The hoo-ha about the sale of Boston’s Assembly Rooms trundles on, with our open and transparent leadership steadfastly refusing to tell the citizenry a thing about the disposal of this publicly-owned historic building.  Council leader Peter Bedford said he could neither confirm nor deny any rumours about the sale but that “some information” would be revealed once it had gone through. Is this the best that we can expect from our so-called “leader?”  And once again, it is his choice of words that makes all the difference. Surely, when Councillor Bedford says he cannot confirm anything, what he really means is that he will not. At least he has now gone so far as to say that he thinks it “highly unlikely” that the public toilets will remain open.
Meanwhile, two names that have emerged as possible buyers, are local entrepreneurs Matt Clark, who owns a nightclub in Spalding and has other leisure related businesses, and his father David – but both men told the Boston Standard that they were not involved.  Interestingly, Matthew Clark incorporated a private limited company called Totally Ordinary Limited at the end of March – around the time that bids for the building were being concluded. And we are told that Dad’s house in Boston is on the market for £375,000 – with a Spalding based estate agent.
More by way of information includes a sale price for the Assembly Rooms – said to be £465,000 –subject to the buyers getting  the planning permission they want. Businesses occupying the premises beneath the Assembly Rooms have received letters "inviting" them to surrender their present lease with Boston Borough Council and sign up with the new buyers – with effect from the end of this month. Part of the deal attached to the sale is that the Assembly Rooms must be refurbished within 12 months of completion and thereafter within every five years. Given all this information – which is widely in the public domain  –  isn’t it time for those involved with the sale and the purchase to  stop pussyfooting around and treating us all like idiots and instead come clean about what’s going on?
Just when we thought things couldn’t get much worse, comes the news that the Somerfield store on London Road in Boston is to close next month, due to ‘poor trading performance’ Thirty-one staff will be affected by the closure. Given its awkward location, what really surprises us is that the store stayed in business for so long – but it’s still another nail in the coffin for the town’s economy. When we were taking photos last weekend to illustrate our report on the Market Place, we  were struck to see three shops in a row for sale opposite the also-vacant Millets (left)  – but that’s only the tip of the iceberg …
… A visit to the Rightmove website finds Barclays Bank in the Market Place  to let for  £950,000, and the Chinese restaurant for sale at the other end of the Market Place for £400,000. The Cowbridge House Inn is on the market at £395,000, and land next to the White Hart in Boston for £300,000. There are two units in Field Street for the same price, whilst the former railway social club on Sleaford Road is up for sale as well. Several commercial properties are for sale in London Road – and let’s not forget that Boston College is selling its De Montfort campus as a development opportunity for £1,500,000. More development land is for sale in the shape of the former Sandicliffe  Ford  showroom off John Adams Way. And these are just a few. A worrying thought is that so much “development land” – i.e. house building sites – are available. We appreciate that Boston needs much more housing – but where are the occupants going to work?
We thought that Boston Borough Council was scraping the bottom of the barrel last week with the news that its website coverage of air quality had been awarded a four-star rating by a local government organisation dedicated to … air quality. But that almost pales into insignificance with a report this week, which – beneath the headline “Boris mentions Boston” –  reported:  “Boston received a boost in the speech to the Conservative Party conference by the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson.” The council website went on to say that BoJo … “gave examples of British enterprise, especially in the field of transport. He said: ‘And when we buy new trains, we drive jobs in Derby. Conductor rail from Chard, CCTV from Warwick, railway sleepers from Boston." For those hitherto unaware of Boston’s fame in this area, we were informed: “Calders and Grandidge in Boston makes timber products, including railway sleepers.” We have to admit that when we first saw that Boston was famous for well-preserved lumps of wood, we assumed that it was a reference to our Conservative leaders ... until someone told us what Boris was really talking about.
We wonder whether Boston joint deputy leader Councillor Raymond Singleton-McGuire has his own parking spot in the borough’s planning department  –  as he is sending yet more business in their direction. First, there was the application to use part of his private house as a wedding venue. It was refused, but he has appealed, and we understand that the deadline to send objections to the inspector appointed to hear the appeal was earlier this week. Meanwhile, another application from Councillor Singleton-McGuire is on the agenda for Tuesday’s  Planning Committee meeting. It concerns a property in Main Ridge which in March 1981, had an application refused for a change of use of the ground floor for offices and first floor for residential use.  Nonetheless,  and even though no actual permission exists or has been granted for the use of the property for two flats,  an application to the committee has been made for a Lawful Development Certificate (Existing Use) “to seek confirmation that the use of the ground floor as one single flat is lawful.” A report to the committee notes: “The applicant’s submitted limited information is both weak and inconclusive. However, on the information supplied by this council’s rates and benefits section, it would appear that the ground floor has been used as a flat since before 1997.” Is this a landlord’s equivalent of squatter’s rights? Hmmmm.

We noted the photograph (right) accompanying the report of Boston Borough Council’s Task and Finish Group into the impact of population change with a frisson of disappointment. To start with, only seven of the nine councillors involved were pictured – and one of the absentees,  Councillor Mike Gilbert, is the cabinet portfolio holder community development. Not only that,  but of the six male members in the picture, two were suited and booted  – but tieless.

Many will say that in this day and age it doesn’t really  matter. But in our view, Councillors Paul Kenny – who is also the group’s chairman –  and Independent Richard Leggott, looked less than comfortable, whilst  their collars apparently didn’t know which way to turn. It also somehow detracts from the gravity of the occasion. Come on councillors – nip this fashion trend in the bud before the entire chamber resembles an assembly of down-and-outs!
Talking of the Task and finish Group – we wonder how they … or rather the council … propose to counter the planned static demonstration by the Boston Protest March group  on November 18^th at the Herbert Ingram Memorial in the Market Place.  The group currently has 2,336 members – 26 of them newly-arrived since the demo was announced. An appeal has been made for a good turnout, and without one, the group might wither on the vine. Time will tell.
Not before time, the election on November 15^th  to appoint a Police and Crime Commissioner for Lincolnshire is starting to get some exposure. According to the Home Office the commissioner’s job will be to listen to the public, and then respond to their needs, bringing more of a public voice to policing and giving the public a name and a face to complain to if they aren't satisfied. Lincolnshire now has six candidates for the job – two of them Boston borough councillors  … Labour’s Paul Gleeson and English Democrat Elliott Fountain. However, with so many candidates and voter interest at a record low, we hear concern about the possible turnout. One estimate is that could be as low as 18% –   which could see the PCC  elected with first preference votes from little more than 3%  of the total electorate. Theoretically, it could be a lot lower.   Someone needs to get to work on explaining all about the need of Commissioners, and why we should vote. And soon.
It was with a gloomy sense of déjà vu that we noted Boston Preservation Trust’s resurrection of the “pride” and the “shame” of the month. For many years, the “Mess of the Month” feature was dutifully provided by former Boston Town Clerk, Mr  R. Ernest Coley –  but died with him. Then it briefly returned under the pride and shame hat, before disappearing again. This week’s offering is a choice of Five Lamps. The new ones are the “pride,” and their predecessor “on the Liquorpond Street roundabout”  (sic) the unmaintained “mess.” Enough is enough – as Mr Coley used to declare! The comparison reeks of desperation from the outset. And whilst places that shame Boston are abundant, it may quickly become difficult to find much to take pride in.
Finally, a word to Brylaine –  the Into Town bus operators.  Could your drivers please be asked to approach Strait Bargate from the Market Place more slowly? And when they meep their way through the crowds, we suggest that it would be a good idea if the driver kept his hands on the wheel. Last week we watched a bus glide past us while the driver opened a leather container of some sort – using both hands!

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