As regular readers may have noticed, we tend to be a glass
half empty rather than glass half full publication – and we were reminded why
when we read the latest attempt at flag waving by council “leader” Pete
Bedford.
His latest efforts to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat
appeared beneath a banner headline in the borough’s Goody Two Shoes Gazette
which screamed “Boston means business.”
“Boston is booming with more businesses showing confidence
in the area’s prosperity and prepared to invest their hard-earned cash,” it
burbled – going on to quote the leader’s “highlights” from recent developments.
These comprised a second butcher’s shop opened by Carl
Dunham, the German trailer maker Fliegl’s move to a new UK headquarters and
factory at Frampton Fen, and the expansion of B&M with their new store at
Alban Retail Park.
But is this really the “boom” that the borough claims it to
be?
The new butchery is moving into premises vacated by Betts,
who were also butchers, whilst the Fliegl move is to a redundant site formerly
used for something similar.
And as for the move by B&M, we note an application to
seek a variation in the range of goods sold at the Alban Park site – presumably
to beef up the stock, and therefore the attractiveness of the new location...
Could this be the opening scene of a retail drama that sees
the out of town site being enhanced preparatory to the closure of the store in
Lawrence Lane?
We would consider this quite likely, as it is hard to
imagine that the company can sustain two large stores within a few miles of
each other.
We are surprised that the borough hasn’t leapt upon the move
by Specsavers to the former Ryman store in Bargate – ignoring, of course the
inconvenient fact that it leaves their old premises in the Market Place empty.
Even when big name firms seek to set up shop in the town,
Boston Borough Council can’t bring itself to make things as straightforward as they could
be.
The recent application by Lidl to open a store on a wasteland
in Tawney Street is such an example.
Borough planners went into their usual ' the past comes first ' mode by demanding that the store design was
modified to change the roof line and thus the view of Boston Stump – this in one of the most unsightly areas of
town where buildings of all types and ages sit cheek by jowl.
Lidl wisely told Worst Street to go and boil its head, and
the planners caved in.
For a moment, we feared a rerun of the ASDA application to
build on Lister Way – which saw eons wasted in debates over whether or not to
save a monkey puzzle tree – and the insistence that while several listed
buildings of great ordinariness could be demolished, one had to remain as an
example of what had been lost.
It now sits forlornly at the entrance to the supermarket
site.
Had it been demolished, and a roundabout created, traffic
flow in both directions would have been greatly improved – not least on the
journey into town, where Sleaford Road backs up because of the junction heading
for ASDA.
Sadly for Councillor Bedford, the news of Boston's Gold Rush
came as a local produce company announced the loss of 130 jobs and the transfer
of a further 120 to a new site near Spalding.
Latest unemployment figures show there are 725 people out of
work and claiming benefits in the borough – and an extra 130 people will
increase that figure by almost 18 per cent.
There are a couple of quotes which we would commend to
Councillor Bedford.
The first – by David
Joseph Schwartz, an American motivational writer and coach, best known for
authoring The Magic of Thinking Big in 1959 –
says “Think little goals and expect little achievements. Think big goals
and win big success.”
The second – more recent, and very similar – comes from
Donald Trump: “As long as you're going to be thinking anyway, think big.”
***
The sad fact is that – far from Boston being a focus of
business confidence – the reverse appears to be true.
A quick search of commercial property on the market in
Boston shows that 32-36 Strait Bargate, 4 Wide Bargate and the NCP Car Park off
Red Lion Street are for sale at an eye-watering price of £3,250,000 plus
VAT ... which rounds it up to an even more eye-watering £4 million.
Also in Strait Bargate, the QD stores premises are being
advertised to let with vacant possession for £195,000 a year plus
VAT – but don’t tell the staff, as
according to the sale particulars they’re not supposed to know!
Elsewhere, a large chunk of West Street and St George’s Road
– which appears to be the Scooby Doos
premises among others is yours for a mere £1 million.
A couple of iconic buildings include the upper floors of
Shodfriars Hall “needing improvement” for a rent of £127,500 a year plus VAT
and the former HSBC bank in the High Street –
once tipped as a Starbucks outlet.
And of course, Pescod Hall is again empty – when it cries
out to be used as a tourist information centre and hub for local crafts and
publications.
Carry on searching and you will find at least £2 million of other town centre properties on the market.
It’s a far cry from the Worst Street contention that “Boston
is booming with more businesses showing confidence in the area’s prosperity and
prepared to invest their hard-earned cash.”
What they seem to be doing is selling up as fast as they can
and getting the hell out of the place.
***
Whilst the opposite is supposed to be the goal, we note that
the Worst Street love affair with pouring money into the Princess Royal Sports
Arena continues unabated.
This week has seen the announcement of the installation of
the 364 solar panels which will produce an estimated annual output of 79,000
KWh. and allegedly begin delivering “free energy” immediately.
Meanwhile, the borough has applied for permission to install
a biomass boiler at the PRSA and another at the Moulder Leisure Centre.
The idea behind the PRSA installations is to make the place attractive enough to lure an outside operator to take on a lease for the place,
“so that the PRSA has a long-term future without on-going revenue support from
the council.”
The combined energy efficiency measures at the PRSA and the Moulder
– which already has solar panels – will
cost taxpayers £560,000, and allegedly generate income and savings to pay for
£840,000 worth of repairs and improvements at the PRSA.
The main thing to note here is that the claim of “free”
energy is nothing but hokum – for
instance, in the case of the biomass boilers the cost is more than half a
million pounds and we have not been told what the solar panels have set us
back.
The borough council burbles: “The PRSA is seen as important
in terms of helping tackle the borough’s health and wellbeing issues –
unhealthy lifestyles leading to issues such as obesity, diabetes and
cardiovascular illness.”
***
Students of irony will therefore appreciate the
publication by Public Health England of Boston’s health profile for 2015.
Sadly it shows that little has changed since the last report
– although it seems that the fatty tissues have moved around.
Whilst we have lower levels of adult obesity – there are
26.8% of adults in the borough classed as obese – the figure for obese children is the worst in
the country, at 27.1%.
Boston remains low in the league of educational
achievements, and our record for physical activity among adults and excess weight
– rather than obesity – is all below what they should be.
We also have figures that are significantly worse than the
England average for recorded cases of diabetes.
***
So what conclusions can we draw from this?
The most obvious is that the millions spent on health
facilities by Boston Borough Council have been a spectacular waste – as by and
large they have not made the slightest dent in the overall health profile of
the town.
All they have boiled down to is an exercise in lip service
which has upgraded the facilities for a fortunate elite.
Will this stop them wasting money on such a large scale, and
bring about a new look at the real health issues facing the town?
Don’t be silly.
That would be too much like hard work, when you can simply
equate spending a fortune with achieving a task.
As always, the borough council has sought to play down any
bad news – with a quote that runs thus: “The increase in the prevalence of
diabetes, skin cancer and TB could actually be a result of the awareness
promotion work and thus more people going to get a formal diagnosis.”
FADE IN SOUND FX: Bottom of a barrel being scraped.
***
Whilst in its power spending mode, Worst Street tells us
that solar panels are to be installed at the £3.6 million Boston Enterprise
Centre, owned by the council but operated by something called Nurture Enterprises.
The centre – which it goes without saying is “state-of-the-art”
and “cutting-edge” – has never been a great success, and is traditionally
under-occupied and unprofitable for Worst Street.
Its annual report for 2013-14 noted that whilst three businesses
moved in, five moved out giving a net loss of floor space of almost 1,500
square feet.
We are not told the cost of the solar panel investment – but
as the borough council has gone from making no money from the centre to
receiving a puny 10% share of the profits, we can only imagine that the borough
has found yet another successful way to fritter away our taxes.
***
For a long while, there has been something called the David
Cameron Effect – a law which states that whenever the Prime Minister supports –
say a football team or individual sportsman ... they promptly lose.
It’s possible that something similar may be emerging which
we can call the Bedford Effect.
Just recently, the leader of Lincolnshire County Council,
Martin Hill, proclaimed the merits of a unitary Lincolnshire authority
– the creation of which would save
£30 million and see district councils such as Boston vanish forever.
Enter leader Bedford, spouting: “There are no plans to
abolish district councils. We continue to focus on making a difference for our
residents and communities.
"We have a strong track record of delivery and clear
plans for the future, with robust financial strategies and a great team.
"We can be proud of what we have achieved, and we can
move forward with confidence.”
What’s happened since?
The latest reports say that subsuming Lincolnshire alone would not be
enough for Councillor Hill and his cronies – instead there is an even bigger
plan for a single authority from the Humber to Peterborough.
In terms of how Boston might benefit from any such changes
the answer is clear.
It will not!
We get precious little from County Hall as it is – unless it
is to Lincoln’s advantage to dole out its largesse.
A unitary Lincolnshire authority based on the existing
county would see Boston even worse-served ... if that were possible.
And anything bigger would resound like a death knell across
the borough – although there's nothing to say that Councillor Hill would be in charge of it!.
***
As it is something that happens only once, we make no
apologies for publishing our new MP Matt Warman’s maiden speech to parliament
in full.
We thought it was a good speech and recognises many of the
disadvantage facing the borough – but
also the advantages upon which we need to build.
The speech was made on 9th June during the debate on the
European Union Referendum Bill – and here it comes...
It is an honour to speak on a day of so many marvellous maiden
speeches, and it is also an honour to speak in this seminal debate on an issue
that I believe will define a generation of politicians.
I am privileged to represent the people of Boston and Skegness,
succeeding Mark Simmonds. Mark’s career ranged from safeguarding the future of
Skegness hospital, working with a Labour Administration in a fine example of
cross-party constituency working, through to chairing the UN Security Council.
Hardly a day on the campaign trail went by without me being told that I had
very big shoes to fill, and I will assiduously work as a constituency MP to do
that.
Hardly a day went by, either, without a prospective constituent
assuring me that Mark’s own predecessor, Sir Richard Body, was another model of
an ideal MP. Sir Richard was a Maastricht rebel back when the Conservative
party had what was described as a wafer-thin majority of slightly double what
it is today. His brave stance is a reminder to all of us that we are here to
represent our constituents, rather than to toe any one party line. I hope I can
live up to that responsibility as well.
Boston and Skegness is a constituency that begins at Swineshead in the
south—where, incidentally, King John was poisoned—and quickly arrives in Boston
itself. In 1204, Boston famously paid tax of £780, whereas London paid £836.
One newly elected councillor recently pledged to dedicate himself to restoring
Boston’s status to those medieval levels, and I look forward to supporting him
in that endeavour. Indeed, I thank him for taking the lead on it.
Elsewhere, the constituency is home to some of the best agricultural
land in the country. I invite hon. Members from across the House to visit so
that they might put faces to the names of those people mentioned on supermarket
bags of potatoes. Afterwards, they might choose to spend a few hours joining
the 500,000 or so people who annually visit Skegness, one of the few seaside
resorts that is never described as faded. Indeed, Skeg Vegas is more glorious
neon than faded.
I have not the time today to mention Wainfleet All Saints—home to the
superb Batemans Brewery—or the Bubble car Museum in Langrick, the Carrington
vintage tractor show, the first Butlins or, indeed, the beautiful areas of my
constituency that touch the Lincolnshire Wolds and, almost uniquely for my
patch, merit a contour line on a map.
That is in part because I want to deal with the subject of today’s
debate. Since the expansion of Europe, tens of thousands of people from Poland,
Lithuania, Latvia and elsewhere have come from their home countries to work in
and around Boston. They have made homes and lives in Lincolnshire and we should
welcome taxpayers who have, to coin a phrase, got on their bikes. These, I
would argue, are not just the best of Europe, but, in many cases, the best of
Britain, too. In Lincolnshire today, following in the footsteps of workers from
the Midlands, Ireland, Portugal and, latterly, Bulgaria, they work in all
weathers to put food on our tables, whether it is Brussels sprouts at Christmas
or asparagus at the moment.
It is thanks to an open-door migration policy, however, that
Lincolnshire’s police, housing, schools, roads and hospitals now face
unprecedented pressure from new numbers—and it is new numbers, not new
nationalities, that cause those pressures. We did not plan for or predict their
arrival, so we were not able to invest adequately and in a timely fashion in
the services that we now urgently need. Social tensions have recently eased, but
they have allowed divisive, single-issue political campaigns to flourish and to
block out much of the light on what is great about my constituency.
I believe that only if our relationship with Europe changes
fundamentally can we fix the root causes of our current problems and that, in
the future, only if we can plan for those population changes can we adequately
prepare. Of course, it is only because we have a Conservative majority
Government that we truly have the chance to have our say as a country between
now and the end of 2017.
My own motivation for standing for office stems directly from more than
15 years as a journalist. I believe we live in a world that needs more actors
than critics. Writing about technology, I was lucky enough to cover Britain’s
world-beating, but still somewhat incomplete broadband roll-out, as well as to
cover the rise of Apple, Google, Facebook and much in between. I hope that I
can continue to make the case for every aspect of technology improving every
aspect of government. I hope that we will see a world where we have more
activists than clicktivists. Making those changes will require far more than
technical expertise; it will require political courage. I hope that I may
provide a small part of that courage to stiffen the sinews of colleagues when
it comes both to Europe and to changes in how Government use technology. It is
no less than all our constituents deserve.
***
We hope that Mr Warman has not misread the ambitions of the
anonymous councillor referred to in his speech comparing our tax relationship
with that of London almost a millennium
ago.
Without any specific promises, successive council
leaderships appear to have taken the borough back to medieval times in terms of
service, progress and appeal.
Boston is already back in the Dark Ages without the need for
any additional effort required.
***
Despite our infrequent criticisms of leader Bedford, he may have a secret fan base
out there – according to an e-mail from a reader, who tells us: “A recent
outing to a local supermarket threw up an extraordinary sight.
“Walking across the car park was a shopper carrying a bag
with a logo on its side which read: ‘I (pink heart) PB’
“What does it cost to join this fan club? Is it restricted
to blueys?
“Is the pink heart significant?
“Will there be another one soon that says: I (heart)
WS (West/Worst Street)
“PS. It was not Mrs Bedford who was carrying said bag.”
Editor’s note – we
are sorry to say that in this case the PB is note our glorious leader, but
promotes fashionista Paul’s Boutique.
***
We mentioned last week our concerns that information might
be harder to find under our new council – and that has already turned out to be
the case.
Last week, we are told, there was a meeting of the new look
Cabinet of Curiosities – but it did not
appear on the monthly list available to the public on the borough website.
Whatever happened to the election pledge for increased
transparency which was also supposed to include a public question time at
cabinet meetings?
We also understand that there is a meeting of B-Tacky on 1st July – which as recently as yesterday was not mentioned in the list of
meetings for the month.
Hopefully, this is an oversight.
If not it seems as though it’s not just Washington that
operates behind closed doors.
***
Finally, another e-mail from a reader far more observant
that we could ever be raises questions concerning some newer members of the council.
“Another two new councillors will be expecting a council
officer to take all their calls.
“This, of course, will limit possible communication to
office hours.
“One has to wonder what was the perception of a councillor’s
duties and relationship with the electorate by such new members when they stood
for election.”
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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