Our Friday miscellany

of the week's

news and events

It’s good  that common sense has prevailed, and a closer look is being taken at Boston Borough Council’s ludicrous plan to increase allotment charges over four years by a staggering 465.22% - which would see the cost of a 600 square yard plot rise from £46 to £260. Wednesday’s meeting of the council’s Environment and Performance Committee decided to set up another of those famous task and finish groups, and  promised  to consult allotment holders. Whilst any right-thinking person would expect a sensible result from this, we recall the task and finish group that addressed the problems of Boston BID, and came up with a wealth of good ideas to make it run more smoothly for the benefit of its members. None of them was adopted, and the council seems too scared of the BID to do anything about it..
On the same subject, we expected an organisation such as the National Society of Allotment and Leisure Gardeners to have a view on the council’s planned assault on the pockets of the borough’s allotment holders – but we were wrong. We e-mailed the society on Monday to seek their comments, but have not not received a reply. Strangely, for an organisation pledged to “protect, promote and preserve allotments for future generations to enjoy,” they were just as unhelpful four years ago when we asked for their views about the plans to close the Broadfield Lane allotments.
Talking of not answering - although we will have more to say next week about the council’s announcement of the cancellation of the Boston protest march - we understand that some councillors were surprised to get the news via a round robin e-mail with the borough’s press release attached. For some strange reason they imagined that such important news might come from the leader himself - and be shared with the media a little later. This was not the case, but it was not out of  character. Repeated requests  from Boston’s Labour councillors for a task and finish group to address the town's social tensions, also apparently went unanswered - which seems a strange way to do business. Some issues transcend party political lines – and with many of the problems now confronting Boston, the people most affected often live in wards that are not represented by Conservatives. We hope that the council’s leadership will strive to be more inclusive in future.
After years of long drawn out debates and consultations, the location for Boston’s £50 million flood barrier has at last been announced. We are told that all that needs to happen now is for national funding to be secured to that work can begin in 2016. Looking back, we were reminded that it was once claimed that the flood barrier could be up and running by 2014. Not only that, but when we visited one of the  Environment Agency consultations, we were assured that the funding was guaranteed. This was confirmed in Boston Borough Council's February bulletin, which said the project was among several set to share in a £521 million funding pot announced by Defra and the Environment agency. So why are we seeing back-tracking on both the date and the availability of money for the scheme? In June last year, we reported that Lord Smith, the chairman of the Environment Agency, said flood defence spending would be "cut in cash terms by about 27% - and that will happen immediately" Worse still, he added: "There will be communities that would  be starting flood defence work in a year or two years' time that will now be delayed." Powers that be, please take note. We need this flood protection - and it must not be allowed to fail at the last minute though lack of pressure by the great and the good of the town. We also need to start pressing the insurance industry now,  so that they will begin reducing premiums to a realistic level now the flood risk is being reduced.
Just when you thought it was safe … the roads are being dug up again! After the lengthy closure of Norfolk Street during the summer, the first of two closures affecting Fydell Street begins on Monday -when National Grid Gas move in until early December. Then they’ll be back again in the new year for some more of the same further along the street. Will there ever be a day when a major road in Boston is not is disrupted by diggers?
Boston has been getting more than its share of airtime on BBC Radio Lincolnshire in recent weeks, which has forced us to listen. We have been struck in particular by the performance of the lunchtime host Peter Levy – who is not only quite rude to his guests on occasion, but also seems over-timid when tackling some of the more contentious issues raised. Whilst not all presenters can be John Humphrys, can we hope for the chance of some improvement in the future? We hear that the BBC has some excellent training schemes!
Three day care centres in Boston are listed for closure by Lincolnshire County Council to cut £22 million from its social services budget. They include Scott House, - the former St John’s Workhouse on Skirbeck road (see picture below) – which, despite the unsuitability of the neighbouring site, was restored at great expense by Heritage Lincolnshire then handed over to the county … who now don’t want it.

Meanwhile, Heritage Lincolnshire has been hard at work repairing the derelict former Garfitt's bank building at 116 High Street Boston, which is soaking up hundreds of thousands of pounds. Apparently the aim is to create another "community hub" with various organisations occupying offices within the main building and new social enterprise units in the back yard. Perhaps someone should ensure that whoever the intended beneficiary of this project is,  assurances  can be given that it won’t be just another economically fine weather affair.
Although it’s been suggested that the role of Boston’s Chief Executive  once Richard Harbord  eventually departs might be shared with “neighbouring” authorities, options appear to be running out. South Holland District Council, which already shares a top team with Breckland District Council, is now looking to add Great Yarmouth Borough Council to the management mix. As that would probably be as far as South Holland’s empire could reasonably stretch, only East Lindsey - which is already plenty big enough, we would have thought - remains a possible partner. However, Boston already shares its Resources and Section 151 officer with the authority - which might make further sharing a problem. What will happen in the end, we wonder?
We note that Boston Borough Council has agreed that it can manage with two fewer councillors if a change in local government boundaries is approved. Oddly, we would have thought that with such a rapidly growing population, the borough might have needed more representatives rather than less. However - and without our usual generalisations - we could easily name double the number of councillors that it’s proposed we lose as being surplus to requirements. The reasons are failures at ward level, and regarding attending all lessons as sufficient qualification for the job.
It’s only a fortnight since we noted on this page that Lincolnshire County Council was taking no chances when it came to securing the bypass after next for Lincoln. Almost £4 million has been spent on houses and land to make way for Lincoln's southern bypass – which depends on a successful bid for money before an eastern bypass can be built. The latter would open by 2017 – and pave the way for a southern bypass in 2030 at the earliest. But County Hall is not letting the grass grow under its tarmac. It’s now been announced that a new £5 million scheme to ease traffic chaos around Lincoln  will include a bid for a new park and ride service, more public transport and better footpaths for pedestrians and cyclists. As we remarked two weeks ago – who says there’s one law for Lincoln and another for Boston?
Whilst other local publications are endlessly coming up with ideas for pet, baby, business, food competitions and the like, we have come up with one of our own. We’re looking for the place in Boston where you can spend the longest time in a queue waiting for so-called service. Our nominees for this week are Boston Post Office, where we spent more than 15 minutes in a queue, and the town’s Marks and Spencer store, where the wait was almost as long. Have you waited longer? Let us know and we’ll name and shame the culprits.
A report on a visit to Boston’s Guildhall by a group called Paranormal 13 declared themselves not too disappointed in their quest for supernatural happenings. We are told: “The Guildhall has a history of hauntings – from the grey lady who walks into the cells and never re-emerges to the creepy presences in the former council chamber which has sent some fleeing the building in terror.” Merely the former council chamber? From what we hear there are quite a few creepy presences in the current chamber at Worst Street!

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