Friday 26 August 2016




With great sense, the small group of people interested enough to vote said that whilst they favoured the idea of district councils in the so-called Greater Lincolnshire area working together, they weren’t keen on the idea of appointing an expensive elected mayor to oversee the new “county.”
However, whilst the joint approach was declared by Boston Borough Council among others as “generally positive” the vote rejecting an elected mayor was dismissed as generating “no definitive view.” Whatever it lacked in strength, it was nonetheless a disapproving majority – but the reaction suggests that this opinion will be ridden over roughshod in favour of an elected post. What is it about these petty minded power holders that make them obsessed with swelling their ranks even further?

***

Another cherry-picking reaction came from Lincolnshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner Marc Jones. “A shame only 4,000 Lincolnshire residents (population of Heckington parish) responded … Glad majority against combined Mayor PCC role.” This is an interesting response. We suspect that had only 4,000 people voted in the PCC contest and given Mr Jones a majority, he might have muttered a word of two of disappointment at the turnout, but still claimed victory. When we responded to his Tweet by saying: “Your gladness not surprising. But votes for PCC showed majority felt it was not needed either!” – answer came there none!” This is known as having your cake and eating it!
Earlier this week Mr Jones marked his first hundred days as our Chief Keystone Cop with a live webchat on the Lincolnite website. The first we knew of it was afterwards, so we have no idea about the content. Hmmm. 

*** 

Co-incidentally, the underlying enthusiasm for yet another tier of political figureheads coincided with the Boundary Commission’s announcement that the number of county council seats in Lincolnshire will fall by seven to a total of 70. Boston will have six members – one fewer than at present … with seats named Boston Coastal, North, Rural, South, West and Skirbeck. Worst Street claims that things will remain the same – but somewhere along the line we will have one less councillor – though given their performance at county level, we aren’t sure that this matters much.

***

As all this was happening, through our door came “an update on some of the work that your county councillors have been doing locally on your behalf.” Essentially, it was a promo for the UKIP coterie Ransome – and reported “achievements” as long ago as March last year. Much of it involved giving way money from the “Big Society Fund” which is a County Hall kitty for members who want to look good. The newsletter was from UKIP’s  political family comprising Sue, Felicity and Lizzie Ransome. If we were producing a local version of Mary Poppins, we might be drawn to the idea of a tune called “Sukipfelilizzifragilisticexpialidocious.”

***

Still, at least our Kippers are showing willing. There was a time that more councillors were keen to let us know what they were doing – but this is now sadly not the case. Regular newsletters from individuals have now all but disappeared – including one that could once be relied upon regularly – and even the Labour group at Worst Street has let its blog die in the water.

***

Coming up with a zingy word for some of our Ukippers, reminded us that we ought perhaps to consider a more appropriate name for Worst Street’s so-called “leader” Pete ‘Nipper’ Bedford … now that his local status has been equated with that of the prime minister. How does Peteresa Maybe strike you?

***
It’s almost impossible to believe after all these years we have now only just reached a point where the Environment Agency has asked the Secretary of State to grant powers to construct and operate the Boston Barrier through a Transport and Works Act Order. TWAO documents will now be made available to interested parties and members of the public to comment over the coming six weeks. If it ever happens – and we still have doubts – the barrier scheme will become “part of a phased approach” to reduce the risk of tidal flooding to approximately 14,300 properties in Boston over the next 100 years. 
Biblical sources suggest that it took Noah between 100 and 120 years to build the Ark. These days in Boston such a task looks as though it might take even longer – and without the work being done as first intended at the end of it!  At present, the barrier represents the tomorrow that never comes. Although we are sure that earlier dates have been quoted, December 2019 is now the favoured operational date. 
  
***

The drivel goes on about dealing with street drinking problems in Boston and a scheme to tackle alcohol-related issues.  Yet another “first” if it happens will be the Community Alcohol Partnership (CAP) which could involve all the usual suspects and be operational as early as next month.  We've lost count of how many "initiatives" have now unsuccessfully been adopted to curb Boston's drinking problem. We read about this  latest one a couple of days before we turned from Wide Bargate into Norfolk Street to find our path blocked by more than half a dozen young men all of whom were swilling extra strong lager from cans. The time was soon after 9-30 a.m. We might have discussed these habits with them – except that unfortunately, no-one in the group appeared to be able to master English. 

***

If residents of East Lindsey are “consulted” in the same way as those of Boston, then they will be seeing a rise in their garden waste collection charges from £30 to £60 after fewer than half of bin users failed to sign up to the scheme. ELDC’s argument is that it needs to balance the books – failing to take into account that such a move might well cause more people to end their collections. Here in Boston – where Worst Street repeatedly lied when it promised free collection and then wriggled out of that promise – we have no information whether the take-up covers the cost, although we were initially praised for saving the council so much money. Our guess is that Worst Street will soon be making a similar claim to our neighbour and the moment it increases prices (Boston is never bold enough to do anything first) a similar sob story will come our way – followed by higher charges. We note that in January next year an agenda item for the Environment and Performance Committee "work" programme will include an “annual update” on garden waste collection. Watch this space, as they say.

***

We hear that the so-called “leadership” at Worst Street is sticking to the theory that the old songs are the best when it comes to making political excuses. Unbelievably, one that was trotted out recently sought to blame the BBI for the parlous state of the borough’s finances five years after the Bypassers were voted out. The excuse is that the BBI handed the reins to the Worst Street officers, and that  – so far – the current administration has been unable to wrest them back … which says much about the quality of the  people who claim to be in charge.

***

Doubtless hats will be flying through the air after a government grant was approved for a new £29 million bus station and car park in Lincoln. It adds to the panoply of transport delights including a proposed eastern bypass, and in a few more decades, will see a complete bypass for the city. With no sense of irony, transport minister Andrew Jones said: "Better transport facilities don't just help people get around, they help them get on – connecting them to jobs, opportunities and helping deliver economic growth." 
Would that our inept local politicians had the nerve to quote those words back to him in the context of Boston!

***

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 

We are on Twitter – visit @eye_boston



Friday 19 August 2016


A few days ago we learned that the Boston Daily Beano is to change to “a new, fresh format, easier to read and with more online content.”  Given that is already online, we are not quite sure what that means. It will also change to a weakly instead of daily edition after its “summer break.”
A break of almost a month underlines how unimportant the thing is – and is a clear indication of what a flop this feeble attempt at promoting Worst Street has been.
It’s journeyed from monthly, to daily, and now to weakly. During these years is has been often packed with stories totally irrelevant to Boston Borough Council – but no matter, they fill the space, don’t they – even to the extent that the tsunami of coverage for the recent Boston Central Park sand pit event was mistakenly believed to be the work of the council by one local “newspaper” … when it wasn’t.
We think that a good idea during the Beano’s break would be a full appraisal of whether or not it is worth bringing back – and if the powers that b’ain’t were to put their hands on where their hearts ought to be, we think we will have read the final edition.

***

We hope in the case of the bulletin, the phrase “easier to read” is not a substitute for “dumbing down even further.”
We say this because a recent contribution from Worst Street could well have been produced as a new issue in the Roger Hargreaves series, and entitled “Mr and Mrs Councillor.”
Beneath the banner “How exactly does the council work?” – and avoiding the obvious answer of “not very well”  – Worst Street offers this piece of infantile fatuity.
“Boston Borough Council runs along the same lines as Government. At the head of Government is the Prime Minister.
At the head of the council is the leader, Councillor Peter Bedford.
“Coincidentally they are both Conservatives because, in the same way that the Government is Conservative controlled because it has a majority of elected Conservative MPs, the council has a majority of elected Conservative councillors.
“Supporting the PM is the Cabinet, and the council has a Cabinet too. At Government level these are elected MPs who have been made ministers with special responsibilities, such as education, health, defence. The equivalent at borough council level are (sic) members of the Cabinet. This is (sic) sometimes called "the executive board" and members are known as executive members or portfolio holders …
And the last laugh appears at the end of the piece, and tells us … “The borough council's make up is 13 Conservatives, 12 from UKIP, two Labour, two Independents and one Unaligned making 30 in total.
This shows that the Conservatives do not have an overall majority at the borough council, which makes for some interesting debate.”
Oh no it doesn’t!
The hatred of UKIP led so-called Independents and even Labour to vote with the Tories regardless which means that of  “interesting debate” there is none.
To mark this latest nonsensical guff from Worst Street we propose a special edition in the popular “Dummies” guide series …



***

The nonsense continues on the same theme beneath the heading “Top-level summit: Enhancing Boston's image.”
We were told: “Key leaders from across Boston have met to discuss plans to strengthen the community and address negative perceptions of the town.
The meeting was called jointly by Police and Crime Commissioner Marc Jones (not pictured here because he’s pictured everywhere else) and Boston MP Matt Warman. Others attending included “senior officials from Lincolnshire Police, Boston Borough Council, Citizen's Advice Bureau and Lincolnshire County Council.”
The bottom line in all this was that most of the problems we believe beset Boston are merely “perceptions” – i.e. figments of our collective imagination.
Aside from the insults contained in this suggestion – that we are too dense to recognise reality – we question the description of a so-called top-level summit of key leaders.
Last time we looked these “key leaders” were elected public servants (apart from members of the CAB) – although perhaps after his elevation to Boston’s answer to Prime Minister “Daisy” May,  so-called “leader” Pete ‘Nipper’ Bedford may have developed misplaced delusions of grandeur ... if he hasn’t already!

***

Sadly for Lincolnshire Police, the “summit” was followed by the news that the force was the most underrated the country – with just 58.3% of people telling the latest official crime survey that the force was doing a good or excellent job.
This put Lincolnshire Police's approval rating at 35th out of 43 forces.
But don’t worry – it’s all in your mind!

***

The other day, we mentioned the way that cash-strapped Worst Street was wasting money here there and everywhere …
A few items we have noticed since include spending on “entertainment” for the recent Vintage a-Fayre of £460 and £570 to bring a purportedly "free” cycling event to Boston Market Place.
“Fayre’s” such as the Vintage A – which sells old clothes at silly and sometimes smelly prices – are commercial activities … so why do we fund their “entertainment” which presumably means providing buckshee food and drinks.
The “Get Cycling Roadshow!” was again an event that we felt should be self-funding – but it cost taxpayers £570 to bring to town.
Finally, there was a charge of £405 for “cornfields annual mixture” – presumably for Boston in Bloom’s volunteers to spread willy-nilly alongside the John Adams Way bridge. We always thought that our local bloomers did their own thing – without the taxpayers footing the bill.
Fairly soon, the market tall holders will–  quite reasonably, we think   be asking why they should pay to mount what Worst Street claims as one of Boston’s biggest tourist attractions.

***

At long last, the future is looking slightly brighter and so we have decided to resume the occasional blog. Thanks for still checking in and keeping the readership count high – we’ll carry on publishing as and when – so please keep up your good work.

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 


We are also on Twitter – visit @eye_boston

Wednesday 17 August 2016


It’s not that long ago that the great and the good of Boston Borough Council were warning us of tough times ahead as government cutbacks dictated the need for further reductions in services.
Worst Street’s finance portfolio holder, Aaron Spencer, told taxpayers: "Let's be clear – there is no place to hide. The challenges that lie ahead are unprecedented. Tough decisions will have to be made about the services this council provides ... This council can no longer afford to fund all it once could. Residents will see a change to what this council does and how it provides its services.”
Well, that’s true enough, certainly.
In the interest of transparency, Worst Street published a list of its monthly spending which tells us a little – but often not enough – about where our hard earned wages are being spent.


Which is why we raised an EYE-brow when we saw the spending figures for June.
Lincolnshire Chamber of Commerce received nearly £5,400 from Boston Borough Council for the street party to mark the Queen’s 90 birthday on 12th June. The Lincoln-based chamber oversees the Boston Area Chamber of Commerce, which is behind the comatose Boston Town Team – which is the group that organised a private street party for specially invited guests, and a handful of other activities.
At the time, Phil Drury, Chief Executive at Boston Borough Council, said: “We are delighted to support Boston Town Team on this event.”
Did he know at the time that this support would be measured in terms of thousands of pounds?
And who authorised this in the first place?
A few days before the event, Boston Borough Council paid the Anglia Motel at Fleet Hargate – a 30 minute, 16 mile drive away from the town – more than £3,000 for accommodation.
The motel’s typical nightly rate is £50– so what was Worst Street putting up perhaps as many as 60 people for?
Another item on the list is £2,000 for a Boston Mosaic – created by Carol Parker, who calls herself “a socially engaged artist delivering and developing creative sessions with social benefits.”
The mosaic – pictured here – has been placed on the link between Boston station and the Stump. 
Meanwhile, the borough employed outside agency staff to man its refuse collection service – costing the thick end of £20 thousand for a single month.
“Security” for the May Fair cost nearly £16,000 – whilst on a much smaller scale a charge against “civic functions" billed an evening buffet at £450. Doubtless this is part of the annual £80,000 cost of the mayoral offices, which is somehow too important to consider cutting.
Finally the long awaited answer to the question of how much it costs to feed the biomass boilers that heat the Moulder Leisure Centre and the PRSA has emerged.
A single month’s payment came to an eye-watering £64,000 – and if that wasn’t enough the council paid a further £3,000 for the fuel to be delivered from Nottingham.
Around the time Councillor Spencer was telling us how tough times were, the so-called “leader" Pete ‘Nipper’ Bedford added: “We simply cannot afford to do all we once did. The stark choices now are to stop doing some of the things we have always done, do them differently or find new ways of paying for them.”
So when does it all begin, eh, Pete?

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 
We are on Twitter – visit @eye_boston