Irony as application to help women victims becomes  threat to neighbourhood improvements

It appears to be an ordinary planning application to Boston Borough Council. But by a quirky coalescence, it has become something that one local group fears will damage the improvements it has made in the neighbourhood, because another community-minded organisation wants to help women victims of violence. And in a further irony, there are problems getting help from local councillors …

Main Ridge East Neighbourhood Steering Group members are concerned that two years spent tidying up a park and play area may have been wasted if the plans get the go-ahead.
Boston Mayflower wants to turn a three-bedroomed house into a refuge for women and their children. The Main Ridge Group fear that this would draw undesirables to the Burgess Pit area where children go to play.
A straw poll by group secretary Rachel Lauberts and her husband found that eleven houses near the proposed refuge objected to the proposal.
“We don’t mind a women’s refuge, we think they’re good things,” Mrs Lauberts told Boston Eye. “But what we don’t want is known violent people hanging around Burgess Pit - which we have all worked so hard to clean up in the past two years.”
She has accused Mayflower of a lack of consultation, saying she was told that a “consultation process” involved just two people.
“Once you get violent people on to Burgess Pit you’ve got a playground area and a park -  and the police have actually admitted that they find it difficult to respond in a timely way to get to Burgess Pit when any incident occurs.
“By car from the station would take ten minutes because of traffic along John Adams Way - and if they’re on foot, 20 minutes. And once you‘re on Burgess Pit you’ve got at least four possible means of escape on to different roads.
“If a man decides to snatch his children, the police aren’t going to know which way to go in pursuit.”
Another fear is that if Mayflower is allowed  to use the house as a hostel, but subsequently lost the referral in the future, the house could become a hostel for rehabilitating drug offenders, for example - without  any need to apply for change of use.
As to approaching ward councillors, Mrs Lauberts says that Labour’s Councillor Paul Kenny works for Mayflower, and his party colleague,  Councillor Paul Gleeson, is on the planning committee, and that this poses problems for the group.
Additional concerns about the application include the fact that the accommodation is for three women and their children – which the group says could mean up to ten people living there – a further irony given Boston Borough Council’s concern about houses in multiple occupation.
But that’s not all.
“The women are not going to be local women,” said Mrs Lauberts.
“They’re going to be shipped in from all over the country. So they are not going to have any vested interest in staying in the area, or adding to the area in any way - and the children will have to go to local schools which are already overcrowded because of the influx of migrant children.”
She says that the proposal would put more stress on the local economy and the police - who have credited the Main Ridge East Group with helping to cut the crime rate from 28 to just one.
“The group has put a lot of money and time and effort into cleaning up Burgess Pit and we don’t want a lot of undesirables hanging around,” she added.
Matthew Spittles, Mayflower’s Director of Operations, said: “Boston Mayflower has been successful with a bid to provide residential based services to women affected by domestic violence. A planning application has been submitted to Boston Borough Council for this, and consultation will be a part of this process.
“In addition, Mayflower has visited immediate neighbours to the premises to discuss any concerns.
“The police have undertaken a crime prevention assessment, and advice taken includes the use of CCTV.
“The premise will be staffed for 30 hours a week and professionally managed by experienced Mayflower staff.”
Objections to the planning application have to be in by 27th March.

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