97 days to the elections
Whenever Boston Borough Council bites back, it’s a sure sign
that Worst Street is running scared.
And for a dinosaur to reject so quickly the charge that it
was backing a white elephant was something almost unheard of.
“WHITE ELEPHANT? Thousands beg to differ” shrilled the
headline in Monday’s Boston Daily Bleat
– and coming so soon after Friday’s Boston Eye led us to speculate if we had touched
a nerve.
But in case we had dropped some awful clanger, we turned to
the dictionary for help.
The general definition of a White Elephant is: “A possession
that is useless or troublesome, especially one that is expensive to maintain or
difficult to dispose of.”
Now there was a definition that didn’t mince its words – but
we also found another, written with business in mind.
It read: “Any investment that nobody wants because it will
most likely end up being unprofitable. An unprofitable investment, property or
business that is so expensive to operate and maintain that it is extremely
difficult to actually make a profit. An item whose cost of upkeep is not in
line with how useful or valuable the item is.”
Based on that, we stand by our definition
We also had to raise an Eye-brow
at the way Boston Borough Council came to the conclusion that the PRSA was not
a White Elephant after all.
Simples!
Someone went down there and asked people who were using it.
And – surprise, surprise – they all declared that it was a
stonking success and well worth the hundreds of thousands of our council tax
that it’s planned to pour down its copious drains during the coming years.
To call such a straw poll slanted is akin to describing the
Leaning Tower of Pisa as upright.
And, as well as punters using the arena, who else better to
ask than the chairman of Boston Rugby Club – which enjoys a money making
sweetheart deal as sole caterer at the stadium – an agreement that no-one can
ever explain.
***
According to Monday’s council confection, last year more
than 103,000 people went through the PRSA’s doors, which must have generated a
decent sum of money.
And yet the place remains a net loser.
We suspect that this is literally because all that is being reported
is a head count of people who “came through the door.”
Many of them would have been parents accompanying their
children and spectators for rugby club events and the like – people who trip the
counter and nothing else.
One Boston Eye
reader has produced a formula which calculates that if people use the gym for
five days a week for 50 weeks of the year this would be 250 visits.
With a total visitor figure claim of 103,000, then (103,000
divided by 250 visits per person) could mean that as few as 412 people have
actually visited the place.
It reminds us of the famous “footfall” counts which the
borough uses to persuade us of the success of the town as a magnet for shoppers
which are not reflected in the cash registers of our local shops.
***
Why spending £840,000 on repairs to make
the building leasable is suddenly going to reverse the arena’s fortunes is
anyone’s guess – and it is scarcely the “once and for all” solution promised by
council leader Pete Bedford in his famous “vision” shortly after taking power.
The report which was rubber stamped by councillors on
Wednesday, said that the proposed spend
would take the total projected capital cost of the PRSA to the taxpayer up to
£7,141,258.
This is despite the report which we mentioned last week –
made just before the Bypass Independents lost control of the council – which
said that the total as long ago as May 2010 was £8,275,298.
Perhaps someone could tell us why there is a discrepancy of
more than a million pounds?
***
Given the internal feelings about the PRSA and the huge
amount that has been frittered away by successive councils – largely as a
continuing face-saving exercise – we would have thought that enough opposition
existed to try to block this latest wastefulness.
Numerically, the combined opposition councillors do this, and
if they did so they would win a “no” vote by 16-15 and without a tie, the mayor
does not have a casting vote.
But could you seriously imagine the supine and largely
silent opposition of the last three and a half years having the spine to stand
up for the people of Boston after all this time?
Of course you couldn’t.
The closest we got was a Tweet from Councillor Paul Kenny –
one of “Boston’s Labour Councillors” of letters to the editor writing fame –
and prospective parliamentary Labour candidate for Boston at the general
election.
He wrote: “Boston Council scrutiny committee is meeting
tonight to consider whether to give PRSA yet more money. Should Boston give
PRSA more money?”
What was the point of that?
***
The one smile to be had from all of this came when Boston
Borough Council tried to promote the story on Twitter.
It made us wonder whether the huge support for the PRSA was
actually due to the fact that people were using it as a place to sleep
overnight.
***
The same Daily Drone that brought us the
PRSA rebuttal also managed to include an
old friend of Worst Street’s with the news that Pinchin’s family farm shop in Algarkirk was supporting
National Breakfast Week – with a link to
the firm’s website and pricelist.
We’ve mentioned the borough’s mysterious enthusiasm for promoting
Pinchin’s before – and as this latest plug appeared to resemble an advert,
mused as to whether it had been paid for – or just produced gratis.
And more to the point … why does just this one company come
in for such favourable coverage?
***
Promises of jam tomorrow are, of course, stock in trade for
politicians.
Now council leader Bedford has resorted to them as well with
his latest comment in the Bostory
Standard.
Telling us to “watch this space” he tells of “serious
interest” in developing Haven Wharf on the river along High Street.
“This shows confidence in the Barrier scheme being delivered
on time and able to do its job of flood protection,” he flutes.
“I think we are in for an exciting time ahead.”
Councillor Bedford is also quoted in a Lincolnshire County
Council report on the Boston Barrier which announces that County Hall will
decide how best to realise the economic benefits arising from the £90 million
project – towards which is has “earmarked” £11m to give Boston an “economic
boost.”
Boston Borough Council’s Head Office in Lincoln says that
certain economic benefits will happen automatically as a result of reducing the
risk of tidal flooding in the borough.
But the crock at the end of the rainbow for them is that
future waterways improvements, such as the Fens Waterway Link, will become
possible because the barrier can be used to hold water in the Haven.
Until recently it was thought that doing this straight away
would bring “significant” economic regeneration.
But now we are told that leaving it until later, and making
other investments, such as new moorings and upgraded locks first will bring
benefits sooner “and with greater certainty.”
In his customary “how high” response to the council’s
instruction to jump, leader Bedford is quoted as saying “It has always been the
Borough Council’s and the community’s view that the vital flood defence
elements of the Boston Barrier must take absolute priority and be delivered on
time.
“Using the Barrier to also hold water back in The Haven to
create new regeneration opportunities is also very exciting, and now might form
a future phase of the project, while regeneration monies are spent on
associated and more immediate improvements at Grand Sluice and on additional
moorings.
“This will ensure that our town sees earlier benefits from
Lincolnshire County Council’s investment without disadvantaging our existing
boating community or slowing progress on the Barrier.”
It must be very comforting to the powers that be in Lincoln
to know that an investment of around ten
per cent of the project cost gives them a 100 per cent say in what happens as
far as the people of Boston are concerned.
***
The Leader is certainly in an upbeat mood these days.
Elsewhere in his Bostory
Standard manifesto, he turns to the state of the town’s shops.
“I know and understand concerns about some shop premises becoming
vacant in the town,” he says – in an apparent admission that everything’s
perhaps not coming up roses in the garden after all.
“We are never complacent about this,” he rambles.
Really?
“Some will continue to trade and are moving to other
premises.
“And two national chains are prepared to put their money
into the town, showing they have confidence in Boston's future.
“Lidl has applied for permission to build a new supermarket
and Pandora, a national jewellery chain, is already here.
“Jewellery is a luxury purchase, but two other jewellers
have big plans. Maude’s is moving to bigger premises and Wilcox and Carter is
expanding and having a revamp. “When businesses trading in luxury items are
prepared to invest it says a lot about confidence in the future.”
All this speculation about what prompts investment is rather
vacuous, and proves nothing at all.
We suspect that the raison d'être behind Lidl’s decision to set
up shop in Boston – which may not have the smoothest ride when it reaches the
planning committee next week – is more likely driven by the fact that it has
stores open or planned almost everywhere else of any size, and that Boston
represents one of the few remaining missing links in its chain.
As far as the move by Maude’s is concerned, we suspect that
if truth be told it is more likely prompted by a desire to quit the ethnic
quarter that much of West Street has now become.
And as for Wilcox and
Carter – after years of operating from a space little bigger than the broom
cupboard in many other shops– it seems
not unreasonable that they should want a bit more room to swing a tiara.
***
Recently, we mentioned that South Holland District Council
was the only absentee from the proposed “business pool” involving Lincolnshire
County Council and the other districts.
Whilst our suggestion that Boston might well lose out on the
deal, which would see the county council benefit by more than £1 million, could
still be correct, it seems that South Holland has very valid reason for keeping
its distance at this stage.
An insider tells us: “This ‘pool’ is better described as a
Business Rates Growth Pool and will benefit Boston Borough Council as well as Lincolnshire
County Council provided income from business rates grows.
“It will be a dis-benefit if the opposite applies however!
“South Holland have not signed up to this pool because the
power station in Peterborough has sought a revaluation of its rateable value.
“Until the result of this appeal is known, SHDC face an
unacceptable risk of incurring the dis-benefit noted above as there are two
power stations (Spalding and Sutton Bridge) in the district which could follow
suit if the appeal is successful.
“By not signing up, any dis-benefit risk remains in Westminster,
not SHDC or the pool.”
***
In the debate over “career politicians” the charge has been
made on several occasions that the UKIP candidate for Boston and Skegness –
Robin Hunter-Clarke – has no real-life work experience.
So, when the picture here appeared in our local “newspapers”
we thought that he might be trading on his minimal credentials as a part time
usher at the Embassy Centre in Skegness by announcing a ventriloquism act.
It wasn’t until we read further that we realised that the
candidate was introducing his youngest recruit – fourteen year old Billy
Brookes.
But when we read on, we wondered whether we had been right
in the first place.
The dialogue went like this:
BB: I am looking forward to getting more involved and
fighting for a UKIP victory in May. Robin
has proved young people can succeed in politics as he is 22, a local councillor
and now standing for parliament. We need real change in our town and I will
definitely be standing for council as soon as I am 18."
RH-C: “This is great news for the party locally and for
Skegness. Younger people are turning to UKIP, as the other parties have
betrayed them and let them down on many issues such as tuition fees.
"I am a huge advocate for getting more young people
involved in politics and I am very pleased Billy has decided to join the team.
"He is now our youngest member, and could well be one
of the youngest members nationally.
"It is clear to me that he has a very bright future
ahead of him indeed."
After this piece of mutual back-slapping, we were left
wondering which of them could say “a gottle of gear” without moving his lips.
***
Amidst all this, Master Hunter-Clarke vowed that he was
committed to a free NHS – and said that the Pilgrim Hospital would benefit from
his party’s pledge for extra funding.
This drew a stern rebuke from his one-time rival for the
constituency nomination, Paul Wooding, who said: “Talk is cheap Hunter-Clarke
... and your 'story' of the hypothetical £3 billion is indeed ‘ab absurdo’ (from absurdity – editor’s
helping hand)
“It's all pie in the sky figures designed to fool voters to
vote for them.
“What kind of pre-election, vote garnering hype of a quote
is...'the Pilgrim Hospital will benefit from his party's pledge for extra
funding?'
“He might as well promise a nice pink fluffy bunny to each
of the patients as well for what good his empty rhetoric means.
“The £3 billion extra promised by UKIP is as likely as a
contestant left standing in a one legged a*se kicking competition.
“It's a figment of their imagination designed to sidestep
the furore caused when Nigel Farage, Matthew Richardson and Paul Nuttell have
all but said they would eventually privatise the NHS.
“It's in print, in the papers, on video and on the news.....it's
real.....so the £3 billion is just an illusionist's clever deceptive
move.
"Haud ignota
loquor (I say things that are known – editor’s helping hand).
"You use second hand motions in council; hardly speak in
chambers (just pulling silly childish faces).
"Any potential voter should really tune in to the (county)
council webcam to see your performance.
"He has not even had the courage to come clean to the
voting public and answer the long awaited questions being asked by the
electorate....those being.....
“a) Explain how it transpired that you were able to inveigle
the Boston and Skegness candidacy from under the noses of the shortlist you
selected?
“b) Was Farage involved in, or in collusion for you to be
added to the list even though you had not applied originally?
“c) When your name was added by the NEC at least a month
before the hustings, why did you not either refuse participation on moral
grounds or give the other shortlisted candidates, including me, enough time to
prepare to go up against a branch manager?
“d) Why did you email me and the others in August asking us
to send a CV and A4 speech idea sheet to your personal email for you to study
and use in an underhand way?
“e) Why did you have from August till November to prepare
your speech and the rest of the shortlist, including me, had less than 24 hours?
"Finally, a Latin phrase I truly believe suits your
character...." marcet sine
adversario virtus" (English translation; "Valour becomes feeble
without an opponent.”
The above quote is by Seneca (editor’s helping hand)
***
We don’t know what the Latin is for “this correspondence is
now closed,” but Mr Wooding has asked
for support for his stance as an
Independent if enough people wish him to do so
– which they can do by texting “yes” or no” to 07770 192960, tweet
@djsharkyp : email djsharkyp@gmail.com
or comment in the Boston Eye.
We are happy to give him this opportunity to comment on
other candidates’ statements – as we would with any other contender – but not
to continually use the platform to rubbish the successful candidate and his
selection process.
It’s now water under the bridge.
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
