Week ending

Our Friday miscellany

of the week's

news and events

There was an ominous phrase among the e-mails in circulation earlier this week from the portfolio holder for town centre development and management, Councillor Derek Richmond. Take a deep breath and read on – the italics are ours, but not the punctuation  ... “I too have the interests of the people and businesses of this Town at heart, that's why I put so much time trying to improve Boston in order to achieve more footfall, more spending and ultimately more businesses opening in the future, unfortunately despite everybody's efforts I can't see any of this happening whilst the Market Place is being re-furbished and the economic situation remains as it is, but at least we will have everything in place ready for when all this changes.” Given that the Market Place refurbishment is going on at least until March – and who knows how long the economy will take to recover - we are sure that Boston businesses will go from being gloomy to positively suicidal at this news. If we ran a Market Place business, we’d shut up shop here and now, rather than endure a steady decline and ongoing loss of profits.
Still with Councillor Richmond, we were heartily cheered by the news that the great and the good in Boston Borough Council’s cabinet are working so hard on our behalf. In another e-mail, he wrote: “We are already making great inroads in the Council thanks to everybodys hard work as I am sure the Officers would be only too pleased to tell you. I would say every member of the Cabinet are putting in in excess of 40 hours a week.” We’re sure that he would say it, but we have to say that somehow, we doubt it – unless someone would like to convince us !
We mentioned last week the scruffy plaque that allegedly marks the place where the famous explorer George Bass grew up. However, it appears that not only is the historic plaque in bad nick – but it’s in the wrong place! Reader Robin Smith tells us: “With regard to the state of the Crown and Anchor sign and the plaque with details of George Bass - just one thing concerns me, if the Placecheck/council are keen to spend our money on refurbishing them, can they at least re-install them at the correct location? Yes, George Bass did indeed spend some time residing in Skirbeck Quarter at the Coaching Inn/Posting House under the sign of the Crown and Anchor, but this property was situated at number 16 Skirbeck Quarter. This formerly fine building with its coach arch, on which the sign was originally installed, still stands. The sign, the name and the licence were relocated to the building at number 20 Skirbeck Quarter in around 1850 - approximately 50 years after Bass had died. This building was demolished in 1968 and the sign and plaque placed on the adjacent wall. But this is not the site of the inn where Bass grew up.”
We were pleased to see another list of local “surgeries” being held by Boston councillors appear on the borough’s website – although some of the events appeared to be out of date when they appeared. The list comprises three Conservative councillors, three Labour, and two Independents. That represents only a quarter of the total number of councillors. Surely the people who elected them deserve better than that?
Whilst there was no reason for Boston to have expected trouble during last week’s nationwide riots – the events certainly brought back uncomfortable memories of 2004, when the town did suffer in just such a way. This may well have been in the mind of our MP Mark Simmonds when he declared how appalled he was by the scenes in London, adding that the riot criminals must be confronted. What a shame, then, that he couldn’t apparently make the effort to attend the recall of parliament that debated the matter. In reply to a constituent who asked whether he had been present for the debate, his office said that he hadn’t, and “there hadn’t been any riots in Lincolnshire.” The phrase let them eat cake comes to mind.
There appears to have been a lot of gloating by both the Boston Standard and the borough council because BBC’s Look North came to town to feature their “name and shame anti-litter campaign.” It’s really no big deal, as lazy regional TV programmes check out the front pages of our local papers and proceed accordingly. Add to that the fact that the Look North edition in question is a local programme within a local programme, and we wonder what all the fuss is about. It should be routine for stories about Boston to appear on local television – not something to be regarded as exceptional. Also, wouldn’t it be great if the stories were good news, rather than the reverse? And before anyone objects – a story about a joint effort to punish people who drop litter (a scourge according to the council,) is not a good news story - as it highlights the litter problem in Boston and the extreme measures needed to combat it.
There is surely a message to be taken from this week’s court appearances in our local “newspapers.” Without exception, the surnames for the entire sitting read like an Eastern European telephone directory – Slivinskas, Balans, Lezdins, Moskal, Kaicenko, Jucys, Zielinski. And of these seven, some were repeat offenders, who clearly haven’t taken the hint. In its welcoming message to newcomers to Boston, the borough council says: “More people are moving into Boston from outside the area, and this information has been collected to help all newcomers, especially economic migrants from the European Union, to get information about public services they need, integrate into the community and play a full part in the borough's life. One of the council's main priorities is to ensure Boston is a place for everyone - a place that values diversity.” Boston is also a place that should value law and order – and surely the time has come to explain to newcomers that integration requires a certain standard of behaviour. Perhaps our local solicitors could also try to refrain from coming up with laughable excuses in so-called mitigation.
When Boston town centre was placed under a Designated Public Place Order – a fancy term which just means you can't drink in public – joy was unconfined. Despite the fact that it hasn’t really made much difference, there’s another less pleasant aspect for people who live beyond the DPPO area, whose opinions were pooh-poohed when they expressed fears that the order would simply shift the problem elsewhere.

We encountered these two bins within yards of each other during what should have been a pleasant weekend stroll alongside the Maud Foster waterway. Nearby, a council-owned bench had been uprooted and dumped on the river bank – although by now it is probably to be found full fathom five below old Maudie’s waters. But at least a town centre problem has been addressed – which seems to be all that the council is really concerned about - and why should it care about the poor devils living just a few hundred yards further away … after all they’re just council tax payers.
We mentioned a while ago the apparent determination of Lincolnshire County Council to ensure that the town remains as hard to travel as possible because of roadworks. One such problem has been highlighted at the A52 junction with the Boardsides, where the bridge that leads out of town to Tesco and Oldrids Downtown has been made one-way. The so called “diversion” back to town, is apparently over 20 miles and takes more than half an hour. Why? Another question that we have raised is why it takes so long to complete what ought to be relatively minor road schemes. Yesterday as we headed to Tesco, there were two men working on the bridge, whilst a third watched. Could that be the answer?
Isn’t 20:20 hindsight a wonderful thing? Once again former BBI councillor Sheila Newell has raised her head above the parapet - this time to tell us that Boston is “not as welcoming as it ought to be” and that a mere four-day a week opening of the Guildhall is inappropriate. She adds that the Market Place refurbishment should have included the Assembly Rooms - which are dirty inside and out, poorly presented, and underused. And as for the toilets – only those at Park Gate meet modern standards. How strange that during her four years in office Mrs Newell made little, if anything, of these issues. When she had to opportunity to act, she didn’t – so why is she now so gung-ho about the need for the town to be improved and promoted?
Businesses that must have been cheered when the free concert in Central Park – free to visitors, but at a cost of £10,000 to them if they were members of the Boston Business “Improvement” District – had been called off, may now be less sanguine. Apparently the event has merely been postponed – so their money will be needed next year instead. Not only that, but the event may well be spread over two days, not just one. At least it gives people longer to protest - and perhaps curb the BID’s generosity. Meanwhile, we are still baffled as to why the event reached such an advanced stage before Boston Borough Council ordered its postponement on 'elf and safety grounds - because of the proximity of Boston Market and the park. The event was approved by the BID’s board, which includes a senior officer of Boston Borough Council – so why wasn’t the conflict of interest spotted earlier, particularly as the officer concerned was also responsible for the relocation of the market?
Good to see after our mention last week that the Boston Community Showcase has found its way on to the borough council’s website What’s On Diary. Not only that, but another event is also listed for September. Two things going on in Boston in a whole month – phew … it make us feel quite giddy!


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