69 days to the elections
Suddenly, we seem to have general election candidates coming
at us from all directions.
We now have eight declared candidates – with a
possibility of nine should Paul Wooding decide to throw his hat into the ring..
But as of now, we have Matt Warman (Conservative,) Paul
Kenny (Labour,) David Watts (Lib Dem,) Robin Hunter-Clarke (UKIP,) Victoria
Percival (Green,) “Rev” Robert West (BNP,) Chris Pain (An Independence from
Europe,) and Lyn Luxton (Lincolnshire Independents.)
Whilst on the face of it, this appears to be an eclectic
range of political choices come 7th May, the fact is that there is a
strong streak of Conservatism – other than the official candidate – running
through the list, in the form of one-time Tories Boy Wonder Robin Hunter-Clarke, “Rev” West … both of whom have been
Conservative councillors, and Lyn Luxton, who made an unsuccessful bid to be
selected for the Boston and Skegness seat at Westminster..
In case you’re wondering why we keep referring to “Rev” West (pictured left) – it is that by some accounts he is as entitled to that honorific as we are to
call ourselves King Boston of Eye.
According to a BBC report when he quit South Holland
District Council as a Tory back in 2006, “he has set up his own church, based in
a house in Holbeach, to preach ‘traditional bible beliefs,’”
The last yearly report for this church – “The Christian
Council of Britain” – was published in 2010, when membership stood as around
45.
The choice seems a wide one, but frankly, we consider it to
be between
the Conservatives and UKIP – with Labour coming in third place.
***
As time goes by, the tide seems to be turning for UKIP – but
perhaps not in the direction that they might wish.
In September last year, a Survation opinion poll commissioned by the Kippers gave the
Tories 26% of the vote, Labour 21% and UKIP a political earthquake measuring
46% on the Richter scale!
Having said that, the sample was criticised for being
smaller than people who take these things seriously like to see – and was just 595.
That was then – this is now, and the most recent survey done
specifically with Boston and Skegness in mind was published at the end of last
week by the Conservative peer Lord Michael Ashcroft..
Of the 1,000 people questioned, 39% declared that they would
be voting Conservative; 17% Labour; 5% Lib Dem; 35% UKIP; Green 3% and “Others” 2%.
Lord Ashcroft found UKIP “within striking distance” of the
Tories for the General Election and said they had the edge in the ground
campaign.
Meanwhile, UKIP says the figures were “skewed” – and so it goes
on.
Only one thing is certain …
We’ll know more on Friday 8th May.
***
As the campaign gathers pace, we wonder whether we have seen
the first sign of what might be called “shenanigans”
A Tweet from the
leader of the Labour Group on Boston Borough Council, Paul Gleeson suggests
that UKIP
door steppers might not be playing the game with voters.
***
After all those claims about the “Name and Shame” campaign
aimed at preventing anti-social behaviour in Boston town centre, we at last
have some solid information – thanks to a Freedom of Information request to
Boston Borough Council by a Boston Eye
reader.
So far, it seems that 30 pictures of alleged offenders have
been published, resulting in nine identifications of the person in the photo –
note that we do not use the word “culprit” as one of them was “incorrectly
identified.”
In response to the question: “How many have been publicly
been named and shamed?” the borough council replied: “The question is
ambiguous. So far 30 images have been published (shamed) and of those eight
have been correctly identified to the council (named.)
“To cover any ambiguity – it has never been the intention
of the campaign to publicly name anyone.”
Such an answer suggests still further ambiguity – or
vagueness, doubt, puzzle, uncertainty, obscurity, enigma, equivocation,
inconclusiveness, indefiniteness, dubiety, dubiousness, tergiversation,
indeterminateness, equivocality, doubtfulness, and equivocacy.
We have better things to do with our time than to count the
number of occasions on which Boston Borough Council has employed the phrase
“name and shame” to describe this well-past-its-sell-by-date publicity stunt –
and now the council has the effrontery to claim that this
precisely worded campaign never intended to name anyone in the first place.
Perhaps that is just as well, since one of the people
“named” to the council, turned out to be guilty of … nothing at all.
But back to the FoI request.
Of the nine – oops, sorry – eight people named – oops, sorry
– “identified to the council” just four have been issued with fixed penalty notices,
of whom only three have paid.
Not terribly good, really, is it?
However, in a last ditch attempt to snatch victory from the
jaws of defeat, the council claimed: “There has been a marked decline in
littering, coinciding with the campaign and the introduction of the new drink
control zone.”
We look forward to the next issue of Boston Borough’s
Council’s “Help us not fine people whose names we get wrong” campaign.
***
When information such as this reaches the public domain, it
does much to undermine the perceived efficacy of things such as CCTV
monitoring.
In Boston, it already costs a fortune – with little to show for
it.
Recently, Lincolnshire Police raised concerns that a proposed CCTV
control room merger between Boston and East Lindsey would diminish the service
– with fears that incidents could be missed because there will be too many cameras to monitor.
Boston has already announced that it is taking over the South
Holland District Council’s CCTV scheme, which covers Spalding, Holbeach,
Crowland, Long Sutton and Sutton Bridge.
We think that keeping a watchful eye on the nefarious
goings-on in three such large districts is an accident waiting to happen.
***
As the skies above the PRSA become ever more crowded with
flying elephants and slices of pie, we found ourselves musing over the
conundrum of why Boston is not a far fitter place than it is.
For what may well be the first time, a report before the
full council meeting in Worst Street on Monday spells out just how much has
been spent on sporting facilities in recent years.
The report – “Leisure, Health and Wellbeing Services” –
looks at the “progress” made on the borough’s three main leisure facilities …
the Peter Paine Sports Centre, the Geoff Moulder Leisure Centre, and best
beloved of all, the Princess Royal Sports Arena. (PRSA) and considers options
for “affordable investment” to protect the facilities and services for the
residents of the borough.
It is interesting to see the Peter Paine listed with the
other two facilities – given that it was leased to Boston College by the
borough council at a “peppercorn” rent after what some saw as an iron fist in
the iron glove approach to wrest the centre back from the board of charitable
trustees tasked with running it.
As a result the college was able to acquire funding to
improve the centre – but also benefited from being able to put assets up for sale
that were worth many times more, and which are not for sharing with the riff
raff who pay the council tax,
The report describes the success of the venture since then,
claiming that the Peter Paine attracts between 25,000 and 30,000 visitors a
year “compared to diminishing numbers being experienced by the previous
operations” – which contradictorily are listed as “not available” in the same
section of the report.
But it has to be asked how many of those attending the
centre are members of the “public” – as opposed to students benefitting from a generous
gift funded by Boston taxpayers and government grants.
The centre’s website says that the Peter Paine offers the
public “shared facilities” and is
available to the hoi-polloi on “weekday evenings, Saturdays and school
holidays.”
Based on that, we think it unlikely that the non-college
take-up of facilities is especially high.
On now to the Geoff Moulder Leisure Centre ...
Regular readers will recall another “deal” between the
council and outside organisations under which a local schools federation and
swimming group got first dibs on facilities in exchange for signing up to a
partnership under which Worst Street stumped up £150,000 from reserves for “improvements”
to be paid back over a number of years.
We long ago lost track of the amount of money being poured
into the Moulder pool – but in this respect, the report is most helpful …
showing as it does a total revenue investment of £2,878,000 between 2009/10 and
2014/15.
By comparison, the PRSA seems cheap, having cost a mere £1,060,000
over the same period.
All of that is before the bio-massive plan to blow up to
£840,000 from the reserves to fund PRSA repairs and improvements to be repaid by
the savings gained once another £560,000
from the reserves is spent on energy efficiency projects at the two centres.
Interestingly, the forecast income and savings are a
combination of fuel savings, the Renewable Heating Incentive the Feed in Tariff
and sale
of discounted green electricity to PRSA operator.
We’d like to know a little more about that one!
***
So, with all this spending, and thousands of people using
the facilities each week, why do the borough’s health statistics make such
depressing reading?
The health and leisure report claims that 30,000 a year attend
the Peter Paine, 260,000 use the Moulder while 16,400 opt for the PRSA.
Whilst the figures seem impressive at first sight, the daily
attendances are much smaller than the grand totals imply.
The Moulder figures in particular are beefed up by the fact
that the pool is used by the Witham Schools federation on a regular basis – the
council recently disclosed that the organisation sends almost 600 pupils a week
to the pool – 30,000 visits a year … whilst other visits by children add another
20,000 to the figures.
It is essential in this part of the world that our
youngsters learn to swim, and as the schools in the federation are paying an
annual fee to use the pool, we would expect high numbers.
But how about the grown-ups?
Last year’s Health Profile for Boston highlighted a number
of sectors with a red circle, which means that they are significantly worse than the average for England.
They included the percentage of physically active adults
which is much lower than the rest of
England – as is the incidence of obesity
and diabetes … both of which are lifestyle related.
In fact no section of the report dealing with adults' health
and lifestyle or children's and young people's health scores significantly
better than the England average
At a guess, we would say that the council is preaching to
the converted when it comes to attendances at the sports centres – which makes
them puff with pride rather than
exercise, and brag incessantly about their “achievements.”
***
One problem area that we know all about in Boston is
drinking in the street, which is now to be the subject of yet another expensive
implementation of legislation designed to stamp it out.
But we sincerely hope that a suggestion from one of our
councillors goes no further.
A recent “newspaper” report told us that after hearing of
the failure of a course designed to prevent alcohol related offences in
Grantham – only one person turned up – our Time Lord related Councillor Stephen
Woodliffe (Councillor Who?) – told Lincolnshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner,
Alan Hardwick: “I urge you strongly to take it to Boston. The town is a prime
target for this.
“I am sure the borough council will support this. The long
term plan is to deter people from street drinking so this would be worthwhile.”
The course is offered by Lincolnshire Police and Addaction,
and targets offenders who have received fixed penalty notices for committing
low-level alcohol related crime such as being drunk and disorderly.
We don’t know about drinking – but we wonder what Councillor
Woodliffe has been smoking … and where we might buy some!
***
The scraping of bottoms of barrels continues with a final
report to the council on joining Die
Hanse – a resurrected modern alliance of the medieval trade association
known as the Hanseatic League … of which Boston was once a member.
In much the same way that Boston overeggs the pudding where
its Pilgrim Fathers connections are
concerned, history is again being rewritten to infer that the Hanseatic League
would have been nothing without us – even though our involvement was little
more than as a medieval trading post, in which Hanseatic merchants held a “house”
and an area to conduct trade, a “steelyard” in the town.
Because connection to the league works well in other places
which have more to offer visitors, Boston Borough Council is again keen to leap
on another’s bandwagon.
Be that as it may … to paraphrase the opening of a legendary
television series …
There is a fifth
dimension beyond that which is known to man, as vast as space and as timeless
as infinity … it lies between the pit of man's fears and the summit of his
knowledge. It is an area which we call the
Acronym Zone.
According to the report on joining Die Hansa, the opportunity has been recognised both within the
authority and with those partners and stakeholders which include the Boston
Area Partnership (BAP) and the Boston Visitor Economy Partnership (BVEP.)
So, what’s this BVEP?
According to the Lincolnshire
Chamber – whose dead hand is on the tiller in so many things to do with Boston
– BVEP is a mix of public and private sector organisations with a common vision
- to grow Boston's visitor economy. BVEP meets around four times a year, and
its “key driver” for activity is the Boston Area Destination Management Plan
(DMP) which “sets out the context of the area’s visitor economy and identifies
actions to support development.”
So far so confusing – although we can appreciate why the
Boston Area Destination Management Plan is not more precisely initialised as
BADMP!
Which brings us to BAP.
In recent years the word has had just one meaning in Boston
– large filled bread rolls which locals take for a walk around the town centre
whilst chewing them to death in the process.
But the other BAP is proving slightly more vague.
The last reference to it appears on Boston Borough Council’s
website and is dated June 2013.
But look any further and you reach a dead end.
Although it is a
publicly accountable organisation, we can find no trace of its meeting dates and minutes.
Even worse, the most recent document available online is the
“Boston
Area Partnership Community Strategy 2004-2009.”
Even though it is six years out of date, it says nothing different
to every borough council aim and objective published since Noah was a lad – few
of which have been achieved.
So … is there a BAP – and if so what has it been
doing?
Would Boston’s chances of seeing improvements be better if
there were fewer talking shops and acronymised gatherings of the great and the
good coming up with slogans rather than
actions?
We are sure that our chances would be much enhanced – but if
the members of these groups were forced to act rather than talk we suspect that an
avalanche of resignations would be in the post almost immediately.
***
Perhaps it’s as well that BAP has no recent minutes to read.
A report in 2013 on the Boston Visitor Economy, detailed the
headline role of the BADMP thus:
Address and combine the diversity of offers … Recognise,
strengthen and coordinate different functions … Manage and monitor impacts …
Prioritise and allocate resources …
Generate further support and resource and … Identify the opportunities and threats
to the destination which involves “enabling objectives to be relevant, long
term visions to be captured, opportunities to be harnessed and issues
addressed.”
Pass the waffle iron, please.
***
A persistent headline on Boston Borough Council’s website
announces: “Hatter Lane lockout proposed”
Recommendation for the deed to be done was on the agenda of the
Boston Town Area Committee – B-Tacky – on Wednesday.
By this morning, it will
A: doubtless have
been passed
And
B: been celebrated as yet another get-tough measure by
Boston Borough Council in the war in anti-social behaviour.
But is it a big problem?
Not really, according to Lincolnshire Police.
Between July and December last year only two police incidents linked to Hatter
Lane were reported – neither of which was defined as a
crime.
On November 29th last year, two men were seen “apparently”
removing jeans with tags from beneath their jumpers.
“Officers attended and stop/searched two males; no
instruments or apparently stolen property was found on them although officers
did find two pairs of well-worn jeans in a bin (no tags or instruments suitable
for de-tagging found). No offences having been disclosed the males’ details
were recorded and they were allowed to go on their way.”
The second “incident” was on 9th December 2014 when police were
told of a female, “who was apparently heavily in drink” using the alleyway as a
toilet.
“Officers attended but the female had already left and was
not found.”
Ever eager to assist, the police searched earlier dates and
discovered that on 21st March 2014, officers attended a report of males causing
a disturbance and being verbally abusive at the rear of Pickwick’s Wine Bar.
Names were taken, and alcohol was poured down a drain.
On 31st March a PCSO saw a man drinking alcohol
and “moved him on” after words of advice.
On 5th April a PCSO saw evidence that alcohol was
still being drunk in the area in the shape of empty bottles and cans – although
no-one was present.
On 24th April a PCSO noted the presence of human
faeces but no signs of drinking.
None of the above appears to make Hatter Lane the Hell’s
Kitchen that Boston Borough Council depicts.
The feeble idea that clearing detritus from the lane daily
would prevent future problems was exactly that – and it seems almost that this
was the hope in Worst Street so as to justify what appears to be yet another
sledgehammer to crack a nut.
***
Having mentioned B-Tacky once – there is just one other
point that emerges from this week’s meeting.
B-Tacky is famous for giving money away like there is no tomorrow
– and there is never a shortage of people lining up to dip their sticky paws in
this bran tub of largesse.
By the time you read this, the committee will almost
certainly have approved yet another payment to the Friends of Witham Way
Country Park.
The Friends have received a donation from BTAC “each year
for several years” to cover the cost of hiring a portaloo for volunteers from
North Sea Camp to use while carrying out “essential work.”
A report to the committee said: “BTAC makes the donation of
approximately £600 as an annual payment to cover the cost of the hire from May
to September each year.
“The Friends ask that this amount is increased to £750 per
year, which will enable them to hire the portaloo from April until the end of
September or even early October, and so allow the volunteers to extend the
period of their work.”
Whilst this sort of thing is praiseworthy, it has become too
much of a habit for our liking.
B-Tacky has a kitty available for people to tap into each
year – supposedly to benefit areas of the town on which it levies a special
charge to “serve.”
In an ideal world, this money should be shared fairly and
even handedly.
But when an organisation sees it as little more than an
annual birthday treat from a kind old Uncle, something is not right.
The Friends appear to regard this grant as something of an
entitlement, for which they no longer have to budget – as is the case with the
“volunteer” convicts who do all the hard
work.
This year they are looking for a 25% hike in their donation so it might be an idea to check the
prices available.
But none of this will have worried B-Tacky.
***
As they well know at Boston Borough Council, rogue landlords
are a very bad thing – but a news item that caught our eye this week raised yet
another question.
Next month the £110,000 gift from the government to attack the problem runs out –
but, we are told, Boston Borough Council has decided to release “a fresh pot of
money” to continue the scheme.
So many pots of money seem to be around these days that it
is hard to swallow the Worst Street bleat that times are as hard as they claim.
***
No where is this better demonstrated than in a job advert that recently appeared online.
That's what we call a good starting wage ... and for an apprentice, too!
***
A sorry sign of the times appeared in a recent cabinet
agenda item concerning such an apparently simple thing as reviewing cab fares
in Boston.
It appear in the form of a request by the Boston Hackney
Carriage Association for the addition of a “soiling charge” as well as
increasing charges.
At first, we wondered if this was some sort of throwback to
Victorian days, when a horse drawn cab might leave a steaming pile of rose
manure in its wake for some other poor devil to clear up.
But no.
Further inquiries showed this to be a request for claims for compensation to be paid to taxi drivers in the event of someone – for example
– throwing up all over the interior of their cab.
If, as they say, there is no smoke without fire, we assume
that the problem has now become so acute that our cabbies feel the need for
positive discrimination against those who lose their grip on their alimentary
canal during the journey home from one of our local nightclubs.
First, the streets and gutters fell prey to this foulness,
now the taxis.
Where will it all end?
On an Into Town bus, we suspect.
***
After such gloomy news – a ray of sunshine.
The one week of the year when Boston becomes a clean and
presentable place falls next month with the eighth annual Big Boston Clean Up.
Which has seen local people fed up with finding rubbish
everywhere they go collecting more than 71 tons of rubbish so far.
Once again, the need for such an occasion highlights the
inadequacy of the actions by Boston Borough Council so far to prevent littering
– rather than sweep up after the horse has bolted.
***
Finally …
After all the thousands of words devoted to flooding in
Boston, a recent entry on the borough council website brought a smile to our
lips and made us think of Corporal Jones
from Dad’s Army…
Can’t think why.
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
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