market magic - Boston Borough Council

ISSUE 20 - NOVEMBER
BER 2011
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MARKET MAGIC
Boston Borough Council’s choir of
carolling councillors continues to grow
in voice – 11 are now tuning up to
flex their vocal chords at this year’s
Christmas market.
Prompted by town businessman Darron
Abbott the eleven are Cllrs Carol Taylor,
Derek Richmond, Paul Kenny, Paul
Gleeson, Mike Gilbert, Judith Skinner,
Helen Staples, Michael Brookes, Brian
Rush, Paul Mould and Ossy Snell.
Cllr Taylor may attend dressed as a
Christmas elf – she does work for the
National ‘Elf Service!
Cllr Kenny has offered his face-painting
skills at the fun event.
They will perform in Boston Market
Place at 2.30pm on Sunday, December 11.
Mr Abbott, who has invited all councillors
to take part, said: “All are positive and
seem very enthusiastic.
“It will give the councillors a chance to
show the public they are up for a bit of
fun and are prepared to muck in. In these
times of doom and gloom it will be nice to
show Boston has community spirit.”
Following on from the success of
Boston’s Christmas lights switch-on
event on Thursday night the traditional
Christmas Market, with tons of attractions
and entertainment, will be held over the
weekend of December 10 and 11.
It has been organised by the council and
Boston BID and will be held on Bargate
Green and feature a craft stalls marquee,
musical entertainment, panto players on
the Saturday, including Coronation Street’s
Les Battersby, and, on both days, carol
singers, Santa and his sledge pulled
around town by real-life reindeers, steam
engines and traditional stalls.
The event will be compered on both
days by Boston’s community radio station
Endeavour Radio.
Singers and entertainers will perform
on a staged area and include Boston
Grammar School’s Schuhplattlergruppe –
a German dance troupe – on both days,
Boston-based covers band Jam Jar (seen
and heard at the lights switch-on) on the
Sunday and the Main Ridge East Singers
(who also appeared at the switch-on).
There will also be street entertainment
from The BIZ who will use the stage and
appear in the Market Place. Holy Trinity
Choir will be singing carols on both days.
On Sunday, December 11, the town will
be alive to the sound of the massed pipes
and drums of the Scunthorpe and District
Pipe Band.
Mr Abbott is bringing the band to town.
He first met the pipers and drummers at
the Embassy Centre at Skegness when
they made an unannounced entrance as
part of a Last Night of the Proms event.
They were seventh in this year’s All
England Championships.
Continued on page 2
IN THIS ISSUE
Boston lights up Christmas
special – pages 3, 4, 5
FREE publicity on the BBC for
your organisation – page 12
Cash for town centre
properties – page 16
Caught on camera – page 17
Callum is top sportsman –
page 18
The Mognificent Seven –
page 21
Top building awards for council
– page 24
2 Boston Bulletin, November, 2011
www.boston.gov.uk
A case of never mind the
sparsity, feel the density
Penalised for living in the countryside
Interestingly the village that I live in,
in Surrey, is in campaigning mode.
It is a large village of about 5,000
people, but it feels increasingly
isolated and hard done by.
In fact, later this evening, having written
this piece, I shall be sitting quietly in an
audience of protestors about the current
state of affairs.
We have lost our mobile library in the
latest cuts. We have had to mount a very
fierce campaign to keep our bus service.
The bus connects us four times a day with
the doctors, the station and the hospital.
The GP surgery is about to close its subsurgery in the village and centralise in its
main building, two miles away in the next
village.
The shops, which used to supply all daily
needs, have dwindled. We now have a
general store, post office, butchers and a
shop selling lizards and spiders.
All the school-age children are bussed
outside the village.
I mention all this because on page 15 is
a report on a study carried out by the Rural
Services Network pointing out that public
services in rural areas are those most
affected by Government cuts.
by Chief Executive
RICHARD HARBORD
The difficulty is that the grant settlement
currently tends to favour urban authorities
at the expense of their rural cousins. The
figures quoted in the report are £487
grant per head for urban authorities and
£324 per head for rural authorities. There
are two reasons for this in the way grant
is calculated. Firstly, although there are
weightings for density and sparsity the
weightings for density are greater than
those for sparsity. In other words it is felt
more expensive to run services in crowded
areas than in the countryside. That is
patently untrue about many services, such
as refuse collection where the cost per bin
is bound to be less in urban areas.
The Rural Services Network would like
to see this changed to reflect what they
see as the reality of the provision of rural
services.
The Government is putting large sums
of money into the provision of faster
broadband in rural areas, although
that requires matching payments from
authorities like us, which is difficult to find.
The problem will not get better either
because the Government plans to
change the grant system so that our main
increases year on year would come from
our growth in business rates. That is very
constrained in a place like Boston.
So we face an additional challenge in
maintaining and improving our services
and should lend such support as we can
to the Rural Service Network of local
authorities to achieve improvement.
Don’t miss pipe and drum band
Scunthorpe and District Pipe band - inset, Darron Abbott
from front page
He was so impressed he immediately
asked them if they would turn out for
Boston’s Christmas event.
Mr Abbott, who will cover their costs,
said: “I wanted to do it for Boston, which I
love. It’s a difficult time for the town and I
wanted to do something a bit special.”
The Scunthorpe and District Pipe
Band will perform at the following times
and locations on Sunday, December 11:
10.15am West Street, near Harmony
Music; 11.45am march into the Stump
and perform at the end of Sunday service;
1.45pm in the Market Place or Strait
Bargate.
Showcase stalls are to go up outside
Marks and Spencer for town businesses
to grandstand their services on both
days. Free mulled wine will be available
for visitors to the stalls. The normal stall
market will take place in Wide Bargate on
both days.
www.boston.gov.uk
Boston Bulletin, November, 2011 3
Boston lights up
Crowds turn out as event launches Christmas
What a wonderful start to the
festive season – Boston’s allnew Christmas lights switch-on
event exceeded all expectations
as crowds filled the streets to join
Santa and friends in a night of fun.
The event began with children eagerly
awaiting the arrival of Santa, his big red
sack full of free lollipops to give away.
Starting off from the town Christmas tree
near the Ingram Memorial, Santa soon had
a posse of children following in his wake.
Pausing at Edwards Emporium in
Dolphin Lane, to collect the rest of the
1,000 giveaways from sweet shop owner
Dave Edwards, Santa and his assistant,
Scrooge (presumably after his mean
ways had been mended by the ghost of
Christmas yet to come) were joined by
Dave in a lion costume.
They were besieged by yet more
children in Pescod Square, only just
making it back into Strait Bargate in time
for the lights switch-on.
The crowd already waiting there, outside
the Community Rooms, had been kept
entertained throughout the afternoon
by Boston’s community radio station,
Endeavour Radio, and live band Jam Jar.
The Salvation Army Band provided more
traditional festive entertainment playing
just outside Oldrids.
After a short speech of thanks from Cllr
Derek Richmond, Boston Borough
Continued on page 4
Above left: Pedro the clown entertained the crowds at the switch-on event.
Above right: Shalisa Ho (5), of Boston, had dressed festively for the occasion.
She is pictured with the switch-on party, Mayor of Boston Cllr Mary Wright
(centre), Deputy Mayoress Marilyn Cobb, and chairman of Boston BID Mr Alan
Ellis, of Harmony Music. Below: A packed Strait Bargate as the Christmas lights
are switched on
4 Boston Bulletin, November, 2011
www.boston.gov.uk
Town’s community spirit praised
from page 3
Council’s town centre portfolio holder,
in which he praised all those who had
willingly given of their time and talents to
show that the town really has community
spirit, Mayor of Boston, Cllr Mary Wright,
Deputy Mayoress Marilyn Cobb, and
chairman of Boston BID Mr Alan Ellis, of
Harmony Music, switched the new £35,000
Christmas lights on at 6pm.
The Main Ridge East Community
Singers then burst into song with favourite
carols while Santa and Pedro the Clown
continued to entertain in the streets.
The mayor said: “The switch-on went so
smoothly – there is always a slight anxiety
when there is so much dependence on
electronics all working at the right time.
But the lights came on all over town
at the appointed hour and they looked
magnificent.
“It was a great evening, with a real
community feel. It was so nice to see so
many hundreds of happy, smiling faces,
enjoying all the entertainment which had
been organised. It’s time to say Merry
Christmas.
“I hope the Christmas Market on
Saturday and Sunday, December 10 and
11, has the same level of support. There is
more festive entertainment planned over
both days as well as the special Christmas
Market attractions alongside the normal
stall market.”
Above: Traditional festive songs played
by the Salvation Army band
Below: Santa was a hit with the children
as he handed out 1,000 free lollipops
donated by Edwards Emporium of
Dolphin Lane
Below right: The Mayor of Boston,
Cllr Mary Wright and the chairman of
Boston BID, Mr Alan Ellis hit the button
www.boston.gov.uk
Boston Bulletin, November, 2011 5
More of those who made it happen
Top left, clockwise: The Endeavour
Radio team, Santa, Main Ridge East
Community Singers, Jam Jar
6 Boston Bulletin, November, 2011
Tales of the
Guildhall
www.boston.gov.uk
EACH month for a year, in conjunction with the Boston
Target, we will be telling the exciting and historic story
of the development of Boston through its links with the
Guildhall. Tales of the Guildhall appears in the Target every
second Wednesday. If you missed the eigth instalment it’s
reproduced on this page.
Next time in the Target, Wednesday, December 14: The
Guildhall’s days as Boston Town Hall.
Victorians who put
Boston on the map
words by
communications manager
ANDREW MALKIN
If there was ever an age to be said
to be the making of Britain it was
probably the Victorian era. And
three Victorians who helped put
Boston on the map readily come to
mind.
All three are remembered through their
personal items held by Boston’s Guildhall
Museum. The museum is currently hosting
a Victorian exhibition until the end of the
year.
Herbert Ingram is remembered in
Boston with a statue in the shadow of St
Botolph’s Church (The Stump) paying
homage to his efforts to bring safe piped
drinking water to the town following an
outbreak of cholera.
Internationally Ingram is known as the
founder of the London Illustrated News,
said to be the finest pictorial example and
historic social record of British and World
events.
The son of Herbert Ingram, a butcher,
and his wife, Jane, he was born in
Paddock Grove, Boston in 1811. His father
died before Herbert was a year old, and
he learned at first hand the deprivations
suffered by the poor and disadvantaged.
He was apprenticed to a Boston printer
and had the idea of publishing a weekly
newspaper which would contain pictures
in every edition and the first Illustrated
London News appeared on May 14, 1842.
In 1846 Ingram regained Swineshead
Abbey, a lost early seat of the family.
In 1859 he got Brunel’s ship the Great
Eastern completed and launched after
difficulties had ruined its builders and the
strain of which had led to the death of its
designer.
Herbert Ingram MP, honoured in Boston
for bringing safe drinking water to the
town
Ingram also campaigned for, and put
money into, Boston’s waterworks (opened
1849) and railway schemes (1850–59),
was a benefactor of St Botolph’s
restoration including the Cotton Chapel
and became Boston’s Liberal MP in 1856,
serving until his death.
Herbert Ingram was buried in Boston’s
Victorian cemetery following his death
in the Lady Elgin steamer disaster near
Chicago/Milwaukee in September 1860.
In the field of literature Boston-born
writer Jean Ingelow was known as “The
Queen of Victorian Verse”. She was
born in 1820 and lived in South Place,
overlooking the river. Her earliest works
were produced for the amusement of
children, featuring a child fairy who lived in
a forest and written in a rhyming couplet
style.
The Queen of Victorian Verse, Jean
Ingelow
She was strongly influenced by the
world around her so the scenery of the
Fens features in many of her works and, in
middle life, when she lived in London, she
wrote of the city.
Her best-loved work reflects the
seashore, waterside and the big skies
which she knew as a child in Lincolnshire.
She enjoyed great popularity both here
and in America and her work was much
admired by Lincolnshire’s Alfred Lord
Tennyson.
“Poems”, published in 1863, established
her as a major literary figure. She found
herself on friendly terms with notables
such as Robert Browning, Christina
Rossetti and Lincolnshire’s Alfred Lord
Tennyson.
In 1892, when Tennyson died, her name
was put forward as a possible successor
Continued on page 7
www.boston.gov.uk
Boston Bulletin, November, 2011 7
Finest watercolour
artist in Lincolnshire
From page 6
for the position of Poet Laureate. Queen
Victoria gave the matter due consideration
but chose Alfred Austin instead. The idea
of a female Poet Laureate was too great
an innovation.
She died in Kensington in 1897 and a
memorial brass is to be seen bearing her
name in the church of St. Barnabas there.
At Boston Stump a handsome stained
glass window honours the memory of a
much-loved Victorian poet.
The Guildhall has among its archived
collection a selection of paintings by
notable local artists. Among them are
works by Bostonian William Bartol
Thomas, regarded by many as the finest
watercolour artist that Lincolnshire has
produced.
Lincolnshire’s finest watercolour artist,
Boston’s W.B. Thomas
W.B. Thomas was born in 1877. His
father was a prominent architect, and
the designer of one of Boston’s most
recognisable buildings - the former feather
factory on Trinity Street, known locally as
the swan building.
The aspiring young artist received his
only formal training from Boston Grammar
School teacher, Vernon Howard. Apart
from a brief period during the First World
War, when he served in the Army as a
gunner, he lived in Boston all his life – at
first on Spilsby Road, and later at 107 High
Street.
Throughout his prolific artistic career he
lovingly recorded the local scenery - the
Lincolnshire landscapes that he knew so
well.
He was fascinated by these scenes,
often sketching and painting them on
location. He did not own his own transport,
but used to catch lifts out of town,
sometimes with a friend, sometimes with
the travelling salesmen that he met in the
bar at the White Hart Hotel.
Freiston Shore was a site he often
visited, frequently in the late summer
evenings when the sky was turning to
dusk. The recent and deliberate flooding
of many areas in the vicinity of The Wash
reminds today’s viewer that Thomas
was recording images of a changing
Lincolnshire – one which no longer exists.
At the time of his death in 1947, his
talents remained largely unrecognised.
Today, though, his paintings are treasured
– by art enthusiasts, Bostonians and all
those who love the Lincolnshire landscape.
Admission to the Guildhall Museum is
now FREE. Opening times are Wednesday
to Saturday 10.30am to 3.30pm. The
Guildhall is in South Street, Boston, next
Wash marshes and Boston Stump held
a fascination for W.B. Thomas
to Fydell House and opposite the Sam
Newsom Music Centre which is alongside
the river downstream from the Market
Place. For more information call 01205
365954.
Boston Bulletin is written and edited by Andrew Malkin and designed by
Lisa Mallett and Emma Staff, Communications, Boston Borough Council
8 Boston Bulletin, November, 2011
www.boston.gov.uk
Fydell House – have you visited?
words by
communications manager
ANDREW MALKIN
Fydell House is probably Boston’s
grandest house, in one of the
town’s grandest positions.
Its grandeur is emphasised by its next
door neighbour, the Guildhall, and its
historic context is punctuated by other
ancient surrounding buildings and the
nearby waterfront where once sailing ships
docked.
The house, like Boston, has had a
chequered past in which figure ambition,
political and social status, bankruptcy,
decay, rejuvenation, decay again and,
once more, rejuvenation.
The house has twice been saved
for Boston by Bostonians, and all are
encouraged to visit and examine their
heritage. Admission is free and it is open
to the public from 9.30am to 4pm Monday
to Friday.
The property was built around 1700 for
the Jackson family, but there is evidence
of a building being on the site before the
current house was built.
Plans show that around 1707 the
Jacksons bought for £20 the rear garden
from Boston Corporation. The land had
been owned by the corporation since
1545 and was probably horticultural land
attached to the Guildhall.
In 1708 the house and garden
transferred to Mrs Jackson’s favourite
grandson, Samuel Jackson, who, in 1726
sold it to its namesake, Joseph Fydell. The
sale included adjacent wine cellars, land
now occupied by the Haven Gallery.
Joseph was a merchant, alderman
and Mayor of Boston in 1722 and again
in 1730. His home was well placed for
him – right next to his place of work,
the Guildhall, then the home of Boston
Corporation.
By the time of his death in 1731 Fydell
House was fully mortgaged and in 1733
passed to Richard Fydell. His father,
Robert Fydell, Joseph’s cousin, was
a successful London brewer. In 1738,
however, Robert was declared bankrupt.
Son Richard, MP for Boston from 1734 to
1754, had his properties set against the
debts. Dalby Manor was lost, but the family
hung on to Fydell House.
In 1739 Richard became an alderman
and Mayor of Boston (also 1753 and 1776)
and, in 1740, married an heiress, Elizabeth
Hall.
Now a wine merchant he leased the
13th century Gysor’s Hall, directly opposite
Fydell House, for wine storage. Gysor’s
Hall is now residential properties.
Richard extended the gardens at Fydell
House and the property passed upon his
The grandest house in Boston – its impressive façade and the view from the rear
garden in its autumn clothes – restored in 2000
death in 1780 to his son, Thomas Fydell.
Thomas, an experienced businessman,
prominent in wine, property, banking and
livestock, was to represent the peak of the
Fydell dynasty.
He too became Boston’s MP (1790 to
1812 with a break from 1803 to 1806 when
his son stood in). Thomas did so well that,
in 1791, he bought Gysor’s Hall from the
Corporation for £400 and had it rebuilt in
1810 as a multi-storey quayside granary.
Gysor’s Hall had been built in 1245 by
John Gysor, a Mayor of London.
John of Gaunt, brother of Edward, the
Black Prince, and father of Henry IV,
owned Gysor’s Hall in 1372.
Sir Joseph Banks, lauded explorer and
botanist of the day, was a regular visitor to
Fydell House.
Thomas also owned the original White
Hart, which stood where Bridge Street is
now, and the Unicorn, which was beside
the river where the White Hart now stands.
Continued on page 9
www.boston.gov.uk
Boston Bulletin, November, 2011 9
Fydell House saved from demolition
from page 8
He probably also owned the warehouse
on Packhorse Quay, now the Sam
Newsom Music Centre, as he was the first
occupier mentioned in the deeds.
In 1812 Thomas died and the property
passed to Samuel Fydell, who preferred to
live quietly in Rutland and so Fydell House
was leased to tenants.
Tenants of note over the next 116
years included expert gardener Caroline
Yeatman who produced the “finest garden
in the borough”.
In 1928 the house was used as the
venue for the launch of American funding
for the Stump renovation and annual
American goodwill visits were established.
The first risk to Fydell House occurred
in 1934 when Boston Preservation Trust
stepped in to save it from demolition to
make way for an access road to housing
development on land at the rear.
The trust bought the house for £1,600
in 1935 and launched years of fundraising
events to restore the property and secure
its future.
In 1938 Senator Joseph Kennedy,
father of US President John and senator
sons Robert and Edward, visited and the
house’s American Room was dedicated
in recognition of generous American
donations.
Repairs were again necessary in 1941
when an incendiary bomb caused fire and
water damage.
In 1946 Pilgrim College leased Fydell
House for adult education.
Compulsory purchase of a small area of
land for construction of John Adams Way
in the late 1970s provided funds to enclose
the rear garden and fully restore it in 2000.
Fydell House Centre leased the
main floors as a civic amenity for adult
education, a meeting place for community
groups and for community functions in
2003.
Six volunteers manage the house and
three more lovingly tend the garden. Office
manager, Claire Sheldrake, one of the
volunteers, said: “I do it because I love the
house and I love the heritage – history is
important and should be preserved.
“People visit from all over the world,
especially America and Australia, and yet
there are Bostonians who have never been
inside.
“I urge them to visit, if only just the once.
Volunteer Claire Shedrake in the impressive entrance hall at Fydell House
The American Room, visited by Senator Joseph Kennedy
Fydell House belongs to Boston and it
belongs to Bostonians.”
With admission to the next door Guildhall
also now free a visit to the two historic
buildings can easily fill a morning or
afternoon.
Boston Borough Councillor Mike Gilbert,
a director of Fydell House, said: “Buildings
should link the past to the future and this is
why Fydell House is so important to Boston
and its people. I would urge all Bostonians
to visit Fydell House and consider hiring
a piece of Boston's history for weddings,
parties, meetings and other functions,
making any event one to remember.”
Local historian and Fydell House council
member, Cllr Paul Mould, added: “I have
been associated with Fydell House since
I was at school in the 1940s. It would
be shame for any Bostonian not to have
visited Fydell House at least once in their
lives.
“Many activities take place there and
these are worth investigating also.”
Boston and District Archaeological Society
Members this season have had two
meetings. At the October one, Chairman
Hilary Healey gave an acount of the
major pottery industry which flourished at
Toynton All Saints, near Spilsby, between
the 13th and 16th centuries.
This month Chris Lester, from the
Society for Lincolnshire History and
Archaeology, introduced members to
the important Dogdyke Steam Pumping
Station.
The next meeting (Thursday, December
1) will welcome Dr Pamela Marshall
who will be presenting a talk entitled
“The Anasazi: Rise and Fall of a Native
American Culture 450 – 1300AD”,
describing a lost civilisation in South
America
The meeting takes place at Blackfriars
Theatre and Arts Centre starting at
7.30pm. All welcome.
10 Boston Bulletin, November, 2011
www.boston.gov.uk
IN MY VIEW
Portfolio holder for leisure services, parks and
open spaces, Cllr Yvonne Gunter, has had her
interest in the natural world re-ignited. She has
taken a renewed interest in biodiversity and tells
here how that interest was first sparked in her
childhood.
Children must be
able to enjoy nature’s
simple pleasures
Having lived in Keswick in the
Lake District for a number of years
I found things very different upon
moving to Lincolnshire.
How I missed my mountain walks and
the beauty of the lakes. It took me some
time to realise that although Lincolnshire is
flat it is also a landscape which is beautiful.
You can see for miles and driving into
the Wolds opened up a new challenge.
I found that the woodland creatures,
birds and flowers of the lakes were also
here – foxes, deer, badgers, water voles,
hares, rabbits, birds on the wing including
woodpecker, sparrowhawk, robins,
chaffinch, kingfishers, pheasants and
partridges.
In the wetlands there were ducks, water
hens and occasionally the otter family. And
wild flowers such as wild orchid, dog daisy,
cowslip and poppy making the landscape
come alive.
Geology was also one of my interests. I
remember going out with the local Keswick
club to a small village called Mungrisdale
at the foot of Saddleback where there was
a quarry. During the Ice Age landslip had
left behind seams of fossils.
We had small hammers to chip away
with and discovered fossilised coral and
large snails called Productus Giganteus.
I was lucky enough to find a very large
specimen which I used as a door stop for
many years. It was a great talking point
when friends called.
We took all our finds home and glazed
them and they looked wonderful.
I had never thought about geology in
Lincolnshire, but I managed to find a leaflet
which explained the formation of Boston’s
geology, laid down between 146 and 161
by
COUNCILLOR YVONNE GUNTER
million years ago during the upper Jurassic
period.
I discovered that a thick series of
mudstones underlie this area and the high
organic content of the sea became the
source of the oil and gas reserves of the
North Sea basin.
As a child I remember the simple
pleasure gained from observation – how
the wriggly tadpoles emerged from jellied
spawn to turn into frogs. We spotted
minnows and sticklebacks and brightlycoloured butterflies – Red Admirals and
Peacock. Sadly they seem so rare now.
What all this has taught me is that it is
so important to keep nature alive and I
hope children today and in the future can
continue to enjoy the simple things of
nature surviving in the grass, trees, rivers,
ponds, woods and the skies.
A long, hard climb to the top, but
she got there, and the view was
magnificent. A teenaged Cllr Gunter
tackles a Lake District peak
www.boston.gov.uk
Boston Bulletin, November, 2011 11
The Langdale Pikes – one of Cllr Gunter’s favourite views of the majestic
heights of the Lake District. She’s not only looked at them, she’s climbed
them and stood atop to take in the breathtaking views
Circled below - the quarry
where Cllr Gunter found
fossils
Cllr Gunter with crystals which she has
kept since childhood. She discovered
them on a trip to Mungrisdale (pictured
below) where her imagination was fired
by her fossil finds
12 Boston Bulletin, November, 2011
www.boston.gov.uk
Mayor backs breast cancer pledge
The Boston Breast Unit pledged to
further improve local breast cancer
services with the presentation of a
plaque at Pilgrim Hospital.
United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust,
working alongside Breakthrough Breast
Cancer, has asked a number of breast
cancer patients at Lincoln County Hospital,
Grantham and District Hospital and Pilgrim
Hospital in Boston for their opinions
about the services they received and any
improvements that they think could be
made.
An event took place on Friday,
November 18, to present a new official
plaque to say that the unit aims to improve
local breast services. The event was
attended by staff, current and former
patients, volunteers, representative from
Breakthrough Breast Cancer, Ross Kessler
and Mayor of Boston Cllr Mary Wright.
Doreen Macaskill-Refaat, Clinical
Nurse Specialist in Breast Care at Pilgrim
Hospital, organised the event at the
hospital. She said: “Patient’s thoughts and
opinions have helped to develop a service
pledge. The pledge sets out the standards
of care patients can expect, and the
service improvements people can expect
in the future, and how patients can make
their voice heard if they think something
can be done better.
“We originally launched the pledge in
2006 but the recent work has helped us
re-evaluate the information booklet and
pledge making sure everything is up to
date.”
The Mayor of Boston, Cllr Mary Wright,
said: “I think the breast cancer care pledge
is a great idea. The new service pledge
booklet will allow women to understand
what their experience at the breast
unit in Boston will involve by providing
clear information and helping provide
reassurance.
“I was pleased to be invited to attend
the event at Pilgrim Hospital, and enjoyed
Free publicity
from the BBC
If you are planning an event you can
now get FREE publicity for it from the
BBC – that’s the British Broadcasting
Corporation, not Boston Borough Council
(although we can also publicise your
event).
The BBC’s Things To Do website is
available to all and is being promoted
through BBC programmes and is a
great opportunity to increase interest in
activities.
Things To Do www.bbc.co.uk/
thingstodo promotes activities run by
not-for-profit organisations across bbc.
co.uk as well as getting promoted on the
BBC Homepage - which attracts more
than a million unique users a day.
To register and upload go to
http://www.bbc.co.uk/thingstodo/
activitymaker
All activities should be related to the
categories below:
1) Arts and crafts activities (upload under
project - Handmade in Britain);
2) History activities (upload under project
- Hands on History);
3) Nature-based activities (upload under
project - Autumnwatch);
4) Outdoor and adventure-based
activities (upload under project Countryfile);
5) Astronomy-based activities (upload
under project - Stargazing);
6) Dinosaur-based activities (upload
under project Planet Dinosaur).
Once you have registered, sign up as a
partner against each project that you have
suitable activities for and start uploading
your activities.
If you have any questions email the
team at [email protected]
meeting all of the staff in attendance as
well as patients past and present.”
The mayor also attended the Pilgrim
Nursery where the children and staff wore
spotty clothes in support of Children in
Need.
What’s on in
and around
Boston
If you have an event
taking place in or around
Boston why not let us
know so we can add it
to the borough council’s
events diary on our
website, free of charge.
Please send details of
the event – event title,
information regarding
event (including if free of
charge or a fee to pay),
location of event, contact
information, start date and
time and end date and
time to graphics.unit@
boston.gov.uk
www.boston.gov.uk
Boston Bulletin, November, 2011 13
Cor! Top award for
Big Boston Clean-up
Boston Borough Council officers
George Bernard and Jen Moore
began to get that sinking feeling
when the awards were handed out
at an event to acknowledge green
initiatives.
by
communications manager
ANDREW MALKIN
Primary, Sutterton Fourfields, Wrangle
Primary, John Fielding Special School,
Wyberton Primary, St Nicholas Primary,
Old Leake Primary, Park Community
School, Hawthorn Tree Primary, Jolly
Sailor, Tulip Foods, Kier Building Services,
Aaron Services, Marshall Bros – Helping
Hands, McDonalds and Lincoln Co-op.
Over the last four years 2,366 volunteers
have cleaned up 57 tones of litter and fly
tipping.
And spin-offs include clean ups where
groups, organisations or individuals do a
one-off litter pick, community champions
involving volunteers from the community,
schools, organisations doing regular
clean ups in their local area, more than
50 people registered as community
champions and two champion schools
and, this year, the launch of a multi-agency
fly tipping task team.
George said: “You are not told in
advance what award you have won and
we began to feel very nervous when all the
smaller awards came and went.
“We were over the moon to have won
one of the national awards. It’s not just for
the council, it’s for all who have helped in
any way with the Big Boston Clean-up.
It’s recognition for dedication, hard work,
commitment and community involvement.”
As the Green Organisation environment
group event moved on to the national
awards phase, and still they stood empty
handed, they thought they had travelled all
the way to London’s House of Commons
on false pretences.
But then the Big Boston Clean-up was
called out as a national bronze winner
in the Green Apple Awards for all district
councils.
The project was only beaten by
two much-bigger authorities – North
Hertfordshire and Stafford District
Councils who took the silver and gold
awards.
The Big Boston Clean-up scored both
as an environmental project but also as
a fantastically successful community
and partnership initiative.
The judges heard that local groups
and organisations involved in helping
with the annual clean-up included:
Angling Association, Army Cadets,
Black Sluice Internal Drainage Board,
BOSSCAT, Boston BID, Boston
Borough Council, Boston Child Minding
Association, Boston College, Boston
North West Action Group, Boston
Rowing Club, Boston Standard, Boston
Target, Boston United Football Club,
Boston Woods Trust, Boston Youth
Centre, Carlton Road Neighbourhood
Action Group, Chamber Of Commerce,
Environment Agency, Fenside
Community Centre, High Street South
Steering Group, Lincolnshire County
Council, Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue,
Longhurst Group Ltd, Main Ridge East
Steering Group, Mayflower Social
Housing, National Probation Service,
New Linx Housing, North Sea Camp,
Ramblers Association, Round Table,
South Lincs CVS, St Thomas Children’s
Centre, Witham East Neighbourhood
Action Group, Witham Fourth Internal
Drainage Board, Youth Offending
Service, Boston Baptist Church, Boston
Methodist Church, Centenary Methodist
Church, Holy Trinity Church, New Life
Fellowship, St Botolph’s Church, St
Christopher’s Church Centre, St Mary’s
George and Jen pictured with the Green Apple national bronze award and
Church, Zion Methodist Church, St
Mary’s Primary School, Boston West
certificate
14 Boston Bulletin, November, 2011
www.boston.gov.uk
Make sure you are
correctly licensed
Did you know that you can be
fined up to £1,000 if you are caught
watching TV without a licence?
TV Licensing is working with local
organisations in Boston to ensure that
people are aware of the circumstances
when they have a legal responsibility to
have a TV licence. Put simply, you need to
be covered by a valid TV licence to receive
or record television programmes as they
are being shown on TV. This is the case
whether you are receiving the programmes
via TV or any other device, such as a
mobile phone or a PC.
TV Licensing understands that some
people find it hard to pay the annual fee of
£145.50 for a colour TV licence or £49 for
a black and white licence in one go. For
this reason, there are a number of different
ways to pay for a TV licence, including a
cash payment plan.
The TV licensing payment card is
designed to make buying a TV licence
easier for those who struggle to pay in
one lump sum by allowing them to spread
the cost into weekly, fortnightly or monthly
payments. It is open to everyone and
customers can make payments by cash
or a debit/credit card at any one of almost
22,000 PayPoint outlets nationwide or
over the phone. PayPoint outlets can be
found in newsagents, convenience stores,
supermarkets, petrol stations and other
retailers. To find their nearest PayPoint,
people can visit www.paypoint.co.uk/
locator.htm or call 0300 790 6137.
Anyone wishing to find out more about
signing up for the payment card should
give TV Licensing a call on 0300 790
6078.
In addition to paying at a PayPoint
outlet, there
are many other
ways to pay.
More people are
choosing to pay
by direct debit,
now used by
more than 14 million licence fee payers,
while others choose to pay via the website,
by using a debit or credit card over the
phone or by putting a cheque in the post.
TV Licensing would always prefer
people to be properly licensed rather than
risk prosecution, which is why they make
it as easy as possible to pay and work
hard to ensure people are aware of their
licensing requirements. Unfortunately
some people still try to avoid paying for a
TV licence when they need one, and TV
Licensing will always enforce the law on
behalf of the honest majority who pay.
If you would like more information, or
want to buy a TV licence, please call 0300
790 6115 or visit www.tvlicensing.co.uk
www.boston.gov.uk
Boston Bulletin, November, 2011 15
Rural areas have it worst – report
Public services in country areas are
among the worst affected by central
Government cuts, says a report by
the Rural Services Network.
The body, which represents 93 rural
councils, including Boston Borough
Council, and a host of other public service
providers serving rural communities
across England, says reductions in
local government budgets will hit rural
communities hard, leaving many rural
residents disadvantaged.
The RSN has been campaigning for the
Government to reduce the gap in local
authority funding for those who live in the
countryside in comparison to cities as part
of the on-going DCLG’s local government
resource review.
The new report confirms that rural
residents are bearing much of the impact
of the Government’s austerity measures.
It has analysed existing data in
addition to new surveys conducted
with Rural Services Network members.
It highlights the impact of a 12 per
cent cut in the central Government
grant to local government on the
frequency, management and range of
services provided by local authorities in
predominantly rural areas.
The report focuses on particular core
services provided at local authority level
and identifies the importance of these to
the communities that they serve, as well
as the impact of the cuts in the central
Government grant. There is a cost penalty
to providing services in rural areas, as
each service provider has to serve a larger
area. When a particular service, such as a
library, is closed it has a greater impact on
the local population as it may be difficult to
get to next nearest provider.
Key findings include:
Transport: Bus services in rural areas
are among the worst affected. The report
identifies widespread cuts in local authority
funding for bus services with RSN
members reporting an average cut of 19
per cent in their revenue budgets between
2010/11 and 2011/12. Bus services in rural
communities are much more infrequent
than in urban areas despite the fact that
those living in rural areas make roughly
the same number of journeys as those in
urban areas and travel longer distances.
With few alternatives, cuts to a particular
service or route can have a severe affect
on the local community;
Cultural services and libraries: The
Rural Services Network identified an
average reduction in library budgets of
nine per cent, though in some places this
exceeded 20 per cent. Rural Services
Network members confirmed that libraries
in particular were being squeezed by
current public sector funding;
Parks and leisure areas: Most Rural
Services Networks members have been
forced to cut expenditure on maintaining
parks and open spaces, and on sports
facilities. This has led to staffing cuts and
services being delivered less frequently
and to a lower specification. Combined
with cuts in bus routes this will make
accessing leisure facilities very difficult for
those who rely on public transport.
Councillor Roger Begy, Chair of the
Rural Services Network, said: “The
Rural Services Network has campaigned
long and hard to ask the Government
to reassess the way in which the local
government grant is distributed, which
currently favours urban local authorities
to the tune of £487 per head compared to
£324 per head in rural areas.
Getting stocked up for Christmas?
Don’t forget your medicine cabinet
Prepare for this winter’s ailments by taking
a trip to your local pharmacy to stock up on
medical essentials to keep you fighting fit
this Christmas.
NHS Lincolnshire advises considering
adding pain relief, cold and flu medicine,
plasters, bandages, a thermometer and
remedies for stomach troubles to your
medicine cabinet for any Christmas
grumbles.
Most common illnesses and injuries
can be treated from home, or from a
visit to your local pharmacy. However, if
your symptoms get worse do make an
appointment with
your GP or call
111, which is a
free number from
both landlines and
mobiles, for advice.
“The 2011 State of Rural Public Services
Report shows that the further 12 per
cent cut to the local government grant is
already having an impact on some of the
core services that local authorities provide
and, indeed, the way these services are
provided.”
He pointed out that in addition rural
areas are starting from a position of
lower service provision due to the historic
unfairness of Government funding, so the
impact of cuts will be felt much harder.
“The research also highlights some
excellent examples of innovation and
there is much evidence of localism at
work in this report. Parish and town
councils, volunteers, community trusts,
social enterprises and the like are playing
a growing part in rural public service
delivery.”
The report also stated that:
Almost five per cent of rural 16 to
18-year-olds face more than one hours
travel distance from a further education
college;
Those of state retirement age form
almost a quarter of the rural population.
However, new data shows that only 16
per cent of sheltered housing is located in
rural areas. Other analysis finds very low
claimant levels for Pension Credit among
low income pensioners in smaller rural
settlements.
The next Bulletin
will be out on Friday,
December 16.
Don’t delay,
send material for
submission to
andrew.malkin@
boston.gov.uk
16 Boston Bulletin, November, 2011
www.boston.gov.uk
Cash available for owners to
revitalise town centre properties
A scheme to help revitalise downat-heel parts of Boston gets its
official launch tomorrow (Thursday,
December 1).
Up to £650,000 may be available to
eligible property owners to help with the
cost of restoration and repair.
They are being urged to get in quick –
the money is limited and will be allocated
on a first come-first served basis.
Details of the scheme will be on display
at Boston Guildhall for anyone to see from
4pm to 6pm tomorrow and officers from
Boston Borough Council will be available
to offer advice on how to apply for a grant.
Owners and tenants of eligible properties
are also invited to the official launch of the
scheme which will begin at 6.30pm. Invited
guests will also hear from English Heritage
how historically important Boston is and
why investment in the town is needed to
enhance its architecture and make it an
attractive and vibrant place to live, work
and visit.
English Heritage approved Boston
Borough Council’s Partnerships in
Conservation Areas application for grant
funding and significant investment will be
made to a five-year scheme, with match
funding from Boston Borough Council.
Liz Bates, conservation project officer,
said: “Property owners can get in touch
with me now to gain advice about work
that will be eligible for a grant and we
can discuss opportunities to improve the
condition and quality of their properties.”
The scheme will initially target properties
in the Market Place and Wormgate, and
owners in those areas are welcome to talk
to Liz for more details and fix appointments
now.
Contact her on 01205 314339 or email
[email protected]
The grant system will be kept as simple
as possible and will be on the basis of a
straight 50 per cent of eligible costs for
repairs and 90 per cent for reinstatements.
Pictured top-right: Part of The Cresent
in nearby Spalding before grant-aided
improvements and the same buildings
after their owners had taken advantage
of the scheme (right)
Have your say on council services
We want to continually improve the quality
of service that you receive from Boston
Borough Council so we would like your help.
Please tell us how you feel about the
area, about council services, and about
being a customer of Boston Borough
Council. We are particularly interested in
your comments about what could be done
differently to improve your experience.
We will look at the results and let you
know what we intend to do in response.
We will then repeat this survey next year
to see if things have improved. Please
take the time to have your say and help us
improve the services we provide.
Paper copies of the survey can be
requested by ringing 01205 314269 or
by calling into reception at the Municipal
Buildings. Or you can complete the
survey online www.boston.gov.uk/
haveyoursay2011 There will be a market
stall on Wednesday, December 7, when
council staff and some councillors will be
promoting the survey.
www.boston.gov.uk
Boston Bulletin, November, 2011 17
Caught on camera
Here are the latest to be caught on camera as part of the name-and-shame anti-littering
campaign launched by the council and being run in conjunction with the Boston Standard.
1
2
3
The net is closing on a name-and-shame offender who failed to clean up
after his dog fouled in a children’s play area in Wellington Road, Boston.
The net is closing on a nameand-shame offender who failed to
clean up after his dog fouled in a
children’s play area in Wellington
Road, Boston.
Information from Boston Standard readers
is being investigated after the man and his
dog were featured in the two earlier nameand-shame features.
In the past month CCTV images have
led to five £75 fixed penalty notices being
paid – one by another pet owner who did
not clean up after his dog, two who threw
litter from vehicles, one who swept rubbish
out of a shop and into the street and one
who dropped litter in the street.
A court case is also pending following a
fly-tipping investigation.
And the new Operation Fly Swat team
has, in the first weeks of this new initiative,
cleaned up 20 tons of fly-tipped rubbish in
the borough.
The clean-up team from HMP North Sea
Camp has cleared rubbish which included
builders’ rubble, tyres, mattresses, fridges
and freezers, pallets, televisions and
household rubbish in black plastic sacks
from 89 dump sites.
Operation Fly Swat went live on Monday,
October 24, when a task force put together
by nine local public organisations set to
work tackling fly-tipped rubbish.
Rehabilitating prisoners from North
Sea Camp, in the final stages of their
sentences prior to release, form the flytipping swat squad which targets public
areas, including verges and waterways,
clearing them of fly-tipped litter.
The multi-agency approach has come
about as a spin-off from the highly
successful annual Big Boston Clean-up
and involves Boston Borough Council, HM
Prison North Sea Camp, Black Sluice and
Witham Fourth internal drainage boards,
the Environment Agency, Lincolnshire
County Council, South Holland District
Council, Boston Mayflower and Longhurst
Group.
Hidden motion detectors and secret
cameras are also being used to target
areas where fly-tipping is a persistent and
recurring problem.
All rubbish dumping is illegal. Anyone
caught doing it faces a heavy fine and
even imprisonment.
Householders and businesses with
waste to dispose of need to check the
contractor has a waste carriers’ licence
before allowing them to take away their
rubbish. If they fail to do this and the
rubbish is disposed of illegally, the owner
of the rubbish could be liable and may be
fined.
Waste carriers have to be licensed
by the Environment Agency. To check if
someone is a registered waste carrier,
people should ask for their waste carrier
number. Contact the Environment Agency
on 03708 506506 and ask for a waste
carrier validation check.
Alternatively, they can check the online
Authorised Waste Carrier Register by
visiting www.environment-agency.gov.
uk/homeandleisure/waste/flytipping
If a contractor is not registered, their
services should be refused and advice
sought from the Environment Agency.
To report fly-tipped rubbish call 01205
366007 or 01205 311112.
To report incidents of illegal dumping
of hazardous waste or large amounts of
industrial waste, call the Environment
Agency’s 24-hour incident hotline on
0800 80 70 60.
Maximum penalties for fly tipping are a
£50,000 fine and five years imprisonment.
If you know the latest four people to be
featured in name-and-shame – Boston
Borough Council wants to contact them
all in connection with litter discarded in
the street –please contact Kath Mountain
at the council’s Fen Road depot, phone
01205 311112 or email kath.mountain@
boston.gov.uk
This e-mail address is being protected
from spam bots, you need JavaScript
enabled to view it.
You can send information anonymously
and your details will never be divulged.
18 Boston Bulletin, November, 2011
www.boston.gov.uk
Callum is county’s top sportsman
Boston boxer Callum Johnson is
Lincolnshire Sportsman of the Year.
He also scooped the Lincolnshire Sports
Personality of the Year 2011 at the eighth
annual event, held at the Lincolnshire
Showground.
BBC Football Focus host Dan Walker
hosted the evening, with special guest
Flight Lieutenant Rachael Cadman who ran,
swam and cycled in the Enduroman Arch to
Arc Challenge (London to Paris) earlier this
year also attending.
More than 40 sportsmen and women
were celebrated on the night, only 16 of
which could be chosen as winners.
Born in Boston, Callum grew up in
Fenside, attended Haven High School and
lives in Benington. He won a gold medal at
the Commonwealth games in Delhi in 2010
boasting an 8-1 victory when he was also
captain of the Scottish team, and, since
turning professional, signed by promoter
Frank Warren, has won every bout.
Callum is pictured last year at a civic
evening held in his honour receiving
the borough’s certificate of personal
achievement from then Mayor and
Mayoress of Boston Peter and Sally Jordan.
Apply for sports funding
Sports clubs, leisure centres and sports
organisations in the Boston area have less than
two months left to apply for Sportivate funding in
Lincolnshire.
Around 110 projects have received more
than £70,000 funding since July, allowing clubs
and organisations to offer sports sessions for
children and young people across the county.
People are being encouraged to apply
again for funding for the second year of the
programme which will start in July, 2012,
focusing on projects which target minority groups
such as women and girls and disability sport.
Lucy Blakey, Children and Young People’s
Officer at Lincolnshire Sports Partnership,
said: “Nearly £400,000 is available for sports
projects in Lincolnshire to encourage semi-sport
teenagers and young adults to take part in sport
over the next four years.”
The deadline to apply for the first block of
second-year funding (July to September 2012) is
Friday, January 20, 2012.
Sports clubs, schools, community groups,
national governing bosies, local authorities,
universities, youth clubs, 6th form and further
educational colleges, leisure facilities and
workplaces targeting 14 to 25-year-olds can all
apply for funding. Projects are asked to base
their applications on £30 per head for six to
eight-week sport sessions.
The application form for funding can be
found online at www.lincolnshiresports.com/
sportivate or to request a copy call Lucy on
01522 585 580.
Sportivate is a national programme managed
by Sport England and delivered through
Lincolnshire Sports Partnership.
Action plan for Wormgate
Action may be taken to prevent
traffic from rat-running through
Wormgate.
Following a meeting between
Wormgate business and property
owners, Lincolnshire County
Council highways officials and
Boston Borough Council the
process aimed at placing bollards
in the road is to be investigated.
All but two of the property
owners in Wormgate attended the
meeting, packing out Bizzarro’s
Italian restaurant.
Main concerns were about
through traffic causing a hazard
to pedestrians and damaging
properties. Some travel at speeds
too high for the narrow, historic
cobbled road. When rain gathers
in large puddles, where the road
surface has dipped, the vehicles
throw waves of water against the
properties.
The meeting heard of some close
calls with traffic which pedestrians
have had and there had been one
recent incident where a vehicle had
collided and damaged a shop front.
Steve Willis, Lincolnshire County
Council’s Head of Highways agreed
a survey of the area, to investigate
the feasibility for bollards and
signage, will take place before
Christmas. But he warned that
there was due process to be
followed and there could be no
loopholes or shortcuts.
This would involve statutory
consultation on the proposal,
public advertising over a set period
laid down in law and a chance for
people to object. It could be six to
nine months before the bollards
are in place. The bollards may
be placed near the junction with
Fountain Lane, allowing room for
vehicles in the area to turn around.
The meeting was organised
by Boston Borough Councillor
Carol Taylor, who said it was
successful as the issues are
being investigated. She said there
was some disappointment that it
couldn’t all happen tomorrow, but a
general understanding that proper
process had to be followed.
Cllr Derek Richmond, portfolio
holder for the town centre, said
in the meantime he would urge
an increased police presence in
Wormgate to dissuade those using
the road as a shortcut and parking.
Vehicles should only travel into
Wormgate to access properties or
make deliveries.
He agreed that the ultimate
answer would be bollards
preventing through traffic. He also
said greater efforts would be made
to encourage shoppers into the
Wormgate shopping area.
www.boston.gov.uk
Boston Bulletin, November, 2011 19
Direct debit for
trade waste
customers
The council has introduced an
easy method of payment for trade
waste customers to help reduce
administration costs. The council
hopes this will reduce the burden
on businesses, making alterations
for price changes, VAT levels or
service adjustments easier to
manage.
All trade waste customers
have received letters giving
details of how to change their
payment method, along with a
form to complete and return to the
accountancy section.
The council hopes to introduce
direct debit to all customers who
are currently invoiced by March 31,
2012. Direct debit is the council’s
preferred method of payment for
services, but we will continue to
accept payment by other means
such as credit and debit cards.
For queries or further information
please contact Sheila Connor on
01205 314423.
Have your say
on the economy
Do you want to inform the decision
making of local and national
bodies?
Are you a local business or
organisation based in Lincolnshire?
Are you interested in a local
perspective of the economy?
If so, then why not join the 3,000
plus businesses who already receive
the Lincolnshire Quarterly Economic
Survey run jointly by Lincolnshire
County Council and the Lincolnshire
Chamber of Commerce
Please click on the link for the
Quarterly Economic Survey which
will take you to the survey which
should be completed by December
5.
The survey takes between five and
ten minutes to complete.
This quarterly survey has been
designed to give businesses and
organisations a quick and simple
way of reporting on local economic
conditions. The results of the survey
are also reported to HM Treasury
and the Bank of England, ensuring
that Lincolnshire views and issues
inform their decision making.
By completing the survey you
will also get access to the quarterly
Lincolnshire Economic Briefing,
providing you with an up-to-date
overview of the local and national
economy along with details of
events and initiatives which may be
of benefit.
Any information you provide is
treated confidentially.
If you would like to discuss any
aspect of the survey with someone,
please contact Rachael Townsend,
Senior Projects Assistant,
Lincolnshire County Council, direct
on 01522 550655, or email rachael.
[email protected]
Friday 20 January 2012
Assembly Rooms, Boston
7 for 7.30pm
Mayor’s
Charity Ball
£30 per ticket
Three course dinner
(vegetarian option available on request)
Live music with ‘Jam Jar’
Carriages at midnight
Black tie
All proceeds go towards the Mayors Charities:
The Veterans Memorial Plaque Committee and The Boston Branch of the Royal British Legion
Tickets available from Alison Hull, Civic and Member Services Officer
Tel: (01205) 314511 or email [email protected]
20 Boston Bulletin, November, 2011
www.boston.gov.uk
Time and talents rewarded
Volunteers giving of their time and
talents in the Boston area have
had their efforts recognised at an
awards evening.
Charlie Bint, Lee Hextall, Eric Hoult,
Emma Baxter, Eka Hopper, Les Budding
and Frank Thompson were all honoured
at this year’s Voluntary Sector Recognition
Awards held by South Lincolnshire
Community and Voluntary Service
(SLCVS).
John Medler, performance, governance
and commissioning team leader at East
Lindsey District Council presented the
certificates of recognition to the worthy
recipients as part of an evening of
celebration. The Butterfly Hospice Trust
saw two of its volunteers receive the main
prizes during the evening - Eric Hoult who
received the Bert Shaw MBE Award for
Governance and 15-year-old Charlie Bint,
who received the Jim Hopkins MBE Award
for Youth Volunteering.
A representative from the trust said:
“The staff and volunteers at the hospice
believe that the hospice would not have
been built without Eric’s pro-active
managerial involvement. Charlie is hard
working, punctual, polite, and a credit to
his generation.”
Lee Hextall was recognised for his
inspirational work with the Boston Youth
Jazz Orchestra and the Boston and Area
Wind Band. A representative said: “He is
an inspiration to the young people and this
shows when they play.”
Chairman of St Thomas’s Parent and
Toddler Group, Emma Baxter, received
recognition for her dedication to the group,
spending hours of her time preparing
activities, organising outings and ensuring
a good time is had by all.
Les Budding and Frank Thompson
collectively represent the Boston Veterans
Memorial Plaque Committee and were
praised for the outstanding role they play
in making “Veterans Way” in Boston a
lasting tribute the town can be proud of.
Home-Start volunteer Eka Hopper has
volunteered with the local organisation for
ten years, providing friendly, confidential
and emotional support to several different
families throughout this time.
Ladey Adey, SLCVS’s chief executive,
said: “SLCVS’s Voluntary Sector
Recognition Awards are such a wonderful
way of celebrating the extensive and
varied voluntary activity that takes place
across Lincolnshire. SLCVS is proud to
John Medler and Ladey Adey with
15-year-old Butterfly Trust volunteer
Charlie Bint
organise and host the awards and hopes
to encourage more people to get involved
in volunteering in their local communities.”
To find out about volunteering
opportunities in your area contact the
Boston Volunteer Centre on 01205 365588
or visit www.southlincscvs.org.uk
Eric Hoult with his volunteering
champion’s certificate
Letter to MP, word in Pickles’ ear
G
roup leaders on Boston Borough
Council have signed a letter to MP
Mark Simmonds urging that he presses
the Secretary of State for financial
recognition of the pressure services are
under because of the expansion in the
population caused by the influx of migrant
workers.
The letter, signed at Monday night’s full
council meeting, talks of the “significant
impacts and strains” placed on local
service provision in Boston resulting from
a “rapid and significant” population change
since 2004.
Mr Simmonds is asked to again raise
with Eric Pickles, the Secretary of State
for Communities and Local Government,
the difficulties in Boston in continuing to
provide services to a population greater
than official statistics indicate.
Council leader, Cllr Peter Bedford, took
the opportunity at a reception he had been
invited to attend at 10 Downing Street with
the Prime Minister to buttonhole Mr Pickles
to urge him to look favourably on Boston’s
request when he met with Mr Simmonds.
Mr Pickles promised that he would discuss
the matter with Mr Simmonds.
Pictured right: signing the letter to
MP Mark Simmonds are, seated, Cllr
Helen Staples (leader of Boston District
Independents), Cllr Paul Kenny (leader
of the Labour Group), standing left, Cllr
Richard Leggott (spokesman for the
Independent group) and council leader
Cllr Peter Bedford
www.boston.gov.uk
Boston Bulletin, November, 2011 21
The Mognificent Seven
Boston’s Mognificent Seven have
helped raise more than £533 so
far with their moustache-growing
Movember efforts.
The month-long growathon culminated
with a buffet and raffle in the council
chamber yesterday (Wednesday,
November 30) attended by Mo Bros, staff
and councillors.
Wearer of the top tash was Richard
Steele, topping the poll with his Super
Mario-style mo.
The council’s Mo Bro team, below, from
left, was Adam Eden (Mo boss), Peter
Hunn, Simon Oswin, Andrew Malkin, Pete
Baxter, Andy Haw and Richard Steele.
Inset, Pete Baxter, who was unavailable
for the group picture.
The bewhiskered seven grew their
moustaches during November as part of a
global initiative to highlight and raise funds
for research into men’s health issues, such
as prostate cancer.
Food and prizes for the raffle were all
donated by supportive local businesses.
Prizes included, four home game tickets
– Boston United, Sunday lunch for four
at the Bricklayers Arms, Old Leake, £25
voucher – Pizza Hut, Pimms, Sunday
lunch for two – White Hart, digital camera,
Gift box – Edwards Emporium, Ed Hardy
bag, Waterstones books, CK bag, bottle
of bubbly, shortbread, Vera Wang bag,
Anti-virus software, mint creams, dvds,
childrens’ toys, Parker pen, smellies,
Clarins set, Fogarty’s duvet and bottle of
Ameretto.
Mo the Merrier team captain,
Adam Eden, said: “There is still some
sponsorship to come in, so the total will be
even higher. Thanks to all who took part
and to all who supported and sponsored
them.
“It has been worthwhile and we’ll do it all
again next year.”
Ashley (15) Miss Teen GB semi-finalist
Ashley Gardner (15) has won
herself a place in the semi-final of
Miss Teen Great Britain 2012.
Ashley, who currently attends
Middlecott School in Kirton,
aspires to be a primary school
teacher but also has an interest in
modeling.
Daughter of the council’s senior
people’s services advisor Becky
Gardner, Ashley has beaten off
nationwide competition to be
named as one of the semi-finalists.
The grand final, which will be
held in March at The Globe in
Blackpool, will see 59 aspiring
models, including Ashley,
competing to win some incredible
prizes - including £1,000.
The finalists will spend a fun-
by
MELISSA PHILLIPS
filled weekend in Blackpool,
spending a day on the pleasure
beach and having a pyjama diva
party.
Her mother, who entered her
into Miss Teen Great Britain as a
surprise, will be going along with
Ashley to support her at the event.
Ashley says: “I am so excited to
have made it to the semi final, it is
a great achievement. Making it to
the grand final would be a dream
come true – fingers crossed I will
be able to represent Boston and
win the Miss Teen Great Britain
crown.”
22 Boston Bulletin, November, 2011
www.boston.gov.uk
Dance makes the difference
Two Boston charities have joined
forces to help combat loneliness
and isolation in the community with
a dance event.
Boston Mayflower and South
Lincolnshire Community and Voluntary
Service (SLCVS) were promoting
Community Service Volunteers’ (CSV)
Make a Difference Day.
The tea dance event took place at
Mayfields, in Broadfield Lane, Boston –
and proved very popular with attendees.
CarolAnne Payne, senior volunteering
officer at SLCVS, said: “We had been
planning the day for a couple of months,
following ideas from our reception
volunteers.
“Les Allitt, an organist, was arranged and
Boston Mayflower organised the presence
of food and customers from Mayfields and from surrounding supported housing.
“It was fantastically well attended, with
around 50 people dancing the afternoon
away together.
“One gentleman told me he was not
willing or able to dance but liked listening
to the music - within an hour one of the
volunteers had him dancing to the waltz,
not once but three times.”
Staff from the organisations received
the grateful thanks of those in attendance
following the dance.
It was so popular Boston Mayflower
announced that Mayfields would be putting
on a tea dance regularly.
Mrs Payne said: “We believe we made a
difference to all concerned.
“We even reunited three people - they
had not seen each other since they worked
at Pilgrim Hospital in the 1950s.
“The event certainly touched a few
people’s hearts, and showed partnership
working has a benefit to all concerned.”
CSV is a charity which celebrates
volunteers by encouraging organisations to
get involved with campaigns.
To get involved in volunteering contact
Boston Volunteer Centre on 01205
365580, or visit the Len Medlock Voluntary
Centre. To find out more about future tea
dances at Mayfields call Diane on 01205
318636.
Mayfields own version of Strictly Come
Dancing
You say, we listen – we really do
A year has passed all too quickly since
an innovative new group comprised of
borough residents and council officers first
met.
The first anniversary meeting of the
Residents’ Sounding Board took place
at Municipal Buildings earlier this month
when members re-examined original
objectives.
The group was set up in an effort to
plug perceived gaps between residents’
expectations and what the council actually
delivers.
Initial meetings revealed that while some
gaps did exist the aspirations of both
officers of the council and residents were
very similar. And there was recognition
of the gaps on both sides – sometimes
difficult to plug because of lack of
manpower or funds, or both.
Sounding Board residents and officers
meet every six to eight weeks to discuss
issues of concern. At other times members
of the board are used by officers to sound
out ideas, initiatives and actions.
Residents’ input has led to action on
refuse collection, fly tipping, littering and
graffiti. Their comments have led to other
agencies being made aware of problems
with cyclists in pedestrian-only areas,
speeding and anti-social behaviour.
Communication by the council has
improved.
At the annual meeting it was agreed that
there had been successes and areas to
work on for improvement.
Residents agreed they had been able to
influence some aspects of borough work
and had been listened to.
But there was still a desire to engage
with young people and the migrant
population
Residents and officers agreed they
would like to see a wider community
involvement and more feedback from the
community on the council.
The group drew up a list of objectives for
the future:
Geoff Moulder
refurbishment works latest
Get fitter in 2012 Christmas/New
It’s not quite time for New Year resolutions,
but how about getting in extra early and
Year closure
signing up for free Fit Kids sessions at the
Refurbishment work at the Geoff Moulder
Leisure Complex is now underway.
The works, to continue until Sunday,
January 8, are designed to improve
customer experience and reduce the
energy usage of the building.
It includes resurfacing the car park,
installing illuminated signs, replacing
lighting and flooring, changing rooms
improvements, double glazing the front
windows and installing pool covers.
Geoff Moulder Leisure Complex?
The next scheme begins in January and
will be specially devised to help kids (and
their families) get fit, lose weight and learn
more about healthy eating and healthy
living.
The scheme is free and you can refer
yourself for it by contacting the Geoff
Moulder complex direct on 01205 363483.
Improvements in Boston’s image and
identity;
Planning to take better account of the
town’s heritage;
A review of street drinking – alcohol
laws need reviewing;
Reductions in traffic congestion;
More enforcement on littering;
An emphasis on education and
integration;
More action to curb anti-social
behaviour.
If you are interested in attending the
Sounding Board meetings, or want to
become a member, especially if you
are young or a member of the migrant
community, please contact Sharon
Finch on 01205 314480. Your views are
important and you will be made very
welcome.
The next meeting will be held in
Municipal Buildings at 6pm on Tuesday,
January 31.
Boston Borough Council’s main
offices will be closed from 3pm on
Friday, December 23, and will reopen
at 8.45am on Tuesday, January 3.
The public can, during this period,
submit enquiries and receive
responses via the website –
www.boston.gov.uk
www.boston.gov.uk
Boston Bulletin, November, 2011 23
R-I-I-I-P!!! Aaaggghhh!!!
Kerching
Adam Eden grits his teeth and goes
through his personal pain barrier
as part of an event organised by
his “sadistic” community safety
colleague Donna Brewer.
But it was all in a good cause – raising
around £1,300 for Anencephaly Awareness
UK. The charity raises awareness of the
importance of folic acid as a potential
answer to a fatal condition called
anencephaly.
The condition manifests as a failure of
the top of the skull to be formed. The top
of the neural tube fails to close and babies
with the disorder are born without a major
proportion of brain, skull and scalp and this
condition is incompatible with life. Donna
had a baby girl 16 years ago with the
condition.
Donna, an anti-social behaviour case
worker with Boston Borough Council,
organised a waxing evening at the
Bricklayers Arms, Old Leake, and got ASB
case worker Adam to agree to be one of
the “victims”.
His painful effort added £75 to the total.
Donna said: “Many now know that taking
folic acid is something to do if they are
planning for a baby, but, 16 years on, I
am surprised that so many do not know
why they should take it, or realise the
importance of the supplement.
“Some may even believe it is something
they should consider, but not so important
that they must take it.”
Donna said following extensive research
folic acid is thought to help prevent
anencephaly.
The event at the Bricklayers Arms
included a prize raffle at a Hallowe’en
event at the pub, when brave volunteers,
including her husband Wayne and sons
Harry and Charlie, had their chest, back
and legs waxed.
Pub landlord Brian Morley also
underwent the painful waxing treatment
along with other friends and customers.
Donna can be contacted on 01205
314318 for more information about
anencephaly and folic acid.
Pictured right: That’s the back done,
sir. Now turn around and I’ll soon tidy
up the front for you! Adam’s expression
says it all. Waxing him is beautician
Lesley Picker
What do you mean, it’s going to sting in the morning… it stings now!
Pictures by kind permission of
Aggie Moore Photography
24 Boston Bulletin, November, 2011
www.boston.gov.uk
Top awards for Haven Court
Two top regional awards have
been presented to Boston Borough
Council for its work in connection
with the development of Haven
Court in the town.
Kesteven District Council’s straw houses.
Fiona said: “This is Boston teamwork at
its best.”
Haven Court has been developed on a
brownfield site where the Haven Cinema
once stood.
Haven Court – a complex of apartments and a town house
The complex of 26 apartments and
a town house received the affordable
housing award and the regeneration award
at the Royal Town Planning Institute’s
East Midlands presentations held in
Nottingham.
The council’s housing department
nominated the Chestnut Homes and
Waterloo Housing development for
the Browne Jacobson East Midlands’
Affordable Housing Award.
Fiona Todd, housing strategy and
enabling officer, and Trevor Thompson,
senior planning officer, focused on the
visual attractiveness of the development
within its setting and as a catalyst for the
regeneration of the area. Alan Oliver was
the original case officer.
The scheme was a joint winner in the
affordable housing award with North
Tough times, but more for less
Boston Borough Council’s draft budget for
next year is now available for consultation.
The budget sets out details of all the
council’s finances – where the cash to
pay for services will come from, cash the
council will raise itself from services it
offers and how it will be spent.
And you now have a chance to have
your say on all these aspects.
The full draft budget document is now
available on the council’s website, together
with an online facility for making your
comments on it
http://forms.boston.gov.uk/
ShowForm.asp?fm_fid=538
Yesterday (Wednesday, November 30)
the council’s Cabinet members agreed the
draft budget-setting report and mediumterm financial strategy 2012/13 to 2016/17
should go out for consultation.
The main budget proposals include:
No council tax increase in 2012/13 with
Band D properties remaining at £168.39,
subject to acceptance of the Government’s
grant to keep council tax at 2010/11 levels;
Council tax frozen despite a reduction
in Government grant to the council of £0.8
million – down from £6.1 million to £5.3
million;
Front-line services will improve;
Major spending proposed to improve
the council’s refuse fleet, the crematorium
and car parks.
The council has a challenge of saving
£1.1 million over the next five years.
The council has so far met the £0.8
million reduction in Government grant
with a series of cost-saving initiatives.
These have included £279,000 in staff
pay and conditions adjustments, £101,000
by setting up a joint local development
framework planning authority, £100,000 by
a revenues and benefits service redesign
and £100,000 leisure service savings.
Deputy joint leader of the council, Cllr
Raymond Singleton-McGuire, portfolio
holder for finance, warned that possible
further, so far unannounced, cuts in
Government grant beyond 2012/13 could
reduce the amount the council receives in
2014/15 to £4.6 million.
The council was in a group of councils
worst hit by the Government cuts and
although a council tax freeze grant has
been available he pointed out that when
this comes to an end it will be difficult
to make up the ground lost from what
would ordinarily have been locally-raised
revenue.
He told Cabinet: “There are clearly tough
times as we wrestle with anticipated cuts
in funding from central Government as
well as reductions in income sources and
rising inflation. The stance in enforced by
the projected national financial position
as depicted in the Chancellor’s Autumn
statement, as economic growth appears to
flatline.
“That said, this proposed budget ensures
services will continue to be delivered to a
high standard and concurrently it provides
financial resilience going forward.”
Free energy from the sun for Geoff Moulder
Plans to use green energy to help power
the Geoff Moulder Leisure Complex
have moved a step forward following the
council’s decision to fund the installation of
a 50 kWh solar array.
Costing just over £105,000 the 200
panels will cover an area of 340 square
metres on the south-facing roof of the main
pool hall.
The solar panels are expected to pay for
themselves within eight to nine years and
generate a profit of at least £260,000 over
25 years.
Approval was given for a £22,000 energyefficient lighting upgrade which will also
raise illumination levels to Sport England
standards. The existing 51 lights will be
replaced with 30 Intelligent Somar Eluma
units, generating average annual financial
savings of more than £4,000 per annum.
These two investments build on other
green measures at the facility.
Partnerships and Sustainability Manager
Ian Farmer said: “The new investments
will not only help to limit exposure to future
energy price rises, but also reduce carbon
emissions by 43 tonnes per annum.”
www.boston.gov.uk
Boston Bulletin, November, 2011 25
Magnificent, medieval,mysterious meets modern
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Boston Guildhall
South Street
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: (01205) 365 954
: www.bostonguildhall.co.uk
Items that can
be recycled
Aerosol cans
Aluminium cans
Cardboard boxes
Catalogues
Cereal boxes
Drinks cans
Cardboard Egg boxes
Envelopes
Foil
Foil trays
Food tins
Glass bottles (wine, beer etc)
Glass jars
Greeting cards
Junk mail
Magazines
Newspapers
Paperback books
Pet food tins
Plastic bottles
Plastic detergent bottles
Plastic drink bottles
Plastic milk bottles
Plastic shampoo bottles
Steel cans
Telephone directories
Writing paper
We advise that confidential
waste, i.e personal details, bank
details etc should be shredded to
minimise the risk of identity theft
BOSTON
VISIT
Shopping
Traditional open-air markets every Wednesday and Saturday
Wealth of independent shops and many national retailers
Pescod Square and Boston Shopping Park
The Washbanks
Fantastic scenery and beautiful walks
Outstanding nature reserves RSPB Frampton Marsh and RSPB Freiston Shore
Heritage
Boston Stump, Fydell House, Maud Foster Windmill
14th Century Boston Guildhall Museum
Leisure and Recreation
Maritime Cruises - river and The Wash boat trips
Wonderful array of restaurants and cafés
Blackfriars Arts Centre
Multi-screen cinema
Tourist Information Centre : (01205) 365954 : [email protected]