As the leader of Lincolnshire County Council Martin Hill was
outlining plans for a brave new world which would see the county operating as a
single authority, Boston was getting used to the idea that the clock was being
wound back.
As he was telling the council’s annual meeting: “The signal
to Whitehall could hardly be clearer – councils are ready for change,” Boston
Borough Council was announcing a Heath Robinson amalgamation of the previous
leaderships in what has aptly been called a “soft” coalition.
The sheer desperation of such a move – clearly intended
solely as a way for the Conservative group to cling on to power and share as
little as possible with the UKIP members ... who hold as many seats as the
Tories – beggars belief.
Four years ago, when the Tories gained power from the Boston
Bypass Independents, the BBI was said to have subjected Boston to "four
years of nonsense" prompting "time for a change" and a
"more democratic and transparent council."
In the four years between 2011 and 2015, the Conservatives have blamed almost every single problem faced by Boston Borough Council on the
BBI – and their dislike for each other has blazed like a desert sun.
***
Now though, the willingness of two so-called “independents”
to weigh in and give council leader Peter Bedford the majority he needs means
that the Tories have apparently put their animosity behind them – although we
somehow doubt it.
Quite what the rank and file made of the council’s own coverage of the coalition and the prominence given to the Austins after they had spent so many years being scapegoated for the state in which they allegedly left the authority is anyone’s guess.
But clearly, this was not a plan that gained instant
approval, as it took far longer than the returned-unopposed leader had predicted – and he has never been wrong
before!
As this is politics, we are sure that the ex-BBI sheep in wolf’s clothing are not acting
from the goodness of their hearts by helping Bedford force his dreary and
unimaginative policies on voters, many of whom don’t want them.
Wait and see, and we are sure that some handsome benefits
will be doled out to this saintly duo who have given the word independent an
entirely new meaning.
***
The real irony for voters is that historically, they elected
the BBI on the strength of promises they couldn’t deliver, then threw them out
as a punishment and elected the Tories ... who have now been rejected for
precisely the same reasons.
Bedford’s new look cabinet – well, more secondhand than
new – is his best effort at making a silk purse from a sow’s ear.
Moving seamlessly from the previous line-up to the present
one are Councillor Michael Brookes, Aaron Councillor Spencer and Councillor
“Who” ... Stephen Woodliffe.
Paul Skinner – a
one-time county councillor, and husband of Judith, who was re-elected to Worst
Street earlier this month – takes over the poisoned chalice of town centre
development and management, car parks, markets and public toilets ... a
portfolio memorably held by Councillor Derek “Knocker” Richmond.
The remaining cabinet posts are filled by Councillors Claire
Rylott and Ben Evans, who take on leisure services, and housing respectively.
***
Leader Bedford unsurprisingly called his crew “a good mix of
people for the council’s cabinet – some with council experience and all of them
very level headed. These are people the residents of the town and borough and
the staff of the council can have confidence in.
“They will help drive forward good governance and
performance from the firm basis provided by the past four years. We are all
committed to the regeneration of Boston, for which much of the groundwork has
now been done.
“National chains are showing confidence in Boston with
expansion and new development and we will continue to seek value for money with
shared services such as the current arrangements for refuse collection that we
have with East Lindsey District Council and CCTV with South Holland and North
Kesteven District Councils.”
Aside from the fact that his description of his colleagues
was what we expected (“you can’t have maverick voices”) we are less confident
about his remaining claims.
Quite what has been done to regenerate the place aside from
the Market Place which was “refurbished” and then abandoned by the council
years ago is hard to recall.
The national chains interested in Boston tend to be of the
pound shop variety and promises of still more shared services may well be
subsumed along with Boston Borough Council into a single Lincolnshire
authority.
***
Though he has little to be optimistic about these days,
Leader Bedford is reported to be unfazed by talk of a unitary authority
“There are no plans to abolish district councils following
the meeting of Lincolnshire County Council on Friday,” said the man who is not
a member and as far as we know was not at the meeting.
"There are no plans to abolish district councils. We
continue to focus on making a difference for our residents and communities.
“We have a strong track record of delivery and clear plans
for the future, with robust financial strategies and a great team. We can be
proud of what we have achieved, and we can move forward with confidence."
He reportedly said that Boston Borough Council would “continue
to work in the best interests of its communities',” and “engage with partners
on a wide range of issues.”
We don't know what he’s smoking, but we hope that it runs
out soon, so that he can re-join the real world.
To us, a key issue to be addressed in Boston remains the
Market Place.
Promises of regular events and entertainment have failed to
materialise.
Promises to review the use of the pedestrianised area by
noisy and polluting buses have not been kept.
Promises to address the relationship between pedestrians and
drivers have been forgotten
We hope that Councillor Skinner will be allowed to bring a
breath of fresh air to his portfolio, as it would be disastrous if the
prescription of the mixture as before was allowed to continue.
***
***
One of the few planks in the leadership’s creaking manifesto
board-walk has become a little squeakier with the latest news concerning the
Boston Barrier.
The good news in the latest update on the project is that the
barrier remains on track to be completed by the end of 2019.
Something called a “design freeze” has taken place – which means
that the main parts of the scheme have been finalised so that design work can
be completed.
What happens now?
An “Environmental Statement” to confirm the impact of the project
is being drawn up to accompany the Transport and Works Act Order Application to
the Secretary of State.
As this is jobsworth driven, this will not happen until early 2016.
Apart from the sluggish timetable, progress on the barrier is excellent news.
But the sting in the tail is that Boston again looks like
being a loser in the game of making the town a more attractive place for the
people who live here as well as those who visit.
Part of the plan involved a financial injection of £11
million by Lincolnshire County Council.
This would have gone towards a project to hold back the
water behind the barrier which would mean better conditions for boats to travel
through Boston and to stop on their way through.
It was said at the time that this would enable Boston to
become part of Fens Waterways Link,
which would have seen boats travelling between the cathedral cities of Lincoln,
Peterborough and Ely able to pay us a visit as well.
But now, the county council is to adopt a “phased approach”
to managing the water levels – which in essence means doing nothing other than
saving £11 million in the short term, which despite promises in these fraught
economic times to
Recently, we asked whatever became of the plans for a £3
million marina project off Fenside Road for a 161-berth basin with facilities
including a restaurant, shops and workshops.
The plans were hailed as an opportunity to harness the
potential of one of the great assets in the area, and a step towards
regenerating the town as a whole.
They formed a cornerstone of the Fens Waterways Link, which
probably explains why they appear to have sunk without trace.
At the time the marina plan was approved, council leader Bedford
said: “This is an exciting development for Boston, and justifies the county
council putting £11 million funding up for the Boston Barrier and the
waterways.”
We wonder what he might say today – given that the leadership
position seems to be to look the other way whenever there is bad news to report.
No river link. No marina. No bypass – nor any chance of
getting anything other than a Lego-style “distributor road” which might take
decades to achieve … if ever it comes to pass – no pun intended.
It seems that yet again, the council that is “committed to
the regeneration of Boston” has kowtowed to county hall at the expense of
Boston’s future.
As the wheeling and dealing by the Tories to retain control
of Boston went on, there was even a suggestion that the two-strong Labour group
might have been planning some input in a
coalition.
But any such ideas were dismissed by their group leader
Councillor Paul Gleeson, who told Boston
Eye: “Because of both our ideological differences and a genuine belief they
would not work for all the communities in our town, we would oppose any attempt
by UKIP to control the council or committees of the council. I think they realise that and we have not
been approached by them. In fact I am
not aware of any attempt by them to try and form an administration.
“In respect of the Tories (coalition) the situation is as
last council.
“The Labour group as opposition councillors are prepared to
play an active role in the scrutiny process.
“Otherwise and without predetermining anything, I cannot
envisage a situation where we would support the administration in setting the
budget. Other policy proposals will be
considered on their merits.”
***
The love affair between Boston Borough Council and the Clan
Austin continued this week with Wednesday’s Boston Daily Drone dedicating its entire issue to Councillor Richard
Austin – who was elected as mayor at yesterday’s full council meeting.
Apparently, Councillor Austin is an authority on nematodes –
a form of worm that likes potatoes even more than fish and chip addicts – and which
make him the sort of man with whom we would not like to be stuck in a lift with
in the event of a breakdown.
Whilst Lincolnshire has always been a hard-to-reach
destination, we were surprised to read in the Boston Bulletin that a young
Richard Austin was parachuted into the fens to help potato growers battling the
dreaded worm.
There follows an almost day-by-day account of his life since
then, reminding us that he has had “good preparation” for the job of Boston’s
481st Mayor.
His wife, Alison has just completed a mayoral year with Mr
Austin as mayor’s consort, and Alison now moves from being mayor to mayoress –
only the second time this has happened.
For those readers fearful that the Austin mayoral dynasty
might fizzle out in twelve months’ time, we are pleased to be able to tell you
that according to the bulletin, they share their Wyberton home with Archie, the ginger cat.
Given the Austins’ interestingly influential position within
the Worst Street structure, we are sure that a minor amendment or two to the
council’s constitution could see the creation of Boston's first cat as mayor – Comarchus Archie Austin Cattus – as the idea is not without precedent.
A cat named Morris was a candidate for mayor of Xalapa,
Mexico in 2013 (pictured right.)
Mickelin the Cat was the leader of the Swedish Ezenhemmer
Plastic Bags and Child Rearing Utensils Party; in 1997, a cat named Stubbs was
elected mayor of Talkeetna, Alaska; Hank the Cat, a Maine Coon, ran for
Virginia's Senate seat in 2012 and earned third place with nearly 7,000 votes,
whilst Tuxedo Stan, from Halifax, Nova Scotia was a mayoral candidate in 2012.
Miaow-vellous!
***
The alliance between the Tories and their one-time Bypass
Independent foes, prompted an interesting e-mail from local UKIP organiser Don
Ransome – who was struck that the names of the proponents are both those of
now-obsolete cars and vans.
And he came up with his own description of the “the Austin-Bedford charabanc transport
service” – calling it “A retro style vehicle normally stuck in reverse, running
on part-worn policies, ready to take the taxpayers of Boston for a ride along
the virtual bypass route!”
By an eerie coincidence, his thoughts mirrored our own from
nine years ago, when we wrote about the creation of the Austin-Jordan OBE (old banger executive) at the time when Richard
Austin led the council and his deputy was Councillor Peter Jordan.
Our description of it ran thus: “It has two cylinders, a
dickey seat (other parts aren't too good either!) and the car comes with rose
tinted glass and a back seat driver as standard.
“It has no brakes so that it can continue to ride roughshod
over anyone who stands in its way, and no reverse gear. There is no steering
thus ensuring that U turns, however necessary, are impossible - and an automatic gearbox with two speeds – dead
slow and stop.
“Extras include hot air conditioning and a dimmer switch.
"In a nod to the environment the car has been produced (on
the back of a fag packet) in a green version.
“Initially, there were plans to run the engine using steam,
but the BBI ran out of this very early on in the design stage.
“It will now run on methane - powered by its own bull***t.”
Plus ça change, plus
c’est la même chose.
Both of these are ideas for their time, although we think that the former children’s’ TV favourite from the 1950s – Colonel Crock, pictured above – is a more appropriate image.
***
Meanwhile, local Tories have come up with another
interesting way to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.
After seeing large numbers of their local election candidates
confined to the political graveyard, it looks as though they are planning to
cash in on their election rout.
Certainly their timing is impeccable – as being so recently
bereaved at the ballot box, they are well placed to deliver just the right level of sympathy required for
a wake!
***
Interestingly, deep in the vaults of the county archive lies
proof that history repeats itself – in the form of the medieval Boston Book of Days, which includes
illustrations reflecting the Tory resumption of power ...
... and the difficulties that follow such a hollow victory.
Interestingly for political historians, we suspect that the
Tories of yore look more content because of the absence of a party called
YEKIP!
***
A less than amusing sidebar to the recent elections was
provided by a reader who fears that the
system placed him at risk of being burgled due to lack of confidentiality.
He told Boston Eye:
“Knowing that we were going to be away, my wife and I applied for postal votes
for the first time in over 40 years.
“We thought our application would be confidential... but not
so!
“The Borough Council and Electoral Commission confirmed that
anyone can check to see who has been granted a postal vote – classed as an ‘Absent Voter.’
“A printed list is available for inspection by Burglar Bill and all political parties
and candidates can have a paper or electronic copy for use during the election
campaign.
“I was alerted to this by an additional election address
from a candidate who informed me: 'You will shortly be receiving your postal
vote'.
“There is no warning that the fact that I will be an absent
voter is made public!
“I wrote to the Electoral Commission and made it clear that
I would not apply for a postal vote in future! If away, I will simply not
bother to vote.
“I have spoken to other people who were also unaware of this
vulnerability in the system.”
***
On now to the world outside politics.
No sooner had we mentioned our ex-MP's return to the world
of work, than another job appeared on his post-Westminster CV. Former Africa minister Mark Simmonds has become a strategic
adviser to the International Hospitals Group (IHG), a firm based in
Buckinghamshire, which is involved in constructing hospitals in developing
countries.
Government documents show that Simmonds was a minister when he met representatives
of the firm in December 2012 and July 2013 to discuss projects in Ghana. IHG
has been involved in developing hospitals in Angola, Libya, Mozambique and
Botswana.
Simmonds’ job with IHG is his seventh private role to be approved
by the advisory committee on business appointments (Acoba), which must be
consulted before senior ministers and civil servants can take up new jobs.
Boston Eye listed
the other six last week.
Sadly, now that he is no longer a public servant (chortle)
his income from all these jobs is a matter between himself and HMRC.
However, these sinecures typically start at the lower end in
the £30,000 region and increase according to the level of “responsibility”
required.
So Mr Simmonds should already be comfortably ahead of the
£89,000 parliamentary salary which he dismissed as insufficient to maintain a
normal family life.
***
At long last – after more than two years – the Boston Big
Local Plan for 2015 -2017 has been approved.
The really good news is for Boston Borough Council – as we have been predicting ever since the Big
Local was announced and the great and the good were at pains to stress that the
£1 million available was not to be allowed to pay for services provided by
local councils and the like.
Now, we hear that among the “activities” approved we can
expect:
Free lunchtime family activity sessions at the Geoff Moulder
Training Pool – effectively a subsidy that will benefit the council.
Provision of better quality planters in Boston town centre –
effectively a subsidy to the Boston in
Bloom group in which the borough council is heavily involved.
Installation of new play equipment in Central Park.
Responsibility for the park and its play areas is that of Boston Borough
Council. Not only that but Worst Street has already announced that play
equipment in Central Park is to be updated and refurbished as part of a £40,000
project of investment by WREN (Waste Recycling Environmental Limited), BTAC
(Boston Town Area Committee) and the council.
Running a small grants program (sic) with funding up to £1,000
for community groups. Boston Borough
Council’s Town Area Committee – B-Tacky – already does this, so there is a
potential for savings to the authority.
Expanding the Fit 4 your
Future programme to include the private sector giving accessible financial
advice to residents. The organisation is
a coalition of Boston Mayflower, Boston Citizen's Advice Bureau and TaylorITEX
CIC.
In summary, Boston Big Local says that its “vision” for central
Boston “is for a happy vibrant area where people feel a sense of belonging.
“We aim to enhance the local area for the benefit of
residents and businesses. Our objectives are to build closer communications
between all people, make the area more attractive, encourage new businesses and
help make the facilities better, improve the environment for all and help
ensure cleaner and safer streets.”
Very laudable – but almost word for word the remit of Boston
Borough Council.
Doubtless the plan will be heartily endorsed in Worst
Street, as the potential for thousands of pounds to be saved leaps off the
page.
Be afraid, be very afraid, next time someone tells you:
“There’s no government arm in Boston involved in any of this. It is totally
community led … We’re all going to be working together to help the residents
work very, very closely with the lottery so the residents are equipped to
manage this funding. There will be extensive community consultation done right
across Boston, so everybody will have a say.
“This money will not be dictated by Boston Borough Council … It will be totally dictated by the local
community ... it is their say where this money is spent”
The Big Local would argue that its members took the decision
– but what a happy co-incidence that the main beneficiary should be the
council.
***
Our last item mentioned B-Tacky – which for years has been the personal banking
arm of the Worst Street cabinet – due to a Tory majority on the committee.
It is supposed to act as a “parish council” for the town
wards. But seldom, if ever, does spending of specific benefit to an individual
ward take place.
Not only that, but the committee’s grant scheme has handed
over large amounts of cash to organisations not truly covered by its rules.
Its most infamous decision in recent times was to underwrite
the £4,000 cost of a memorial unveiled to mark the 96th anniversary of the end of the First
World War in case the council’s “publicly funded” appeal failed to come up with the cash ... which at
one time seemed very likely.
There was never any doubt that such funding was way outside
the committee’s sphere, but B-Tacky didn't let that become a problem.
Now, however, things could be about to change.
Although the non-UKIP
members of the council as a whole have ganged up to block the way forward for the
new arrivals that so many voters wanted to see in charge, they have no say in
the membership of B-Tacky.
If councillors are elected to a town centre ward, then they
have a place on B-Tacky by right. – and after the recent election, the
structure of the committee stands like this ...
This means that for the first time in four years, it ought
to be possible for B-Tacky to serve the town ward voters as was intended when
the committee was created ... and to spend in their interests rather than see
their funds syphoned off into the cabinet purse.
Ukippers awake! Salute the happy morn, whereon the chance of
democracy was born...
***
How best to present Boston’s image has always been tricky.
But in its efforts to make the place look rural and laid
back the Boston Target may have
overstepped the mark.
A recent issue portrayed the plan to develop the
riverside wharf buildings beside the Haven Bridge thus...
An interesting illustration for an area of the town which is
slap bang in the centre, packed with buildings,
roads and pavements.
It looks more like a newly discovered part of the Amazon
rainforest.
Or how about this, which accompanied a report of a major intervention
to head off the threat of overfishing of whelks?
Certainly, catching them in the way illustrated will definitely
slow down the rate at which they are taken from our seas – although it may be a
while before you have enough for a serving.
***
There will be no blog next week while we take a lie down in
a darkened room.
All things being equal, we’ll be back on Friday 6th
June.
But don’t forget, we’re still there if you need to get in
touch …
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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