We were saddened but not surprised at the attack on the aviary in the town’s Central Park in which 30 birds were stolen and others killed by exhaustion and distress.

Such a vile event has been a long time coming – especially since the park gates have been left open at night.

***

When the decision was first taken, the reason offered was that it would save money … as the park's closing time was at sunset, which required a council officer to work later and later during the summer months to ensure that it was secured.

Although we can’t lay our hands on a precise figure, similar charges for another park in the town came in at the £3,000 a year mark.

***

Whilst Councillor Claire Rylott, Worst Street’s portfolio holder for parks and open spaces – or her Spinster – had much to say on the matter, some of it was quite contradictory.

WorstWeb – the borough website – had her saying: "This is such a mindless, determined, deliberate and heartless act.”

Whilst we accept that the word mindless is de rigueur when associated with vandalism, it can scarcely be defined as that if is also determined and deliberate.

***

The incident prompted a petition on the website change.org  which attracted hundreds of signatures in a very short space of time.

It read:

“Over recent months Boston Borough Council have decided to leave the Park gates open at night.

This has led to an increase in street drinking within the park, anti-social behaviour within the park, people urinating and leaving human excrement in the park, and now birds have been killed and stolen. 

Many people now avoid the park because of this. All we want is to get the council to lock the gates at night to make the park secure and safe from all the behaviour and damage being caused. It’s our park and we want to enjoy it and look after it.”

*** 

However, according to the website Lincolnshire Reporter, the idea does not cut any ice with the portfolio holder.

“Councillor Rylott said the park wasn’t locked so people could enjoy it all the time and she believed the attack on the aviary would have taken place anyway.

“’In the past they have climbed the walls to get into the park,’ she said.

“’People have gone in there and because the gates were locked they have probably done more damage than when the gates were opened because people could see them.

“’This was a mindless, deliberate and determined act and closing the gates I don’t think would have stopped it.’”

“She said vandalism happened everywhere … not just in the park … and pointed to recent reports of residents’ decorative pumpkins being smashed over Halloween.

“Councillor Rylott pointed to a national rise in crime, and said parks in other towns and cities, such as Lincoln, or Hyde Park, in London, weren’t locked.”

That’s all right then.

***

The report continued: “She also called on residents to do their part and be more vigilant, including coming forward to report any incidents they witnessed.

“She urged people to be more positive and pro-active in promoting the town, pointing to recent good news such as the five recent In-Bloom awards which had been won.

“She said a negative image put professionals off coming to the town and spoilt the hard work of those aiming to improve it.”

Quite how many times Worst Street can dine out on creating a carefully structured entry into a competition so as to ensure a win regardless, we can’t imagine.

However, it is wearing a little thin when we are told at the same time that there is vandalism everywhere and that we mustn’t talk about it.

Unlike Councillor Rylott, we believe that birds would not have been stolen had the gates been locked – because trying to clamber over railings or walls would be made extra difficult whilst clutching an armful of mezze-to-be.

***

Despite the continuing praise heaped on the increasingly overworked CCTV service, Worst Street confirmed that camera footage came back as inconclusive and therefore of no use to help catch the culprits.

Hands up if you’ve heard that one before.

***

But the drama turned to farce with the claim by Councillor Rylott that closing the park at night would be letting the minority who want to ruin the town “win”.

***

Regular readers of Boston Eye will have noted the number of times we made the accusation that the bad guys win because Worst Street not only looks the other way – but paves the path for wrongdoing to continue.

Over the years, Central Park has been butchered on the orders of councillors seeking to curb anti-social behaviour – such as using well-established foliage as al fresco accommodation … and subsequently employing the leaves as a natural toilet paper.

This may well explain why holly bushes have long enjoyed immunity.

Similar defoliation was imposed on Pilgrim’s Patch – again, to stop the bad guys winning.

***

In 2012, BTAC-ky launched a vigorous campaign of ripping up amenity seating around the town based on often unsupported complaints that they had become a focus for open air drinking.

At a rough count, at least 30 benches were removed in the fruitless ‘battle’ on anti-social activity in Boston – and the upshot was that anyone needing a brief respite on a long walk can simply forget about it.

This is what we complained was a case of letting the bad guys win.

*** 

A glittering example of this Jobsworth mentality at the time emerged when it was suggested that benches on London Road should be circumvolved to face the roadside. They then faced the river and people were throwing cans into it so the whirligig was agreed to see if it would reduce littering. 

***

This latest episode reminded us of the Central Park centenary plan to mark the land which was once a private deer park being given to the public 100 years ago next year.

Whilst Worst Street broke the news back in July – reporting at the time that a bid for lottery funding to support further improvements has been made – things have since fallen strangely silent. 

***

 

The instant demise of Fogarty’s after 150 years in the town with the loss of around 200 jobs has seen a heartening rallying round by other local employers.

Bakkavor, Freshtime, Pilgrim Foods and Workforce Unlimited were among those which offered varying degrees of assistance to those made jobless.

Response from Worst Street was more muted.

The news failed to rate a mention on WorstWeb and was instead confined to the borough’s Twitter feed.

***

One of these messages read – “Great to see local businesses pulling together to support the work ourselves and DWP are delivering this week …”

The nature of the work was to mention that the Department of Work and Pensions was holding support sessions for up to 12 people in each of five one-hourly slots.

Some basic maths showed that this would only extend help to 60 people – around a third of those affected. So it came as no surprise that they had to be arranged for a second day – and most likely fell short even then.

Another piece of Worst Street work was to draw attention to their own vacancies – a less than glittering eight-long list that included three causal vacancies and apprenticeships.

***

Conspicuous by its absence was any official comment from senior councillors and officers with responsibility for the town’s economy.

Compare that with the way Worst Street has piggybacked on the few occasions when good news emerges – most commonly when the council has had little or nothing to do with these successes.

***

Even Lincolnshire County Council was forced to admit that it was caught with its trousers down over the Fogarty collapse.

Councillor Colin Davie the executive member for economy at Clownty Hall expressed shock but admitted that Fogarty’s “wasn’t on the authority’s radar”.

He was reported as saying: “We have intelligence on a lot of businesses, how they are performing. Fogarty was not on our list as a business that was in trouble or was in danger of collapse so it was a shock to us and a total shock obviously for the workforce.”

Unhelpfully, he added: “Looking back on the announcement, as a big supplier of products to a lot of the big High Street chain stores maybe there was something about that, or that they found it increasingly difficult to compete in what is now a global marketplace for those products, I don’t know”

How comforting to have such people at the helm.

***

Even Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond was roped into the discussion during a visit to the county.

And he spouted the usual pabulum.

… “obviously it's traumatic, but the good news is that there are jobs being created in the economy … help available to get training to get new skills to take on a new job … hard workers who are reliable and prepared to put in a good day’s work are highly sought after … people affected will find that there are new opportunities for them with stable and reliable employers in the future … very sad when a business closes … it sounds like something quite drastic happened for it to close so suddenly.”

Clearly the man knows nothing about the local job economy here in Boston.

***

The cameras were out and about in Boston last week for the filming of Wild Bill – starring Rob Lowe as “top US cop Bill Hixon, who is appointed Chief Constable of the East Lincolnshire Police Force.”

The blurb for the movie declares: “When high-flying US police chief Bill Hixon lands in Boston, Lincolnshire, with his 14 year-old daughter Kelsey in tow, he’s hoping they can flee their painful recent past.

“But this unfamiliar, unimpressed community will force Bill to question everything about himself and leave him asking whether it’s Boston that needs Bill, or Bill that needs Boston?”

We have an uneasy feeling that we can guess what to expect – and that  the drama will do little for Boston’s image.

***

The scene was pretty well set on the first day as a photo from one of the many social media offerings showed  Boston’s new Sherf encountering a couple of extras boozing on a bench in full public gaze …

… and looking the other way.

***

Check out the entire scene as posted by BBC Radio Lincolnshire broadcaster and ‘lover of windmills’ Harry Parkhill ...

As an aside, we hear that Boston was not first choice for the location.

That distinction had gone to Liverpool – but a visit deemed the city too neat and tidy for the needs of the script.

And we also understand that whilst Lincolnshire County Council was happy to help the film company, Worst Street was much less welcoming.

Another missed opportunity.

***

One good thing was that the filming banished the Into Town buses from Strait Bargate and the Market Place – leaving them to U-turn at near Boots and W H Smith for a blessedly peaceful day.

This is nothing new, and has been done before – so if it is that simple, could the arrangement just as easily become permanent?

***

Why is it that we think Worst Street is gearing itself up to try to win yet another badge?

The council is exhorting us to vote for Boston Market in the National Association of British Market Authorities awards – although whether it has entered officially is anyone’s guess.

We have mentioned this event and the absence of any Worst Street involvement several times in the past – but this is the first time that it has surfaced officially.

Voting closes on 30^th November – but the really good news is that you can vote more than once.

Listen hard ... the noise you can hear is the clacking of the Worst Street keyboards!

***

But awards now seem to be the name of the game in the wacky world of Worst Street, with the trumpeting of a shortlisting in the LGC Awards 2019 environmental services category.

LGC?

That’s the Local Government Chronicle – a house magazine for councils.

Worst Street called the shortlisting “a fantastic achievement."

The entry detailed the efforts to combat the “scourges” of litter and fly tipping under the umbrella of the Boston Big Clean-up, and a team of three from the council will appear before the panel of judges choosing the overall winner from the eight finalists in March to make their case for a badge.

Doubtless such awards are nice to have on the trophy shelf, although they mean next to nothing to the taxpayer in the street.

We seem to recall that Worst Street won a gong for the clean-up once before – and like Boston in Bloom it represents something of an easy target.

***

And it’s as well to remember that a few years ago, Worst Street – of all places – won an award for being the country's top council for transparency, inclusiveness and accountability from the Centre for Public Scrutiny.

‘Nuff said.

***

Finally – and as expected – there was no reaction to last week’s rant about the Remembrance Day traffic information sign.

It was still in place on Friday – and exacerbated matters by being within yards of the War Memorial where yesterday’s ceremonies were held.

In the end, we e-mailed Boston borough Council and Lincolnshire County Council and asked them who was responsible.

Boston Borough Council was first out of the trap with a not me, guv’ response and pointed the finger firmly at Clownty Hall. 

From Lincoln came first an admission followed by disclaimer that placed the blame on whoever was organising the event … although we didn’t think that any Tom, Dick or Harry could post warnings of traffic restrictions without consent from the powers that be.

***

On Saturday we walked into town to be greeted by a brand new sign that put the old one to shame. 

On the back of the sign was a declaration of ownership – “Property of Lincolnshire County Council.”

So whilst the original was posted by a third party, it could be removed and replaced by the county council without any apparent problem.

Which begs the question – why couldn’t all this have been sorted our days ago?

***

We're back next week – join us on Monday 19^th November.

You can write to us at boston.eye@googlemail.com   

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

Yes, we know … we said we weren’t blogging this week.

But our plan has been changed by the mind-boggling, skull-numbing indifference of the powers that be to the celebration of a major historic event in Boston.

***

We’re talking about the Remembrance Day events to mark the centenary of the end of the First World War – the pinnacle of which is the Remembrance Day service in the war Memorial Gardens this coming Sunday.

***

Last week we highlighted the slapdash advance road warning sign about traffic restrictions on this most important day in our history.

***

The sign – dirty, misspelt and battered – warned of restictions on Sunday 1th November.

***

It ought not to have required a master’s degree in cartography to have worked out from our photo where the wretched sign was – and to have done something about it.

***

But the indifference that sadly now typifies the powers that be in charge of Boston was such that no-one could be bothered to put matters right.

*** 

So when we tottered into town on Saturday we were presented with the mixture as before despite the problem being highlighted for a full week.

***

Who is responsible for special event signs such as these?

Depending on whom you ask, the answer is either Lincolnshire County Council or Boston Borough Council.

If the former, we would have hoped that the latter might have communicated the error and got the sign changed.

***

But communication is not Worst Street’s strong suit – and we are sorry to say that after  the publicising of the disrespectful sign, there was probably a shrugging off of responsibility under the not my department, guv’ attitude that exemplifies our local authority.

***

Incidentally, after last week’s item, a reader sent us a photo taken in York – a city which some at Worst Street foolishly liken to Boston – of how the job of signing should be done.

***

As far as we are concerned the only thing that York and Boston have in common is the single word shambles – in that fine northern city it means an historic shopping area that attracts thousands of  visitors every year – whilst in the case of Boston, it means what the dictionary says … a state of total disorder.

You can write to us at boston.eye@googlemail.com   

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

Last week’s mention of street drinking in Boston sparked yet another wave of comment.

Opinions popped up on several Facebook sites where issues affecting Boston are discussed, as well as in a number of e-mails.

Even Boston Borough Council joined in the debate by listing a week’s work for its 3GS Enforcement ‘team.’

***

According to Worst Street, 3GS provides enforcement officers who patrol the streets issuing fixed penalty notices for ‘a variety’ of different environmental crimes including littering, fly-tipping, graffiti, dog fouling, ‘etc.’

Amazingly, this costs the council taxpayers nothing, as 3GS keeps all the money from the fines – usually £70 quid a throw.

Yet it is claimed “their officers are not financially incentivised” – step back in amazement – and their work also helps the council “carry out awareness raising and educational initiatives.”

***

When 3GS was first given the contract, the Worst Street spinster hit an hysterical high.

“The service level agreement with 3GS has been widely (do they mean wildly? – Ed) successful during its pilot.

“The council issued only seven fixed penalty notices for environmental crime offences in 2016/17.

“This rose to 514 between April and December 2017 as a result of our use of 3GS.”

***

Sidestepping the fact that this either showed up the council’s own efforts as less than half-hearted – or contradicted the idea that issuing shedloads of tickets was not an incentive because the company kept the money, the figures were nonetheless substantial.

Unhappily for Worst Street they also confirmed what many had been saying – that the council was merely paying lip service to the problem … let’s not forget that this was back in the heyday of the council/local ‘newspaper’ name and shame ‘partnerships’ which neither named nor shamed anyone at all.

***

However, what the figures showed was a vigorous attack on some environmental crimes – enough to get the 3GS contract extended until April next year.

Some simple division shows that the tickets averaged around 60 a month, or 16 a week.

Sixteen a week is two or three a day by a ‘team’ the size of which is not specified.

***

Fast forward a few months from the meeting which extended the contract and look at Worst Street’s recent weekly figures

In the week commencing 8^th October, the ‘team’ issued six tickets for fly-tipping, four for cigarette littering and one for urinating – that’s eleven in all.

The following week beginning 15^th October, four tickets were handed out for cigarette littering, three for fly-tipping and one Number One – a total of eight.

***

What we’re looking at here is a definite decline in tickets issued – and whilst fly-tipping sounds serious it doesn’t necessarily involve huge amounts of waste.

But when it does, you can bet your boots that Worst Street will look the other way if it can.

Witness this recent dialogue a taxpayer and Worst Street after an attempt to report some fly-tipping.

 To Worst Street: “Another fly tip load on Norfolk street for your attention…”

From Worst Street: “We are grateful when people report fly-tips but as previously stated we do not collect from peoples’ properties unless they book bulky collections. Which they may have done.”

To Worst Street: “More obstruction of footpath, and looks an eyesore.  Further info was (that it was) dumped by rough sleeper in derelict building close by.

“Why don't you get your CCTV right next to incident to actually trace what actually happened?

Are you not going to tackle this then?”

From Worst Street: “This looks like it is on a driveway?

“It is only classed as a fly-tip if it is on the highway. Please advise?

To Worst Street: “Looks like (it has) been dumped, would think someone moved to edge to not obstruct path?

“Are you not willing to tackle then?

“Thought you'd be grateful of public reporting such blight on our streets…”

At this point, the dialogue ended.

***

Given that the 3GS contract is up for renewal next April – and that the elections for the full council will be held on 2^nd May ... we think that if nothing else, any decision to renew should be pushed back for a few weeks so that the decision can be taken by whomever is elected to the new council.

***

A more serious episode concerned a reader who encountered a threatening attitude from two men he encountered in a park with a children’s play area.

He saw evidence of drug taking, cannabis smoking and drinking within a few feet of a CCTV camera at a time when two council staff were present and asked whether – whilst they may not have been allowed to issue a challenge, whether they should at least have made a phone call?

He added: “The two youths became threatening when challenged, so I rang 999, only to be told to report it on 101.”

***

What’s emerging here is a clear case of too many cooks spoiling the broth.

The streets are now watched – physically or otherwise – by the police, the 3GS team, Worst Street’s own anti-social behaviour squad and CCTV.

The police appear to be under the impression that the problem of street drinking has largely been solved – although the reality seems more likely that it has simply moved elsewhere … away from the town centre.

Recently observers say they have been seeing less of 3GS on the street – which seems borne out by the fall in the issue of tickets, as we are sure that the problems are not solving themselves..

Worst Street’s merry band – who knows?

CCTV, meanwhile, is now operated by Boston Borough Council not only covering the borough but also South Holland, East Lindsey and parts of North Kesteven.

Whilst this makes money for Worst Street – always a top priority – and has involved some extra staff input from outside districts, at the end of the day the more thinly you spread the jam on you bread the less palatable the sandwich becomes.

***

Between April last year and the end of March this year, CCTV operators recorded 18,405 daily log entries, and completed 1,855 incident records – which included 985 Boston incidents … plus 609 for East Lindsey, 198 in South Holland and 63 in North Kesteven.

If that wasn’t enough to keep them busy, they also dealt with 556 out of hours telephone calls for Boston Borough Council and 1,014 for East Lindsey.

***

The ‘daily log entries’ – running at more than fifty a day – sound like paperwork for its own sake, as ‘proper’ incident records represent only about 10% of the top line.

Over the year, there were 346 arrests where CCTV provided a direct contribution in Boston – fewer than one a day.

***

 Interestingly, the proximity of incidents in relation to town’s police station continue to suggest that a couple of patrolling Bobbies/Robertas would do more to dissuade people from misbehaving and therefore reduce the number of incidents to be dealt with and remove many other attendant pressures.

***

What becomes increasingly obvious is that between the various groups focussing on the town’s issues there are a number of omissions within each that collectively create a black hole through which much of what exercises the taxpaying residents is allowed to slip.

What’s needed is a wheels-up restoration of the system, where all the parties involved get together to analyse the causes and sources of the trouble and look at where their systems are failing.

This should also include the much-derided 101 phone system – which so many people complain costs them 15p to make a call which  takes an eternity to get a response … unless they give up in despair first.

***

End of rant. For now

***

Last week we highlighted some interesting items from the Worst Street spending list – and there will be more to come.

In the meantime here’s a riddle for you … we all know that Ryanair is a low cost budget airline whose tickets are sold for give away prices.

The question?

How many of the Great and the Good can you fly to Boston’s twin town Laval for £1,215.18?

***

Another highlight from last week demonstrated the convenience of a parked-up Worst Street trailer as a repository for used booze bottles.

Whilst this mess was selflessly cleared up by none other than the town centre portfolio holder, it seems that where there’s another trailer, there’s another unofficial bottle bank!

Poor old Worst Street.

***

Finally, our Forward Planning Smile of the Week award goes to whomever spent hours with his Letraset kit  painstakingly to put together the sign below.

Thankth to thith thign, oneth the oneth cometh, no-one will have an excuseth if they parkth where they shouldnth.

That's why we have restictions!

***

We clock up yet another undeserved birthday this week, so  we're taking a few days off . 
Our next blog will appear on Monday 12^th November.

You can write to us at boston.eye@googlemail.com   

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

Not for the first time, the list of how Boston Borough Council spends our money each month contains some interesting entries.

Their publication is purportedly an exercise in ‘transparency’ – but quite often raises questions to which the answers are not found easily … if at all.

The list – of expenditure more than £250 – also shows a steady stream of costs which we have been led to believe were being curbed or even done away with altogether.

***

A good example here is the borough’s sporting facilities.

Just over three years ago there was great fanfare when ‘full responsibility’ for the Princess Royal Sports Arena was taken on by an organisation called 1Life.

WorstWeb – the borough’s website – reported at the time: “1Life now has the go-ahead to arrange repairs and improvements to bring the centre up to an improved handover condition – the final bill to be paid by the borough council.

“But these costs will be covered by savings made by energy efficiency improvements, some of which are already complete and providing a return.

“The sport, leisure and recreation experts will have a full repair and renew lease for the site, relieving borough council tax payers of any future financial responsibility.”

***

Really?

Ahead of this announcement, in 2015 WorstWeb tootled ‘Here comes the sun... and FREE energy.’  

We were told that the roof of the Princess Royal Sports Arena had been covered by 364 state-of-the-art high-tech solar panels as the first part of a project to save and make cash to help pay for the building’s refurbishment.

“The solar array is set to begin delivering free energy to the PRSA later this week and will generate electricity even on dull days.

“The green energy measures for the PRSA, which will also include installation of a wood-fired biomass boiler, were part of agreed council proposals which include agreeing lease arrangements with an operator so that the PRSA has a long-term future without on-going revenue support from the council.

***

In May last year, there was more good news …

“… the PRSA … was costing the taxpayer £300,000 pa in subsidy to keep it going.

“In 2016 the new arrangements with 1life have seen the facility operate for the first time at a zero cost to the taxpayer which has the potential to save the taxpayer £6m over the lifetime of the lease.

“This has in part been made possible by the investment in biomass heating boilers …”

***

Despite these repeated claims that the PRSA costs us nothing, we appear still to be paying for biomass woodchip at well over £1,000 a month, alongside a bill of gas and electricity around £3,500 a month … in March this year it was over £5,000.

Add that little lot together and it makes quite a serious subsidy –  rather than costing us nothing at all.

***

A point that makes this particularly worth highlighting is because Worst Street is currently talking with companies which have expressed an interest in running the Geoff Moulder Leisure Complex – along with the Guildhall and sport and ‘play development’ services.

The story going out at present is that the council will retain ownership of the facilities, but engage with organisations to help it save money whilst retaining or even improving services.

***

As with the PRSA, the Moulder benefits from solar panels and the biomass boiler – although the gas and electricity bills remain about the same as ever.

Not only that – but a couple of items in May show a capital spend of £23,000 plus a further £15,000 from revenue on ‘GMLC alterations, new floor finishes’ –  and not even spent with a local business.

***

So, instead of achieving transparency in its doings, Worst Street is raising shedloads of questions concerning its spending on fuel. As well as that its use of phrases such as ‘no cost to the taxpayer’ appear alongside the spending of  large sums on  improvements at a time when it is thinking of handing over control of the centre.

And let’s not lose sight of the recent announcement that £95,000 is coming from the Government’s Controlling Migration Fund on a major refurbishment and expansion of the Moulder gym

It just seems that prudence with spending our money is of no concern to Worst Street.

***

Further examination of the figures continues to throw up interesting anomalies.

What the council called an on-going ‘revolution’ in West Street has seen ‘better and more economic use’ of  the council offices’ space, leading to the probation service, the registrar's office and a range of other Lincolnshire County Council services being accommodated within the Municipal Buildings.

And a year ago we heard that the current ‘remodelling’ work would allow the Department for Work and Pensions to move in.

“This generates much-needed revenue for the council, achieves significant accommodation savings for the DWP and will provide a more efficient service for the public” trumpeted the Worst Street spinster.

Back to the spending figures.

We assume that someone somewhere is saving money, but it will certainly take Boston Borough Council a while to show a profit after apparently spending around £300,000 on the DWP relocation exercise.

***

A while ago there was understandable concern over news that households could be charged directly for the amount of rubbish they put in their general waste bin under proposals to increase recycling.

Fears were voiced that the system – inevitably dubbed pay as you throw – could mean that large families who produce lots of rubbish paying more than households of only one or two people.

The proposal was made by the Local Authority Recycling Advisory Committee (LARAC), which represents waste collection officers at about 70 per cent of UK local authorities.

The story appeared back in April – a month after Worst Street reported spending £600 on each of five of its bin collection lorries to supply and fit standalone weighing scales.

Is the council planning a stealth tax rise or ruse, we wonder?

Perhaps someone could tell us.

***

Boston’s ‘parish council’ – BTAC-ky – has moved into the silly area of paying other departments at Worst Street grants to provide the services they can’t find the money for.

One example appeared in the shape of  the recent combined emergency services’ Blue Light Day in Central Park, organised by Boston Borough Council in association with Lincolnshire Police.

As with money, Boston Borough Council maintained its inability to count by claiming that ‘hundreds’ attended the event – even though the WorstWeb photos showed otherwise.

Ahead of the occasion, the Boston Borough Council Community Safety Team asked for money from BTAC-ky’s small grants scheme totalling £970.07 for two projects.

The first of these was the Blue Light Day and totalled just under £400 – and when a member asked why funding had not been sourced from the Controlling Migration Fund, back came the reply that the Controlling Migration Fund had delivered the funds requested for the new Anti-Social Behaviour Officer post, but no money to take the role forward:  it was the officer’s job to find the funding.

***

So the Controlling Migration Fund – which in this case is Boston Borough Council wearing another hat – funds a job but no money to make it workable.

Another member of the committee asked if the emergency services taking part had been approached for funds to support the event.

Unsurprisingly, an officer couldn’t answer that, but felt that the invitation to attend had been ‘in-kind’ and it was the support of the services at the event which was the priority.

A sort of ‘I’ll show you mine if you’ll show me yours’ arrangement.

Nonetheless, this event was part organised by Worst Street – which means that money had to be found from somewhere to pay for it – so why is everyone being so silly about costs?

We make no apology for a second mention in today’s issue of the generosity of the Controlling Migration Fund in funding a £90k facelift for the Moulder gym – which will more greatly benefit a future operator rather than the users – whilst appointing a new Anti-Social Behaviour Officer and leaving him/her with both hands tied behind his/her back.

***

At long last, though, it seems that BTAC-ky is addressing some well overdue issues.

Perhaps the most important of these is the regular report sought by the committee on behalf of the local police inspector.

Given the difference of opinion between the Boston public and the Boston police over things such as the maintenance of public order and what many still see as the high level of drinking in public places, you might think that a regular report to councillors would help build confidence and calm fears. 

***

But a look at the minutes of the last few months’ BTAC-ky meetings shows that the police representative showed up just once in four meetings – and the regular agenda item on this week’s BTAC-ky meeting has vanished from the agenda.

However, all may not be lost.

At its meeting last month the minutes tell us that the committee agreed: “That a letter be … sent to the area supervisor or Assistant Chief Constable stating that if Inspector Morrice was unable to attend a meeting, a representative on his behalf, attend instead.

“It was a standing item on the agenda and questions arose at each meeting in respect of policing matters.

“Due to grave concerns in respect of serious issues of safety within the town centre in the evening, coupled with the potential future cuts to policing within the county, Lincolnshire Crime Commissioner Mr Marc Jones be requested to attend a meeting of the committee to identify how such potential future cuts to policing would further impact on Boston.

“In the event that Mr Jones be unable to attend, then a Chief Officer from Lincolnshire Headquarters be requested to attend on his behalf.”

***

We do find it odd that whilst our publicly-appointed representatives share ‘grave concerns in respect of serious issues of safety within the town centre’ the police apparently do not.

Only last week a story appeared on a local news website beneath the headline: “‘Street drinking is a blight on our town’ – Boston people dismiss police claims that problem is being successfully tackled….’”

The report begins: “People in Boston feel street drinking is still a huge problem plaguing the town – despite police insisting enforcement of areas of the town is at an all-time high …”

It is claimed that some people say fewer reports are only being made because people have lost faith that their complaints will be tackled.”

The debate on this is endless and repetitive – and some sort of result will only be reached when the local police and Worst Street truly get together to find common ground to get to the facts.

***

And – titter ye not – the following photo was taken in a car park a mere tinny’s throw from the Municipal Buildings.

***

Another item that cropped up at last month’s meeting was a call for an update on bus operator Brylaine’s  intentions for a future routing of services away from the Market Place – being ‘mindful’ of the committee’s overwhelming support and request for the re-routing.

Despite no shortage of political debate, the buses continue to grind their polluting path through Strait Bargate – often in mini convoys … something that we were promised from the outset would never happen.

The damage to the surface of what was designed to be a pedestrian precinct is clearly visible – as is the trail of oil dribbles along the route.

But pollution in this case is not simply defined by fumes and oil – the noise created by the alarms from these buses as they haul their cargo of a handful of passengers past people who thought that they were out for a pleasant shopping experience is an insult to residents and visitors alike … as is being herded aside to make way for traffic whether there should be none.

***

In the past, Brylaine justified the Strait Bargate route because the buses could not turn round at either the Post Office or the Market Place ends.

Even so, as long ago as 2013 it was being claimed that Lincolnshire County Council and Brylaine were looking at alternative routes.

As we all know things move glacier-like in the World of Worst Street, and it was only a year ago that Boston Borough Council's Cabinet agreed to organise a meeting with Brylaine Travel and Lincolnshire County Council to discuss rerouting the Into Town bus service to avoid Strait Bargate.

Brylaine's Operations Director helpfully suggested that a bus stop at Fish Hill would allow buses to enter and leave the Market Place without going through Strait Bargate – and on the other side of town could make a U-turn in Wide Bargate. 
That sounds very sensible and obvious – so why is it taking so long?

Once upon a time most of the main political groups in Worst Street pledged to reroute the service.

The Conservatives even went so far  as to claim that there were six options for a service put forward which were all agreed – but the option for the buses to go through the town centre itself was not put out to open debate, or even to other councillors.

It was described as a decision made in private behind closed doors by the long defunct and little mourned Boston Bypass Independents party during their disappointing flirtation with power.

With an election in sight, perhaps it might be a shrewd political move to resurrect the idea of rerouting of the Into Town service away from the shoppers into a manifesto for May next year.

It could be a winner. 

***

Finally – you can take a horse to water …

Last Wednesday’s cabinet of curiosities' meeting allocated 15 places for students as part of Local Democracy Week.

In the event, none turned up – but as the meeting was done and dusted in just 21 minutes, the guests might have been delayed by the traffic and got there too late!

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