T
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he great thing about taking a break for a few days is that
you get to see something new and different.
The obverse is that on your return, you find that nothing
you left behind has changed – and in fact some things seem to have got even worse
than before.
Thus it was with our brief break from Boston.
We left as the people of the town united in their
condemnation of Lincolnshire County Council for its glittering incompetence
in bringing the town to a halt for the sake of what should have been a few
piddling road works.
It was way back in 1976 that Elton John immortalised the
phrase sorry seems to be the hardest word – but that romantic image
was certainly shattered by Lincolnshire County Council’s highways panjandrum
Richard (Bob the Builder) Davies, who
uttered the ‘s’ word more times in a few speeches than most of us do in a
month of Sundays.
His contrition began in an interview on the wireless, and
sounded moderately convincing.
But unfortunately, by the time he had polished his lines a
few times, whilst the word sorry was still being uttered – it was without the
slightest soupçon of sincerity.
Rather like a man who kicks you whilst you’re down,
apologises, and then does it again every working day for six weeks – which is how
it must feel to road users in Boston.
***
T
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he initial radio interview that we heard made us wonder
whether something was involved that was far more serious than mere daily
traffic chaos – as reference was repeatedly made to the problems being caused by
a psychopath.
It was only after we listened back a few times that we
realised that the conversation was about a cycle path.
Councillor Davies began by apologising to bus company
Brylaine, and with a startling admission – that whilst the company has been
pre-warned about the road closures on High Street and South Square …
“unfortunately, we neglected – it’s entirely our fault – to mention the lane
closures on the A16, for a technical reason.”
Brylaine has estimated that this footling technicality cost
them £35,000 – but everyone at Clownty Hall is sorry, so that’s all
right then.
***
W
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hat is interesting is to try to map the path of all of this and see how the story
changes over a relatively short space of time.
The initial announcement of the road works – which came like
a bolt from the blue – was quite unambiguous.
A county council press release told us: “Cyclists and
pedestrians will benefit from a new cycle route through Boston, set to start in
September and be completed by the end of October.”
Later in the piece, Satish Shah, Head of Highways at
Lincolnshire County Council, said: “We’re also taking the opportunity to carry out
essential road works in the area, meaning less overall disruption for
the public.”
To us this is quite clear: the main thrust of the work was
the building of a cycle path, and as an adjunct, some other works were
being done at the same time.
Boston, of course has little need for a cycle path – as anyone who regularly walks around
the town will know. Cyclists ride wherever they please all the time, and have
done with a total disregard for the health and wellbeing of everyone else ever
since the velocipede was invented.
Later, Mr Shah – who is famously reported to have told a
member of the public that he aimed to be at his desk in Worst Street at 6am to
avoid any congestion – also joined in the flood of apologies and slightly moved
the goalposts.
He told a local ‘newspaper:’
“We’ve taken this opportunity to improve the cycle route and footpath as
other repairs to the road were needed anyway. The toucan crossing at
John Adams Way needed to be replaced, and the alteration to the four-way
traffic signals at the John Adams Way, South End and South Square junction have
been designed to improve traffic flow, and will therefore reduce congestion in
the long term.”
His words where then echoed by Councillor Davies on the
radio – who went so far as to say that it was “disingenuous” to think that all
this turmoil was for something as mundane as a cycle path.
He also got a mite snarky: “It’s not just a cycle path. That
sounds good, it’s a nice snappy thing to say on the radio but you seem to be
ignoring the fact that the whole scheme is about improving the traffic flow…”
Later he was asked:
-
You’re saying that … this pain people are going
through, it will be easier to get around Boston after this?”
-
“Absolutely.
-
You can guarantee this can you?
-
Inasmuch as any thing in life in terms of road works
can be guaranteed in road schemes …
That’s politico speak for “absolutely not.”
***
A
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round about this time, Mr Shah was reprising His Master’s Voice
in one of our local “newspapers” He raised the hopes of local motorists when he
said: “The possibility is also being investigated of completing the work overnight,
when fewer vehicles are on the road, subject to cost.”
But this particular tune was not on Councillor Davies’s song
sheet when he appeared on the radio. He told listeners that working overnight
could potentially double the bill, and that with a fixed budget, this would mean
that somewhere
else would miss out on road improvements.
***
S
|
o with one bound Jack was free – but the performances by
Councillor Davies proved a good dress rehearsal for last week’s full
meeting of Lincolnshire Clownty Council.
It would have been unusual even for Boston for our county councillors
to ignore the traffic chaos – and in fact, there was a hat trick of ‘em with
questions… Councillor Mike Brookes, Councillor Bob McAuley and Councillor Alison
Austin.
And as, one by one, they put their questions, so Councillor
Davies polished and re-polished his rhetoric.
He told Councillor Brookes that traffic
problems did not just affect Boston – we must have been mistaken – and
traffic improvements could not be achieved without causing short term
disruption (note: roughly six months overall in Boston so far this year. Ed.)
Having rejected night working, Councillor Davies then said
that they had “gone some way towards that “by not putting cones out during the
rush hour” (eh? – Ed)
By this time, the cost of working overnight had risen to
“sometimes three times as much” – that’s inflation for you.
It would mean that “somewhere else wouldn’t get something.”
“So my question is if any member here doesn’t want their
pothole filled or doesn’t want their particular road resurfaced, please let me
know and we can then put some more work into night-time working on
occasions.”
Meanwhile, Boston was seeing the beginnings of a distributor road.
This picked up on an earlier reference to approval being
given to the Quadrant development – and we remain confused by the regularity
with which this surfaces.
So far, the only planning application that has been approved
is for the building of a new stadium for Boston United.
All the other high-flying fancy looking stuff is in outline
only, and no substantive application for it has yet been made.
So it is a little premature to say that the first stage of a
distributor road has been approved.
***
C
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ouncillor Bob McAuley was next to try to pin Councillor Davies
down.
But it was like wrestling jelly.
Councillor McAuley asked for a pledge that any future funding
for a major road project would be used to deliver Boston’s distributor road.
He said that the first phase would be built and funded by
the developer of the Quadrant scheme, and the people of Boston were now looking
to Lincolnshire
County Council to “step up and show their commitment” to our part of
the county and not just Lincoln."
Gaining equanimity with each question, Councillor Davies
began by correcting Councillor McAuley by claiming that it was not just central
government that was funding the road – we had to thank the Greater Lincolnshire
Local Enterprise Partnership and whilst County Hall was “absolutely committed”
to delivering “improvement” to Boston there was no giant chequebook to
deliver up to £200 million.
But the fact that money had been received already “is by no
small means down to the work that’s been done in this chamber and by members of
this council.”
***
B
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y this point, we were considering organising a whip-round to
show our gratitude, as Councillor Alison Austin entered the
fray.
Despite his recent visit, she wanted to know when Councillor
Davies would engage with local businesses, listen to them “and then take
appropriate action to resolve the on-going highway problem instead of
frequently leaving it to council officers to apologise for his absence, and to
actually do some homework to see that no-one in the past has ever promised to deliver a bypass for Boston.”
So self-confident was Councillor Davies by this time that he
resorted to the stand-up comedy approach last heard from the former deputy
leader of the council Eddy Poll.
“It’s lovely to be invited on a date via a big screen,” he
quipped – to no laughter whatsoever.
He noted that he was in Boston earlier in the week and that
about six weeks before attended the Boston Business Club breakfast meeting – “I
can recommend the bacon rolls” – where highways issues were discussed.”
He then went on to feign confusion over the role of the
former Boston Bypass Independent Party – of which Councillor Austin was once a
member.
“It’s interesting that some people are slightly misconstrued
about what I’m saying. I don’t know what else the Boston Bypass Independent
Party stands for if it’s not the promise of delivering a bypass which they – as
well as nearly bankrupting the borough – singularly failed to deliver …”
…. at which point he was interrupted by some squawking off-stage which he talked down to stress that he
was in Boston a lot and was communicating with the local businesses – “but unfortunately we know it’s not
always possible to give everybody what they want.”
***
I
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f this was the Eurovision same-old-song contest, and we were
one of the judges, the verdict would be bordering on nul points.
In a nutshell, the county council muffed the announcement,
said one thing when they meant another, failed to inform key players such as
Brylaine buses, created chaos for motorists for which they have apologised
whilst doing nothing to ease the bedlam – thus allowing it to continue on a daily basis,
and insisting that any procedure that might see serious road improvements in
Boston follows their sluggish timescale which means that Hell will freeze over
before anything is achieved.
And – as has been remarked upon during other bouts of recent
road “improvements” in Boston – one reader wanted to know "why the hi-vis army seem to spend so much of their time sat in vans or with
their hands in their pockets?”
But, whilst the county council remains unrepentant,
and sheds only crocodile tears, we wonder whether the local police could do
more to ease problems.
After an accident involving a pedestrian and a car on
Spilsby Road last Saturday at about 8-30pm the police closed the road for about
three hours.
They invariably defend actions such as this because crucial
evidence must be gathered at the scene of
any major accident.
But in this case, whilst the injured pedestrian was taken to
hospital, he later discharged himself.
Was such a long road closure really necessary?
***
T
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wo final ironies which highlighted the all-round level of
hypocrisy from Lincolnshire County Council followed within days.
First was the news that overnight working began this week
for a total of six nights – including a Saturday and Sunday – on resurfacing at
the A52
Addlethorpe junction with the C541 Addlethorpe bypass!
 |
| Google Street View |
The project leader for the scheme said: “This essential work
is being undertaken to improve the road surface and we are making every
effort to reduce inconvenience by completing this work overnight.”
In case the precise location eludes you, we believe the work
will be taking place somewhere around the junction in the photo above.
Addlethorpe has a population of 377, and whilst it attracts some
traffic during the holiday season, we are sure that the work could be done by
day without such cost – which we have been told, of course is unaffordable in
Boston.
And we would be interested to know whether Councillor Davies
can inform us which road scheme failed to materialise as a result of this
overnight working!
***
B
|
ut worse was to come.
On Wednesday Councillor Davies posted an announcement on his
subtly-named “Vote Davies” website to give local people good advance warning of
road works in Grantham – which he has the honour to represent at County Hall.
 |
| click on photo to enlarge it |
The remedial works on Wharf Road at the entrance to
Morrison's supermarket will start on 15th October, and last for a fortnight .
And guess what?
They will be carried out overnight between 7pm and 7am –
thus making a trip to the local supermarket a doddle for the voters of
Grantham.
First Addlethorpe, then Grantham – was, we wonder, Boston
the town that paid the price for all this largesse?
***
O
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Former Boston Mayor and local councillor Paul Kenny was
selected to represent Labour at next year’s general election.
This will be his third consecutive contest, and the result
could prove interesting given another item of news from a UKIP opinion poll
announced at the party conference in Doncaster.
The poll, commissioned by millionaire Alan Bown, a retired bookmaker and businessman who sits
on UKIP’s national executive and
organises the party’s campaigns and promotions, showed a runaway victory in
Boston and Skegness for the party at
next year’s general election.
Conducted between September 5th and 9th
with a sample size of 595, the prediction was: Conservative: 26% (-23); Labour:
21% (no change); UKIP: 46% (+36); Liberal Democrat: 2% (-13) and other parties
unchanged on 6%.
At the last election, Mark Simmonds won with 49.4 per cent
of the vote and a 12,426 majority.
When the news was published, the Boston Standard – a local “newspaper” – sought reaction to the poll via
twitter, and received this from one of the Tory selection hopefuls, Kelly Smith.
Any sounds that you imagine you are hearing at this point,
are most probably not UKIP shaking in their shoes.
However, one fresh piece of news is that independent Boston
Borough Councillor Stuart Ashton has applied to go on the Conservative
shortlist.
Councillor Ashton, a local farmer and businessman, told Boston Eye: “I have decided to apply for
the job, because I firmly believe that we in Boston and Skegness deserve and
need a local candidate, not an outsider who does not know the area or its
issues.
“I am not expecting to get very far in the process, indeed I
still have an interview in London to go through before I am accepted as a
suitable candidate.
“For this reason I am keeping my head down, as not being
involved in anything like this in the past, I am unsure about what could
happen.”
Councillor Ashton was elected to represent Frampton and
Holme in October 2012 and comes from a seriously political background
His mother Joan, served on Boston Borough Council
between 1983 and 2007, was mayor in 2002, and deputy leader between 2000 and 2002
and again in 2006. She received an MBE
in 2008 for services to Local Government and to the community in the East
Midlands, and is a deputy lieutenant of Lincolnshire.
At the time of his election, Councillor Ashton cheered us by
saying that he believed there was no place for party politics at local level,
and that he saw himself – not as a politician – but as “someone who wants to do
the best for the area.”
How he might combine the role of independent local councillor and that of a prospective Conservative party candidate if he is selected will be interesting to see.
In terms of overall general election voting intentions, the most
recent surveys from the seven pollsters who published predictions in September produced
an average result of Conservatives 31%
(-1), Lab 36% (+2), Lib-Dem 8% (unchanged), and UKIP 15% (-1). This would give Labour a
majority of 42 seats, winning 346 seats (+6 seats.)
***
W
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e wondered whether Boston Borough Council took advantage of
our absence to bury some bad news when we read of the resignation of the Chief Executive, Richard
Harbord.
According to a statement, Mr Harbord has “struggled with
mounting family health issues for some time and feels no longer able to give
Boston the support it needs.”
However, for something that has been on-going for some time,
we were bemused about the need for the dramatic summoning of group leaders by
an e-mail posted at 7-20am which asked them to attend a meeting at 2pm.
Whilst Mr Harbord’s resignation apparently took immediate
effect, he will be completing “key pieces” of work and attending for "key
meetings" in the months ahead.
We wonder whether Boston is the sole casualty from his
portfolio. In an interview at the start of the year for the Association of
Chartered Certified Accountants – the self-styled “global body for professional
accountants” of which he is chairman of the Public Sector Network Panel – Mr
Harbord described himself as “an odd job man” who, apart from his 15 days a
month at Boston Borough Council also helped out at Brent and Barnet councils
and had a contract with Belfast City Council.
***
S
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urprisingly, neither
Boston Borough Council’s website or its
mind-numbingly tedious bulletin had got around to mentioning Mr Harbord’s
departure a week and more after the announcement.
This is despite council leader Peter Bedford saying:
“This is a great loss to the council and comes at a difficult time as we
approach an election” and another senior councillor telling Mr Harbord “Boston
Borough Council most certainly would not have survived and be in the
stable state that it is in today without the tremendous support you have given
our group over the past three and a half years … This is a very sad day for
Boston”
Given such sentiments, the omission of official news of such
a pivotal
– not to mention costly – officer’s departure caused us to raise an Eye-brow and should, we thought, have
been promptly reported.
***
O
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ne mystery which Mr Harbord was unable to fathom during his
stay at Boston was the case of the £1 million loan taken out by the council in
1991 for fifty years at a rate of 10% – which means it has cost the
council taxpayers £100,000 a year ever since.
But whilst the problem appears to have been brushed aside – as
is so often the case with anything unpalatable at Worst Street – some more information
has emerged.
Whilst 50 years is the duration quoted for the loan, in some quarters it is
thought possible that it could well have been issued for as long as 60 years, at a true rate of 11.125%
When this costly clanger was dropped back in early 1991, the
way this sort of stuff was reported to the council was sloppy to say the very least.
In those days the council’s then Finance and General
Purposes Committee would be told of a sheaf of borrowings in the form of a
one-size-fits-all report, which would simply list x
million pounds in borrowings, at an average interest rate of y
per-cent.
Consequently, if there were enough relatively low interest
borrowings in the pile, any really high ones could well go unnoticed.
One theory is that as lower rates became available during the
high-interest 1980s after highs of as much as 17% at one point the borough
refinanced some of these for what at the time appeared to be “cheaper” money.
Since then, of course, interest rates have fallen to record
low levels – but the mystery loan – believed to have been sold on at least
twice since it was taken out – is now so valuable to the company which owns it
that it is demanding
hundreds of thousands in closure penalties to settle early.
***
A
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fascinating tale to pop
up whilst we were away concerns a councillor who should be wise
enough to know better and the issue of a parking ticket –
reportedly for taking up more than one bay.
Apparently the individual concerned is reluctant to settle up
on the grounds that the vehicle in question was displaying a Boston Borough
Council “get-out-of-jail-free” pass which permits councillors and staff to park
free of charge if they are on council business.
The problem here is that most of the borough’s parking
places are now administered and patrolled by Lincolnshire County Council civil
enforcement staff, and the Boston taxpayer-funded freebie pass doesn’t cut any
ice with them.
Anyone with any sense of PR and a modicum of political nous would have
taken the advice of the song to pay up and look big.
But some never seem to learn,
apparently.
***
B
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oston’s “parish council” for the town’s central wards –
better known to our readers as B-Tacky – had a busy session at its meeting
earlier this week … but again, some of the agenda items give us cause
for concern.
B-Tacky is seen as a nice little earner by those in the
know who want to get their mitts on some money.
Its income is from a special charge on residents of the ten
town wards in the borough and one of its roles is to give grants to town-based
organisations and events.
The maximum grant is supposed to be £1,000, but the
committee often works its way around this, and similarly, whilst grants are
supposed to be specific to the town centre, a blind eye is turned when it
suits.
In the past, B-Tacky has torn out amenity benches allegedly
to reduce anti-social behaviour, made grants for such socially worthwhile
projects as chalking on the pavement – and now seems to be losing track of
other places where it spreads its largesse.
A report on contributions made for 2013-2014 makes gloomy
reading.
A request for a progress report on a £1,000 grant to the Main
Ridge East Placecheck group to buy a street vacuum cleaner has
not been received.
We can help with this one, as we know the area well.
Many of the area’s roads are litter strewn, and apart from a
photo call for some of the self-styled great and good of the area, we don’t
believe that the vacuum cleaner has been seen since.
A request for a progress report on a £500 grant to Boston
Rugby Club towards the costs of equipment and kit for the mini and
junior sections of the club has not been received.
A request for a progress report on a £1,000 grant to Endeavour
Radio has not been received.
A grant of £996 was made to the Witham East Neighbourhood Group
to put on a show but it was called off because of bad weather. However, the
money had largely been spent on preparations by this time and “It is felt that had
the event gone ahead this money would have already been outlaid and the spend,
therefore, unavoidable. The group requests that BTAC considers allowing them to
retain the funds remaining to enable them to plan for future community events
they wish to organise.”
Let’s just hope it was insured, otherwise they’ll doubtless
be back for more.
***
H
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opefully, you’re starting to get the picture by now.
And still it goes on.
This week two more Placecheck groups were rattling B-Tacky’s
cage with an idea to turn the currently
boarded up and derelict toilet block on London Road into a base for a number of community groups
and volunteers to store equipment, and
provide toilet and refreshment facilities for them.
Then Boston Shop Watch appeared on the
agenda asking for a contribution towards the Face Watch scheme which circulates information and photographs of
people they don’t like the look of in their shops – often, we understand,
people with no criminal past.
The amount requested? Just another £1,000 “to assist in the cost of
a year’s subscription to the scheme.”
A bigger sum mentioned in a letter from the Boston
Flood Appeal spoke of the need for up to £10,000 for carpets, white goods and
furniture to victims of last year’s flooding.
It’s a very worthwhile cause, but government grants have
been available to help after the flooding, and we find it surprising to say the
least that it appears as many as 230 homes in areas so close to the town’s risk
areas were apparently uninsured.
And then the wheel turned full circle – back to the street
vacuum-buying Main Ridge East Neighbourhood Steering Group (nee Placecheck,) which now wants
money for a CCTV camera at Burgess Pit recreational area which has been a place
of contention for years.
The amount being sought – a footling £3,800. And that's just part of the cost.
Given that this group has yet to send a thank-you letter for
last year’s contributions, we don’t feel that they deserve a thing.
We have tried hard, but are unable to recall a time in
recent memory when a member of the committee has raised an issue on his or her
own initiative regarding one of the wards in their care.
Instead, they wait like beadles in a soup kitchen to ladle out
meaty chunks of taxpayer funded stew to participants who in some cases are not really
worthy.
***
We can’t share the general glee at the idea of signing up
with Die
Hanse – a network (i.e. club) of towns and cities which historically
belonged to the association of merchant towns known as the Hanseatic League – a
trade group which operated between the 13th and 17th
centuries.
There are only two British members of the club at present –
Kingston upon Hull and King's Lynn, and Monday’s full council meeting heard that
the “advantage” to Boston’s tourist profile from membership could be seen from
Kings Lynn’s experience.
And that there was “great potential” for Boston to work with
the other two to develop “our shared connection” with the Hanse.
As far as we can discover, Hull makes little of its historic
link, whilst King's Lynn – which at least can boast the only surviving Hanseatic
warehouse in England – has produced a leaflet promoting a “Hanseatic Walk”
around the town, taking in eleven places of interest.
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| click on photo to enlarge it |
So why doesn’t this fire our interest as perhaps you might
think it should?
Well, an almost identical route could just as
easily be drawn up for a walk around Boston to celebrate our own historic
heritage – specifically our links with the founding of the United States.
People have been banging on about our ties across the
Atlantic but no-one ever makes anything much of it – although to do so would
create a particular tourist niche both domestic and international.
This is something that has been talked about in the past –
and despite the compelling reason to press ahead and develop this idea, we are considering riding piggy-back on someone else’s good idea in the hope of gaining some reflected glory.
Wakey wakey, Boston.
***
I
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nterestingly – or perhaps not – ties with the Hanseatic
League have proved alluring to the lamentably
feeble Boston Big Local group, which recently parted with a few quid
from the £1 million with which it has been entrusted to spend for the benefit
of Boston town centre on a jolly to King’s Lynn to see how things worked there.
So far, Boston Big Local has been a textbook example of inertia and time wasting, and despite
the fact that it is supposed to operate independently of organisations such as
the local authority, somehow – as always happens – their paths have become
entwined, and history tells us that the bottom line is that no-one will benefit.
Meanwhile, Boston Big Local continues its tour of cloud
cuckoo land – listing at its last meeting what were referred to as
possible “guiding principles.”
They took the form of single word aspirations - even though some of them were several words
joined together – such as … sustainability
… legacy … visionsharing … transparent … accountable …keepingmoneyinthecommunity
… openness … honesty … evenhanded … fairness
… inclusive … adaptable … environmentallyfriendly …impartial … selfchallenging …
communication.
We don’t know what they’re smoking, but we’d dearly love to lay our
hands on a packet.
***
Mention of money for the benefit of Boston town centre
brings us to another story that appeared in our absence.
It concerns the English Heritage and Boston Borough Council
Partnership Scheme in Conservation Areas (PSICA) which has been running
since 2012 – since when just six properties have cashed in
with grants of up to 90% - although it is being said that another 16 are
applying.
That’s despite a grand total of £600,000 being up for grabs.
The scheme was launched at the end of 2011 with dedicated
staffing to promote it, and has been re-launched umpteen times with little if
any effect.
When it was first trumpeted, all sorts of high falutin’
suggestions were forthcoming - the
potential to win awards … inevitable given that we’re talking Boston Borough
Council … attracting more visitors,
boosting the economy and so on and so forth. Sadly, like so many of our council’s big ideas, it fell
flat on its face, another in a long list of failures.
In fact, it was not until October last year, two years from
the launch, that the first shop front to be reinstated under the grant scheme
was completed.
Just the year before, the Boston town centre conservation area
appeared on English Heritage’s “At Risk” register – being described
as in a very bad condition and deteriorating.
Looking back over the history of this failed project – which
was one of several national initiatives – we read that it was intended to run
for five years.
Now, Boston Borough Council is telling us that the scheme
has been “so successful” that English Heritage has extended it into 2015.
After all this time, we are sadly no further forward than when the grant scheme
was being put together in 2010-2011, when an appraisal of the Market Place
identified a number of key problems.
The upper floors of many buildings facing the market were either
empty or underused. With either blank elevations or windows offering views of
heaps of storage boxes visible, they were deadening and unsightly.
The appraisal went on: “In the High Street … premises seem
to change hands quite frequently and poor
quality signage and the use of inappropriate materials or
colour schemes also arise here. Again there are problems with neglect
of essential maintenance. Many of these properties are let by absentee
landlords and if rental income is low repairs are neglected.
“The Market Place also suffers from poor and
inappropriate signage and unsatisfactory alterations to buildings of interest.”
The secondary streets and lanes – which some people are naïve
enough to liken to the city of York – also had a number of empty properties,
some of which were boarded up.
“It is clear that such properties are not only empty, but
are also in a deteriorating condition", said the appraisal.
How sad that yet another opportunity has been all but missed
and how cynical to suggest that it is a roaring success whilst at the same time
adding yet another pie-in-the-sky dream in the form of the Hanseatic League
which it is claimed will achieve what no-one has yet managed in years of talk
and inaction.
Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose.
We have no doubt that when the tables are published, we will
be in the Hanseatic League – Division Four.
***
Another source of glee around the place which we find hard
to share is the outcome of this year’s Britain in Bloom competition.
Boston was awarded a silver gilt medal in the East Midlands section
– which also saw success for one of our schools.
The award for Boston was one higher than last year, from silver
to silver gilt – and just a few points below the top gold award.
The East Midlands section which covers Derbyshire,
Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire, Northamptonshire and Rutland, received 61 main ‘In-Bloom’ entries – and Boston’s
award was one of 23 silver gilt medals handed out.
There are also gold, silver, and bronze medals plus
certificates of achievement – and surely, issuing so many removes any suggestion
that this is a serious competition.
As far as we can tell, last year every one of the 55 entries
received an award of one sort or another – so it appears that the mere act of
entering is a guarantee of success.
What this year’s award tells us is that the mixture as before won't win anything
higher.
Accepting the silver gilt award was Councillor Yvonne
Gunter, portfolio holder for leisure services, parks and open spaces, who bravely
made the journey to the photo-opportunity in Nottingham with an in-bloom volunteer.
Councillor Gunter, who is also vice chairman of the Boston in
Bloom steering group, said: “Here’s proof from experts with very keen and
critical eyes that Boston is on the up. Our position has improved every year
for the past three years. Continuing improvement was noted by the judges.
“Anyone with eyes to see will notice how much better the
town is looking …”
We are not quite sure what Councillor Gunter means by “on
the up.”
Just a few weeks ago she said of the town: “We are living in
the 18th century and we need to pull our socks up …” so perhaps 1800 has
finally arrived in her book. It’s so difficult to keep track of the years,
isn’t it?
We would be more accepting of the Boston in Bloom
achievements were they not acted out in a pantomimic frenzy for a few short
weeks a year to tart the town up for the benefit of the judges and the
participants rather than the people who live here.
Boston deserves to be a pleasant looking place in which to live
all the year round, and not turned into an artificial Eden to win a gardening
award which – excuse the pun – seems to be as common as muck.
***
Another regular Boston pantomime is the perennial “name
and shame” campaign which does nothing to relieve the problem of
littering around the town but makes the council and the local “newspapers” look
good
This year’s campaign appears to have been intended as a cosy
little exclusive for the Boston Standard
– which is the weekly omnibus edition of the borough’s Daily Bulletin – but the Boston Target stole some of their
thunder by giving it coverage as well.
Apparently, it has led to information on seven of the thirteen
people featured, of whom three have been
positively identified.
The borough council took its usual iron fist in the iron
glove approach when this year’s campaign was launched.
“Where offenders can be identified they will
be dealt with,” bragged the Worst Street website.
“This means, in the first instance, receiving a fixed penalty notice
requiring them to pay a £75 fine.”
Now that push has come to shove, the council has apparently backed
down.
“Offenders (will) receive an invitation to visit the CCTV
suite to see for themselves all of the filmed evidence,” says an
announcement.
What then?
A cuppa and a biscuit perhaps, and a set of En prints to show
their mates and paste in the family album.
We cannot recall the last time we heard of any fixed penalty
fines being issued for littering – nor of anyone appearing in court.
You can write to us at boston.eye@googlemail.com Your
e-mails will be treated in confidence and published anonymously if requested.
Our former blog is archived at: http://bostoneyelincolnshire.blogspot.com
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