In the recent Daily Mail  feature about the impact of inward immigration on Boston, we heard communities portfolio holder Councillor Mike Gilbert remark the landslide majority won by the Boston Bypass Independents, and saying: “If it can happen for a bypass, then who says it won’t happen for an issue that inspires much more extreme opinions?”  At the time, we asked whether he could be considered a latter-day Cassandra. Now it seems that we may have been right. The leader of the Boston Protest March group, Dean Everitt, has taken to their Facebook page to ask how many people would be willing to stand for an independent party to run at the next local elections in 2015.


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He adds: “If  local councils won’t help solve local issues, it’s time to change your council …” Watch this space.
We note the threat that Boston’s main post office could close  with mixed feelings. Frankly, we can’t agree with the chairman of Boston Business “Improvement” District that the building is iconic and that its closure would be like moving the municipal buildings. It’s quite likely that the latter could be relocated somewhere that would benefit both the staff and the public and save money as well. Boston’s main post office has long been a disgrace, with some of the worst queues in the town that we have ever encountered.  Often, we have opted not to wait, and instead visited another sub office somewhere else. This is the most likely reason why the Wide Bargate building has failed to make a profit, and is therefore a largely self-inflicted injury. It’s time to worry less about status and concentrate instead on finding a suitable alternative location which we can use without the need to bring a packed lunch to eat while we wait.
It seems that Boston Borough Council is continuing its policy of not letting meetings get in the way of business. So much is now done in secret – and we are also seeing the idea of “informal” briefings, such as the forthcoming one on the Into Town bus service where councillors will be denied a vote and  there will be no minutes taken. Now – not for the first time – we are seeing a meeting cancelled at the last minute.

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The list on the left of the picture above was on the borough council website for some time – then vanished with just days to go to be replaced by the one on the right. Doubtless the excuse will be lack of business – but surely, there must have been something to discuss.

It’s seldom that we hear our local county council representatives speak in Lincoln – let alone raise their heads still higher above the parapet.  So it’s interesting to note that Boston’s Conservative councillor for Boston South, Paul Skinner,  is standing up to be counted as an opponent of a plan to build a lagoon or two  in which to process all the nasty gunky stuff that’s being generated at the Boston landfill site on  Slippery Gowt Lane.  He is against the plan for a shedload of reasons – among them that the data is from 2008 and therefore wholly out of date,   traffic issues, problems with the smell and – if that wasn’t enough – the charge that the plan will blight Boston South and Fishtoft. He also points out that local food processing firms dislike the proposed development and that the last time something like this was proposed some companies threatened to move away from the area. Wyberton Parish Council also object to the development – but in its usual Boston-friendly manner, the powers that be in Lincoln are recommending approval – although they have imposed a condition concerning the colour of the chain link fencing that will surround the lagoons. The county’s planning and regulation committee will discuss the application on 16^th March. The application reference is PL/0014/13
Another issue that is attracting attention concerns plans to create an underground cable and substation at Bicker Fen to connect the Triton Knoll wind farm to the national grid. Boston MP Mark Simmonds says he opposes the idea and remarks that the constituency has become a consistent target for onshore wind development proposals. The proposal at Bicker could cover as much as twenty hectares, which for those who prefer such measurement in a more understandable form is almost 20 football pitches. Recently, Boston Borough councillors attended a presentation on the benefits of the Bicker Fen project to the area, and apparently came away less than impressed by what they heard. Lincolnshire County Council says it wants a halt to the unrestrained spread of wind turbines across the county. Let us hope that it broadens its net to help protect Bicker from blight.
The issue of on-going support for the Princess Royal Sports Arena was discussed – in secret, of course – by Boston Borough Council’s cabinet of curiosities recently. It’s  now two years since we were promised that the issue of funding this great white elephant would be solved “once and for all,” and more recently council leader Pete Bedford assured us that: “Arrangements are now at an advanced stage to put the Boston Sports Initiative into the position of managing the Princess Royal Sports Arena. This will enable it to become a successful venue for sport and public entertainment, providing an alternative venue for some of the more traditional Assembly Rooms events.”



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 It’s therefore interesting to see the latest information from the Charity Commission which shows that – aside from making consistent losses in two of the past three years, it hasn’t even bothered to submit accounts for the year ended March last year. An oversight – or a snub?

Our mention last week of complaints by English Democrat leader Councillor Elliott Fountain, that he didn't attend a meeting of “opposition” councillors to discuss common issues because he wasn’t aware that it was being held  has prompted an embarrassed response from Independent group spokesman Councillor Richard Leggott.  He e-mailed his colleagues to confess: “I had to check my records for evidence of sending an invite to all opposition parties for the January get-together.
Being unable to find any record of relevant contact with either of you (Councillor Fountain and his colleague Councillor David Owens) I feel that I must have boobed and I really do apologise. Sorry folks. Mea culpa, mea maxima culpa. (Could have sworn I had cc'd both of you in other emails but obviously not!)
After our mention of this year’s Boston in Bloom competition, a reader got in touch to say that – like us – he couldn’t understand why the steering group was pursuing Boston's historic connections with trading and the fishing industries, when this year’s theme is “edible.” He suggested that something different and imaginative such as using ornamental vegetables in planters in place of the usual floral displays.
What a great idea – and one which just might make the difference when the awards are being handed out. But will anyone dare to do it? You can bet money that they won’t. One item of good news that we noted yesterday was that Lincolnshire County Council has agreed to pay for some bigger timber planters for this year’s contest.  On Wednesday night Boston’s Town Area Committee agreed to donate to the cause as well after an appeal from the borough’s impoverished leisure services department. By a big majority, they agreed to chip in  £2,000 – to buy new planters!
It seems that Conservative Councillor Paul Mould has moved quickly to head off renewed criticism that he has been outstaying his welcome in parking bays where the time limit for waiting is two hours –  something that was mentioned in Boston Eye last year. This time an official complaint was made to Boston Borough Council – with response, apparently – and a local county councillor, who has taken matters further. But Councillor Mould told us yesterday: “I now park my car down Robin Hood Walk, as there are no restrictions there.”
Finally, last week, we mentioned the SO Festival in East Lindsey and quoted reported criticisms concerning the cost.  The council’s communications and consultation team leader got in touch to say that the £350,000 being spent isn’t just for SO Festival, but for the entire district wide events programme – the SO Festival, Wolds Words, Mablethorpe illuminations, beach sports, and other events to benefit the visitor economy.  “All the events bring many people into the district and millions of pounds into the economy,” he said.  We’re happy to hear it – but still say that the  Boston and Spalding based “Transported” arts programme is a waste of £2,500,000 and will do nothing  to “engage audiences in local communities,”

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Our former blog is archived at: http://bostoneyelincolnshire.blogspot.com