, that “it would be difficult to find another purchaser of the building and almost certainly impossible to find one prepared to accept the risks associated with the proposed end use,” which we are sure is news that will not be welcomed by local residents who are trying to drag the area up by its bootstraps under the worthless but costly Placecheck scheme.
But the core problem here is that restoring a listed building for the purpose stated is infinitely more costly than purpose building from scratch – and at the end of the day, public money is being spent on a project to which the public will be denied access … which hardly seems fair.
Nonetheless, the report overall remains optimistic, seeking to reaffirm the council’s commitment to support the development and implementation of the Market Place Heritage Regeneration Scheme
It also asks the cabinet to consider entering into a Conservation Area Partnership Scheme with English Heritage to secure up to £500,000 external funding to offer financial assistance towards the cost of traditional repair/reinstatement of buildings and premises within the Boston Conservation Area, and asks the cabinet formally to consider the allocation of the Boston Area Regeneration ‘legacy’ monies to support the implementation of the Market Place project - and if not all used to provide part match funding to maximise the amount of English Heritage cash being made available.
On paper it all looks very good – but in our heart of hearts we fear that things may well not go according to plan.
As Burns reminded us:
The best laid schemes o' mice an' men
Gang aft agley,
An' lea'e us nought but grief an' pain,
For promis'd joy!

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