Agenda item

1.  Question to Councillor Sandeep Ghosh from Councillor Jonathan Noble:

 

If the Government’s devolution plan for Lincolnshire goes ahead, the Southern Lincolnshire Unitary Council of which Boston will be a part, is likely to be saddled with half of the defunct Lincolnshire County Council’s £469 million debt, so what preliminary provisions has the South and East Lincolnshire Partnership made for dealing with this problem?

 

Response from Councillor Sandeep Ghosh:

 

I would like to thank Councillor Noble for his question. The level of debt will remain unchanged under Local Government Reorganisation. The financial modelling that forms part of the submission to Government will take into account a range of financial factors, including existing debt levels.

 

Furthermore, the formation of the two divisions has not yet been determined. Should we fall within the southern division, it will not only involve the SELCP partnership but also other councils that will participate in the discussions. We are, therefore, at a very early stage of the overall process, and it would be premature to draw conclusions or make provisions at this point.

 

Supplementary question from Councillor Jonathan Noble to Councillor Sandeep Ghosh:

 

Now we understand that the Boston Council's current level of debt is approximately £16.5 million due to our investment in various property funds. And obviously, should this southern unitary go ahead we will probably have the debts of North and South Kesteven Councils, but also our two partnership councils. So my question is, what is the current level of debt in each of our partnership Councils, that is East Lindsay District Council and South Holland District Council?

 

Supplementary response from Councillor Sandeep Ghosh:

 

I can at least tell about Boston, I don't know about the other councils. Boston have paid back everything. The State Street loan has been paid two weeks back and at the moment we don't have any debts left. Thank you.

 

2.  Question to Councillor Sandeep Ghosh from Councillor Jonathan Noble:

 

How much did Boston Borough Council pay for the former B and M Building in PE21, including demolition costs?

 

Response from Councillor Sandeep Ghosh:

 

Boston Borough Council paid £1,800,000 plus VAT (so £2,160,000 including VAT) for the land and buildings commonly referred to as ‘the former B&M site’ to enable what is now known as its Rosegarth Square project.

 

In terms of demolition, as the Council entered into a Minor Works Building Contract for the Rosegarth Square project, which included demolition of both the former B&M building and Crown House, it is very difficult to disaggregate a pure cost for the B&M building only; however, the final account figure for demolition works of all structures across the two sites was £380,637.60.

 

Supplementary question from Councillor Jonathan Noble to Councillor Sandeep Ghosh:

 

Now the Council has paid a very high figure for the B&M building and land, given that the property was on the market for £1.3 million for many months, if not more than a year. So the Council has paid over £500,000 more than the notional value of the site. How does the Council justify this misuse of taxpayers money?

 

Supplementary response from Councillor Sandeep Ghosh:

 

I really can't give you a straightforward answer about that because it all goes through a procurement process and we get the bids and accordingly we do the job, but I can go into detail and give you a proper answer whyif you think it's an extra paid,  thank you.

 

[A copy of the written response is appended to the Minutes.]

 

3.  Question to Councillor Sandeep Ghosh from Councillor Jonathan Noble:

 

How much did Boston Borough Council pay for the now demolished Crown House?

 

Response from Councillor Sandeep Ghosh:

 

Boston Borough Council paid £1,050,000 (one million and fifty thousand pounds) to acquire land and buildings known as Crown House.

 

Supplementary question from Councillor Jonathan Noble to Councillor Sandeep Ghosh:

 

It seems a high price to pay given that it is a site that the Council intended to demolish the building itself. So the question is this, why did the Council not consider refurbishments and internal reconfiguration of the Crown House, given that the building was of no great age?

 

Supplementary response from Councillor Sandeep Ghosh:

 

I’ll get back to you about that, thank you.

 

[A copy of the written response is appended to the Minutes.]

 

4.  Question to Councillor Sandeep Ghosh from Councillor Jonathan Noble:

 

What is the collective annual salary cost of Boston Borough Council’s Climate Change officers?

 

Response from Councillor Sandeep Ghosh:

 

The collective annual salary costs (gross pay + NI + pension) for the x3 climate change officers, based upon the 23% sharing arrangement applicable to Boston Borough Council is £42,839.

 

Supplementary question from Councillor Jonathan Noble to Councillor Sandeep Ghosh:

 

Given the level of political posturing involved in the Council's net zero target of 2040 and concomitant climate change cost in terms of officers employed, why did the Council not consider a tree planting scheme on the lands it owns, which would help to improve the air quality in the borough for a fraction of the costs previously quoted?

 

Supplementary response from Councillor Sandeep Ghosh:

 

Councillor Noble, you are actually giving me a suggestion. It's a full project itself, so we really cannot decide now why we didn't do that. So, if you have any suggestions like that, you can always come back to me offline and we can always discuss about that. Thank you.

 

5.  Question to Councillor Mike Gilbert from Councillor James Cantwell:

 

The Boston Independent Party argue that Members were offered Financial Incentives to join the Cabinet and support removing Councillor Dorrian from her post leader earlier this year. As a new member of the cabinet where you offered this to join?

 

Response from Councillor Mike Gilbert:

 

I thank Cllr Cantwell for his question as it allows me to state absolutely unequivocally that when discussing my possible role within Cllr Broughton’s administration, there was no discussion about remuneration or allowances. The only conversations I had with Cllr Broughton related to my role within the administration and what areas I would cover within my portfolio.

 

I accepted the role of Deputy Leader with responsibilities which include the Town Centre, because I live within the Boston Town Centre area, I am passionate about Boston’s important global legacy and want Boston to become recognised for its contribution to the evolution of Western society through its historical links to the United States.

 

No other issues were discussed or even considered.

 

Supplementary question from Councillor James Cantwell to Councillor Mike Gilbert:

 

I know that Councillor Rylott was not offered this and I hope Councillor Staples can confirm whether she was at a later date. Would you argue that if members make these comments they should be willing to back it up with hard evidence so that these matters could be investigated and not conjecture and political point scoring.

 

Supplementary response from Councillor Mike Gilbert:

 

Yeah, I think there are a number of things, a number of allegations that have been exchanged within this Chamber, which probably needed greater scrutiny. And this example you've just given is just one of them. There are numerous others as well. Thank you.

 

6. Question to Councillor Mike Gilbert from Councillor Stuart Evans:

 

As I’m sure elected members recall, a Members Working Group was formed in Jan 2024, to look into all aspects of BBC’s Car Parks. This lasted around 4 months and produced various recommendations that were unanimously approved at the E&P Scrutiny meeting of 27th August 2024.

 

Since then NOTHING has happened in any aspect of this MWG report.

 

My question to Cllr Gilbert, who was one of the members of this Group & who made a valuable contribution to its final recommendations, is simply… why have the recommendations not been implemented after what is now well over a year later?

 

Response from Councillor Mike Gilbert:

 

I thank Cllr Evans for his question which acts as a timely reminder that members of this council invest a huge amount of time attending working groups and committees all with the aim of making improvement in our town and borough.

 

Whilst I have only been a member of the current administration since late July, I have had discussions with the lead officer for car parks about the progress of the recommendations from the Carparks working Group. It was one of my first actions when I assumed my current role because I was a member of the Car Parks working group myself.

 

Progress has been patchy in the sense that some of the recommendations I endorsed as part of the group had significant cost implications. These are not being overlooked, but for example widening the car parking bays in the Sheep Market car park has not been actioned this year and is not budgeted for next year, but will be undertaken if capital funding can be identified and will certainly feature as we progress towards our ambitions for 2030 and the celebration of the 400th anniversary of the founding of our sister City Boston Massachusetts.

 

Likewise signage has yet to be improved but again this is something I will push to deliver as it is essential we get this right as we have a wide heritage agenda including our preparations for 2030 and its obvious, we need to make our town clear and accessible with signage towards our car parks to enable visitors to find their way into our town.

 

In respect of the Charges review, this was undertaken and implemented in 2024/25, updated again for 2025/26, but did not add any Shopper/Commuter passes as further statistical evaluation was required but unfortunately those specific skills are no longer available internally.

 

Finally, some better news, we have a group of volunteers of whom I am one who have started to undertake work in some of our small plots of green space around the borough. St Georges Carpark area is one place where a lot has been achieved. The main constraints on achieving more however relate to volunteer numbers and as such we are going to be promoting volunteering opportunities around the town to not only enable local people to work to improve what is their town centre, but also to improve their physical and mental wellbeing. The more volunteers we get the more we can achieve.

 

We have a Town Centre Coordination group emerging from the Town Centre Strategy. This group is an operational group of councillors and officers who deal with the practicalities of town centre management.  I have asked that Car Parking and all related issues become a standing item, and therefore a minuted item to ensure that car parking as it relates to the towns economy, heritage offer, and appearance can have a clear focus in the future and the working groups report will be an important element of that.

 

Supplementary question to Councillor Mike Gilbert from Councillor Stuart Evans:

 

Thank you, Counsellor Gilbert, for a very comprehensive reply. I'm glad to hear that this project has not totally fallen victim to the efficiency savings monster that seems to stalk Boston Borough Council of late. What with all the good work regarding the marked uplift in the Boston market in recent weeks, it would be a shame to stop there. The costings for the re-lining of the car park is around £2000, which seems excellent value for money. So can you please assure the people of Boston that they are finally going to get a revamped cattle market car park, incorporating larger spaces and a more relaxed parking experience when visiting Boston Town Centre sooner rather than later.

 

Response from Councillor Mike Gilbert:

 

It is absolutely my ambition to see the aims of that working group fulfilled within a reasonable space of time. I can't give you a time scale, but I'm on to it.

 

The remaining questions were withdrawn as the relevant members were not present to ask or respond.