A secondary aspect of the Market Place mess that we talked about yesterday has been highlighted in an e-mail from a reader.

“Following on from the double debacle to enhance the Market Place and also press forward with the sale of Assembly Rooms, am I the only person to notice that the Herbert Ingram Memorial now appears to be a regular meeting place for can-waving, guffawing, arm-waving and shadow-boxing aficionados who often start to gather from 9 o’clock in the morning? 
“If the council are serious  – which we know they are not – about developing a culture in which families, visitors and people who live and work around the Market Place can go about their business unhindered, then there is an awful lot of work to do if anyone happens to pass within close proximity to these mostly home-grown idiots.
“Although there are probably no reported ‘incidents’ there is plenty of anecdotal evidence to support my views.
“Can we shame the various agencies involved in making Boston “a safe place to live and work in” (council speak) to take some action to stand up for the rights of decent ordinary folk going about their business.
“Probably too much to hope for!”
On our Friday visit to the Market Place, which we reported yesterday, the scene was far from anecdotal.
We watched two real police officers - not PCSOs -  exchanging words with two unintelligible and clearly very drunk people who were slumped one of the benches by the memorial. It was an unsettling scene to say the least.
This one-sided discussion went on for several minutes, and when we returned to the area after doing some shopping that the police had gone, but the drunks were still there, meandering around and engaging passers-by in clearly unwelcome  conversation.
Eventually, they shambled off down Bank Street, leaving us wonder what the point the involvement of the police had been.
Clearly, this is not solving anti-social behaviour problems if the police walk away but the problem remains.
Yesterday, we were reminded that that the police do not have the resources to enforce parking regulations in the Market Place – and now it seems they don’t do much about drunks in high visibility public places.
We fear that the outlook for the Market Place can only get worse.
The portfolio holder responsible for car parks and the town centre, Councillor Derek Richmond, whilst acknowledging the police problems, then seems to overlook his own responsibility.
If a cabinet member has the  job description "Portfolio holder for Car Parks and the Town Centre,"
he needs  live up to it – which means taking action between now and mid-October, rather than waiting until Lincolnshire County Council brings in an outside company to tackle parking problems.
Otherwise the role is nothing more than a posh title, and not worth the paper it is printed on.
And as far as policing is concerned, if Boston Police cannot manage the task, then what about the  larger than life anti-social behaviour team run by Boston Borough Council – remember their poster campaign – who have been strangely silent of late.
Meanwhile, as the saga of the sale of the Assembly Rooms rumbles on, there is mounting speculation –  bordering on certainty –  that the building will become yet another night club.
As we have said before, a worrying aspect of this is that promotes the club scene from being largely out of the general public gaze to the front of the house.
Not only that, but a quick count comes up with at least five existing clubs, and getting on for a dozen “dual purpose” watering holes with music and a club culture within a very short distance. Do we really need so many?
Boston is famous for the rough and tumble that goes on in the wee small hours of Saturday and Sunday mornings, despite efforts by council leader Peter Bedford to minimise matters, when he said in a radio interview last year: “It depends on your outlook. I walked through town with my wife on Saturday night after a concert in Boston Stump and everybody was well behaved. We never saw an issue at all. So it’s how you want to look at things.”
We reckon that there are four cabinet members whose areas are affected by the problems caused by public drinking – which itself is a clear call for action.
If the Assembly Rooms become a nightclub, the potential for trouble is brought to the heart of the town.
With their usual lacklustre approach, the borough council cabinet has adopted a “wait and see” approach to drinking in public places until next April - when new Community Protection Orders are introduced.
For wait and see, read do nothing.
Even though the law may be changed then, that is no reason to sit back with hands in pockets for the next seven months.
At the moment, the police find it hard enough to cross St Botolph’s footbridge into the Market Place to deal with daytime drinking. Next year they will find it impossible for some months as work goes on to replace the bridge, as we are sure that they won't take the long way round – it's just too hard on the feet.
Picture a possible scenario in the not too distant future …
A huge new nightclub … no public toilets in that part of the world … a history of troubled Friday and Saturday nights … a massive £2 million pound arena in which to cause trouble.
Yet still the cabinet fiddles Nero-like. …

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