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Saturday 5th August 2006
Photographed at 11.18 am on Tuesday 1st August 2006
The targets for waste recycling set by South Kesteven
District Council may be admirable but they will also be unattainable if the
collection system continues to break down as it has done in Bourne in recent weeks.
"Get the recycling habit" proclaim the slogans plastered on the big green
containers dotted around the town but those who turn up to dump their bottles,
cans and newspapers on a regular basis are often having to take them home again.
Some of these consignments obviously end up in roadside ditches and there are
many examples of this anti-social conduct on the outskirts of town but
fortunately the majority of people are law abiding and merely want the system
promised by the council to work.
At a time when fly-tipping is coming under government scrutiny, we may blame the
local authorities for exacerbating rather than assisting this problem by not
emptying their recycling containers as often as they should although the
officers in charge will always find a form of words to excuse this inefficiency.
Last month, the council's containers in the car park outside Sainsburys
supermarket in Exeter Street were spilling over and there was so much public
concern that angry residents protested that it was impossible to see them
through the accumulated rubbish. One of those who complained, Derek Glover, of
Woodview, Bourne, put it succinctly when he said: "The containers are a good
idea but what is the point if we cannot get any rubbish into them?"
The council’s reply was unconvincing. Garry Knighton, Head of Waste Management,
told The Local newspaper (28th July): "Our contractor is not allowed to work on
Sundays which does not help but we have had a big increase. This may be due to
the end of the World Cup or the start of the barbecue season. Whatever the
cause, we will be looking at our collection patterns to try and improve the
situation."
The meaning of the word contractor is quite clear. The dictionary definition is
someone who promises to provide, as in this case, a service, and the terms are
fixed when the agreement is signed. If they are not met, whether weekends or
holidays or soccer or summer intervene, then they are in breach of that contract
and should be suitably penalised and even replaced.
The faults in the system are obviously taking a long time to sort out, even
though they have been manifest for some months, and this week it was the turn of
the containers in the car park adjoining the Rainbow supermarket in Manning Road
to overflow, causing many people to take their rubbish home rather than add to
the mess.
If the situation is to improve, then collections are needed on a regular and
dependable basis which has obviously not been happening. When there are
complaints, abnormal conditions that may have caused the problems are conjured
up, such as footie and meals on the patio, to which we may add Bank Holidays,
Christmas and New Year when the same situation is repeated.
But the real reason is inefficiency in that the terms of the contact with the
operators are either too generous or are not being rigidly enforced and so the
system needs to be tightened up if the public is to get the service it has been
promised. In the meantime, anyone who sees a crammed container, and there do
seem to be many of them about this summer, then take the council's advice and
either telephone 01476 406279 or email contractors@skdc.com
It is doubtful if either will help but at least it will make you feel better for
taking your rubbish home and dumping it in the domestic waste bin which is
exactly the opposite of what is intended by the recycling scheme.
The statement last week that it was impossible to clean
up St Peter’s Pool because it was too dangerous has been challenged by a former
Bourne resident, Trevor Pool, who clearly remembers similar work being done more
than half a century ago.
There has been a public clamour for many years to have this beauty spot put in
order but Councillor Shirley Cliffe, a trustee for Bourne United Charities, the
organisation responsible for the Wellhead Gardens, told the Stamford Mercury
(Friday 28th July) that they had looked at ways of cleaning up the pool and
added: “We have been told by experts that it cannot be done because the pool bed
is on top of the spring and it would be lethal if anyone, be it an expert or a
member of the public, attempted to cross it.”
Trevor, aged 80, whose family have been associated with Bourne since 1888, now
lives in retirement at Halifax in West Yorkshire, but retains a lively interest
in our affairs and he wrote to the Forum on Monday:
If Bourne United Charities say they cannot
clean out St Peter’s Pool because of the danger from underground springs then
they must believe the fairy story of it being fed from seven springs. It was
cleaned out by them in the late 1940s or early 1950s when they engaged a drag
line excavator to dig out the base of the pool. Large amounts of lime material
from the bottom were removed and placed on the banking. With regret, they also
removed or dislodged the parapet stones on top of the well and these
perhaps fell down inside. They were visible when the light was right and seeing
is believing.
Trevor’s memories are to be believed, as previous contributions
to this web site have proven. We hope that Bourne United Charities will take
note of these observations instead of continuing to ignore what is now becoming
a most serious problem and a continuing eyesore that is doing little for our
reputation as an attractive market town.
Vandals continue to target North Road on their drunken way home after a
Saturday night out and in the latest incident, ten of the saplings planted on
the grass verge by volunteers anxious to do their bit for the community were
snapped in two. As one hand gives, another takes away but for no explicable
reason other than mindless, senseless destruction.
Trees planted here over the years by the Rotary Club of Bourne to enhance the
street scene have been damaged, even uprooted, time and time again, yet members
refuse to bow to the yobs who return repeatedly to replace what has been lost.
The latest occurrence, however, is not only an insult to the town but also to
the memory of Rotarian John Bentley who had been co-ordinating the work for
several years but died suddenly in January at the age of 76. Eighteen young
rowans were about to be planted at a cost of £400 but fellow members and his
family agreed that the work should go ahead because he was determined not to
give in to such setbacks. The vandalism on this occasion is therefore doubly
reprehensible.
The sight of the damaged trees on Sunday morning was disheartening for all who
have the welfare of this town at heart. There is an unruly element among us that
cares not for the place where they live or those that choose to call it home.
They make no contribution to society and appear to be hell bent on destroying
everything that comes in their path. Those responsible have friends, families
and relatives who also live here and must therefore know what the culprits have
been about. If they remain silent, then they are equally culpable.
What the local newspapers are saying: A new medical centre offering a
wide range of services from general practitioner appointments and dentistry to
home care for the elderly and mentally ill is on its way for Bourne, according
to the Stamford Mercury. A front page report says that the project is
planned for the Southfield Business Park in South Road which would help meet the
shortfall in hospital services for the town following the closure of Bourne
Hospital in 1998 (August 4th).
The scheme proposed by the Leeds-based company One Medical will create 200 new
jobs if approved and has already been welcomed by local councillors. John Smith
(Bourne West), the South Kesteven District Council cabinet member responsible
for economic regeneration, told the newspaper that as a growing town, it is
essential that we have the correct infrastructure in place and this development
would certainly help. “We have to see how the application will be received by
planners but I for one am delighted by this news,” he said.
The report reveals that the company has submitted two planning applications, one
a detailed scheme for a care home and sheltered accommodation and another of
outline permission for the medical centre which suggests that it is ready to
proceed with the first but not quite ready for the second. The people of Bourne
will only benefit from increased family doctor and dentist facilities and it is
therefore hoped that when considering these applications, the planners make the
building of one scheme dependent on the other because Bourne may already have
sufficient provision for elderly care.
Bob Brown, manager of the Hereward Practice in Exeter Street told The Local,
which also covers the story in detail: “It looks like a good package but it is
vital that a medical centre is built alongside to avoid burdening surgeries
already operating in the town which already has above the national average of
intermediate care and facilities for elderly people who are mentally ill.”
Delia Ledner, manager at the Galletly Practice in North Road was similarly
sceptical. “While some of the sentiments in the proposal are laudable, Bourne
definitely doesn’t need more care homes”, she said.
In view of the official euphoria over this development, perhaps this is an
opportune time for SKDC to explain whether the doctor’s surgery planned for
Elsea Park across the road is likely to materialise or whether this scheme will
now replace it. Those who followed the negotiations at the time will remember
that the proposed medical facility was part of the planning gain package agreed
with the developers in November 1999 in return for permission to build the 2,000
house estate. A new south west relief road that was also agreed has been opened
but the new primary school which was also included has been shelved and there is
no sign yet of the promised multi-purpose community hall and sports pitches.
Perhaps history is repeating itself. When extensions to the Beech Avenue estate
were approved in 1975, there were promises of a new shopping centre and
recreational facilities but you will look in vain for either today.
Dog dirt has almost disappeared from our streets following a concerted
campaign by local authorities and a greater effort by pet owners to clear up as
they go along. Most walkers now carry a plastic bag and leave the pavement as
they found it although there are still the few who take no heed of the basic
rules of cleanliness in public places.
Bourne Wood is a different matter and owners appear to believe that as soon as
their dog scampers away along the track it can do as it pleases because there
are piles of pooh everywhere yet the same code should apply. The woodland
regulations state that dogs should be kept on a lead but few observe this and
some do take plastic bags but as they leave they have been in the habit of
hanging them on overhanging branches and we have seen several instances of this
foolishness within a small area near the entrance with hazel, oak and blackthorn
festooned with bulging bags and looking rather like Christmas trees.
The Forestry Commission is quite specific about the disposal of dog faeces if
owners insist on being irresponsible and not taking the mess away with them.
They should not allow it to be left on the path where it can be stepped in by
children and old people but kick it into the undergrowth at the side because it
is biodegradable and will eventually disappear. There are no really dirty dogs,
only dirty dog owners.
There is also the matter of horse droppings in the wood yet riders seem to
believe that they are exempt from this ruling. There are signs at most entrances
warning that riding is not permitted, usually a horseshoe with a red line
through it, a logo that should be comprehensible for even the most illiterate
equestrian yet they are continually ignored and their mounts are then allowed to
foul the footpaths into the bargain. If they do intend to flout the regulations
then they should at least carry a scoop and a plastic bag to ensure that they do
not inconvenience woodland walkers and create a health hazard into the bargain.
Thought for the week: Bourne in the 1950s was very, very quiet. They used
to drive cows up the street twice a day, up in the morning to the fields and
back in the evening to be milked. - extract from the memories of Norman
Gladden, written by his son Robert for the August issue of the Bourne Parish
News.
Saturday 12th August 2006
The Dencora town centre development - this time with car
parking spaces
The decision by South Kesteven District Council to sever
connections with Henry Davidson Developments and effectively end the current £27
million redesign of Bourne town centre raises two important questions that must
be answered in the public interest.
The first is whether this abortive scheme was an error of judgement by the
council and secondly how much has it cost the authority and ultimately the
taxpayer. Not only do the people want answers but they deserve to be told yet
experience would suggest that we are into a period of obfuscation or even
silence as councillors and officials close ranks to prevent the details of this
sorry affair reaching the public domain.
It has been clear for some months that the scheme was not progressing as
intended with traders and other property owners within the core designated area
of development, that triangle of land between North Street, Burghley Street and
West Street, continually expressing disquiet at the lack of information
forthcoming from the council and the Town Centre Management Partnership, with
the result that they are now claiming, with some justification, that a blight
has descended like a dark cloud over their livelihoods. They have been at a loss
as to how they should proceed with the growth of their businesses, whether to
continue with improving changes or to sit tight awaiting the blue skies yonder.
Unfortunately, the storm that has now gathered has left them in exactly the same
position as they were when the redevelopment was announced two years ago and
economically, they may be the poorer for it.
The decision to proceed with the town centre scheme was taken by the council’s
six-member cabinet in January 2005 as was the decision on Monday to withdraw,
with other councillors having little more than walk on, non-speaking roles. We
therefore look to the cabinet for a detailed explanation yet I fear that we are
whistling in the wind.
It has also brought into question whether SKDC is fitted for a task of this
magnitude and complexity. Officers whose normal routine is the handling of minor
planning issues are not necessarily the right people to rule on major town
projects while councillors are simply not qualified, being in the main retired
people whose chosen occupations were more mundane, such as tradesmen and
housewives, often put into senior positions because of loyalty to the party
machine rather than merit, and therefore unlikely to be mentally or
intellectually equal to a challenge that requires a highly qualified and
professional approach. Their ability is already being questioned in the town and
Gordon Cochran, chairman of the Bourne Chamber of Trade, whose members are
directly affected by what has happened, told The Local newspaper this
week (August 11th): “The whole episode has been handled badly. A development is
needed in Bourne but not necessarily one driven by the district council."
The dismissal of the developers has provided a breathing space for the scheme
and it is to be hoped that the mistakes learned will not be repeated when it is
revived, particularly the exclusion of car parking within the designated area.
The new developers are likely to be Dencora, of Norwich, Norfolk, the second of
those short listed for the project in January 2005 and the one preferred by many
people and councillors in the first place. Their appraisal of the scheme also
included 140 car parking spaces and so there is likely to be at least one
benefit for Bourne to be derived from this fiasco. The dreaded multi-storey car
park planned for alongside Budgens supermarket has also been consigned to the
dustbin for which we should all be truly thankful.
There is one other matter on which the public will need reassurance. In October
last year, South Kesteven District Council announced that Henry Davidson
Developments would be responsible for establishing roadside services including a
petrol station, drive through restaurant and family public house on a three-acre
site off South Road which they had just sold. Now that the council has lost
faith with this company, we need to be told whether it will be continuing with
this project.
What the local newspapers are saying: Both of our main newspapers devote
their front pages to the setback for the town centre redevelopment with The
Local leading the field after breaking the story on its web site on Monday
evening. Editor Lisa Bruen reports that spiralling overheads were one of the
main factors in the decision to ditch Henry Davidson Developments (August 11th)
and that South Kesteven District Council would have to provide some of the
finance to make the scheme viable. “The council will now approach the Welland
Partnership funding body for financial support and has not ruled out subsidising
the scheme with public money”, she writes.
The Stamford Mercury expands on the company’s explanation of the
financial implications, quoting a spokesman for Henry Davidson Developments
outlining the reason for their reluctance to proceed (August 11th): “The scheme
had to be shelved because spiralling development costs, driven particularly by
increasing land values and construction cost inflation, have made its current
incarnation economically unviable,” he said. “We are obviously disappointed but
we hope the council is able to find another way to make it viable and wish them
all the best for the future.”
One thing that appears to be certain from both reports is that work on a new
town centre will go ahead. The Local quotes the council leader,
Councillor Linda Neal (Bourne West), as saying: “The cabinet regrets that this
will inevitably cause delays but the regeneration scheme still remains the
highest priority.”
All of which leaves many traders in limbo. Mike Dunn, owner of Bourne Bookworld
in North Street, on the edge of the designated area, told The Local: “It is
distressing to find this scheme cancelled at this point. We still cannot make
any plans for the business. We cannot expand, develop or even sell. Business in
Bourne has been blighted. They should either say it is definitely going ahead
and give us a date or cancel the whole thing.”
Neither of the newspapers have carried a reaction from one of the main players
in the scheme, the Town Centre Management Partnership. A statement from this
quarter should be most interesting if and when it comes.
Cats have been a particularly annoying intrusion in my garden this summer
and they have resisted all attempts to keep them out. Chemicals sold at the
garden centres are totally useless and it is impossible to deter them with my
wife’s suggestion of using a water pistol or hose because they are far too fast
to be caught in a badly aimed jet by an exasperated home owner.
Moggies have made themselves unpopular in this neck of the woods because they
foul the herbaceous borders and stalk and kill our song birds and have even
taken to sitting under the buddleia bush to snatch passing butterflies which are
attracted to this particular shrub. They have therefore been given their
marching orders and even at breakfast, as we sit in our small dining room
overlooking the lawn, any passing tabby that shows its face is greeted with
howls of hostility which send it scampering for the nearest hole in the hedge,
but we cannot always be on guard and so they usually return. A permanent
solution is therefore needed.
My neighbour tells me that the answer to keeping unwanted cats at bay is compact
discs but how, I asked, can we know what music they do and do not like? I have
heard that Mozart played loudly over the loudspeakers in public concourses
inhabited by yobs drives them away and even a few bars of Beethoven’s Fifth will
send the hooligans elsewhere but how can we know the most hated harmonies of our
neighbourhood felines?
No, no, says my neighbour, you do not actually play the CD but hang it from a
bush or tree. Not just one either. Several of them which may be strung across
flower beds and other sensitive areas or suspended from branches and as they
flutter in the wind, they produce reflections that are an abhorrence to any
passing pussy. The method, I discover, is tried and tested and even recommended
by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.
I looked into my neighbour’s garden a few days later and found the undergrowth
festooned with silver discs, trembling and quivering in the breeze and sending
out sharp shafts of light each time they turned towards the sun, and nary a cat
in sight. I am loathe to part with any of my classical collection but it seems
that the giveaway CDs and DVDs currently being distributed with newspapers and
magazines may well end up as our front line defence against these unwanted
visitors which is recycling on a very worthwhile scale indeed.
The Bourne web site is eight years old this week, a small milestone in
the larger scheme of things but noteworthy in the world of cyberspace where
longevity is rare.
When it was launched in the second week of August 1998, we had only a few pages
and it took us many months to be acknowledged by the big search engines, a
necessary factor if you wished to be read, but today, Google, a miracle of
revelation, lists the site as the Number 1 serving Bourne and also gives us
hundreds of mentions depending on the subject in which you are interested.
As the months went by, we added new features, all of which have become extremely
popular. The Bourne Diary too began shortly afterwards and has been published
practically every week since November 1998, the latest issue being number 387
and that is almost 800,000 words, or the size of half a dozen novels, commenting
on current affairs in and around the town and various aspects of our heritage
and history.
The Diary has become one of the most rewarding features of the entire project
and it gives me great pleasure to write it, discussing subjects of public
interest that have been mentioned by friends and neighbours or raised in the
Forum or the local newspapers. My son Justin suggested that it must be very
satisfying to have your own soapbox and indeed it is and although I always
strive to be fair and not to give undue offence, my opinions on occasions have
not endeared me to some people in the town. But my 50 years as a journalist have
taught me that whatever you write will not please everyone and there will always
be those who regard differing views as a criticism of themselves whereas an open
and inquiring mind is intellectually more stimulating. The Diary may only be a
small voice in Bourne but I know from the reactions I get, warm support from
some and a cold shoulder from others, that it is being read.
Other features include the Bourne Forum, a lively discussion group that
frequently anticipates what the local newspapers will be saying, a list of old
friends who want to keep in touch, a family history section in which 200 old
Bourne names are being researched, links to other clubs, schools and
organisations and a notice board giving a weekly run down of local events that
reflect the lively and varied nature of what is going on in this town.
Four years ago, we introduced a new feature using articles written by prominent
people and those invited to contribute to date include our MP, Quentin Davies,
the member for Grantham and Stamford, who now writes from the Commons on a
regular basis, Councillor Linda Neal, Leader of South Kesteven District Council
and its former chairman, Councillor John Kirkman, Councillors Judy Smith, Don
Fisher and Trevor Holmes, Ivan Fuller, the Town Centre Coordinator, Captain
David Kinsey of the Salvation Army, and many others who play an important role
in our affairs. But you do not need to be a household name to contribute and if
anyone has something to say about our town, past or present, then they are
welcome to share this platform.
The web site is a voluntary project with no commercial support or advertising
and is financed entirely by my son and myself. It is now 50MB in size and
contains over 1,000 pages and almost 700 photographs, giving a glimpse of this
small Lincolnshire market town from the earliest times to the present day, and
it is updated regularly. On the way, we have collected eight awards, notably the
Golden Web Award in July 2000 for excellence in web design, content and
creativity, and the Médaille d'Or for web site excellence in April 2001. The
Oldie magazine also gave us its Web Site of the Month award in August 1999,
acknowledging the fact that I am an old age pensioner and have been for some
years.
Many young people find the web site of interest because I am often emailed by
pupils engaged on school projects or examinations relating to Bourne's social
history and I try to assist wherever possible. The information I have already
provided, or at least pointed the inquirers in the right direction, must be the
stuff of many papers submitted at all of our local schools. We are also
consulted by many colleges and universities, in Britain and abroad, who are
studying the way of life in England and I receive regular emails requesting
information and the use of text and photographs.
The web site is now read around the world and has not only reunited families but
has also enabled many people who left these shores for foreign parts to keep in
touch with their home town. I have recently begun recording those places where
our visitors are located, averaging around 2,000 a week, and it is an
enlightening geographical lesson to read them. The United States, including
Alaska and Hawaii, Australia, Canada, Lapland, Russia, Thailand, Japan and
China, Finland, Argentina and Brazil can all be found among them. Whoever will
be reading it when we celebrate our tenth anniversary in 2008 and hopefully, we
will still be around?
Thought for the week: Speech was given to man to disguise his thoughts.
- Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord, French politician, foreign minister
and ambassador to Britain (1754-1838).
Saturday 19th August 2006
The street market in 1977 - see "A proposal that . . . "
The gates of The
Croft in North Road have been standing open in recent weeks to reveal an empty
and boarded up mansion surrounded by a lush green space but a large question
mark hangs over its future. The planning tussle over the proposed use of the
meadowland surrounding the property for housing development is over for the time
being although many fear this is only a lull before a renewed application to
build new homes on the site is made by the developers.
Others are of the opinion that the land will never be built on and there is even
speculation that the property may be given to the town as a gift, a gesture that
would receive widespread public acclaim because it has already been suggested
that the house would be perfect for conversion into a hospital or hospice, a
community centre or even a small theatre for the performing arts. To donate The
Croft to Bourne would be a magnificent philanthropic undertaking by the owners
but one unlikely to be accepted because the stumbling block would be money.
Who would take on such a project? Who could afford to contribute the millions of
pounds needed to bring any of these ideas to fruition for the benefit of the
people? We may be surrounded by organisations that handle large amounts of
public money seemingly on behalf of the community but getting them to part with
it for benevolent and altruistic causes such as this would be well nigh
impossible.
The obvious source would be the local authorities to whom we pay our council tax
and who are supposed to provide our public services but you can forget them.
Bourne Town Council’s income is barely bigger than that of a corner shop while
South Kesteven District Council and Lincolnshire County Council are both
struggling to pay increasingly larger staffs their inflated salaries and
index-related pension entitlements and are having to reduce spending elsewhere
to balance the books.
Perhaps our big charities might chip in, but don’t bank on it. The Len Pick
Trust is dedicated to paying out small sums annually to selected recipients and
that would not include a major seven figure donation while Bourne United
Charities, a much wealthier organisation, has already jettisoned some of its
properties rather than pay for their upkeep. The Vestry Hall was sold and the
Old Grammar School handed over to the Bourne Educational Foundation while
Baldock’s Mill is leased to the Civic Society and the trustees are far too
committed maintaining their current property holdings to make a contribution of
any substance to a new community scheme in Bourne.
A hospice at The Croft could be funded by the National Health Service, I hear
you say, but then pigs might fly. This over-staffed and unwieldy organisation is
too busy meeting crisis after crisis and trying to resolve a current deficit of
more than £500 million to take on any new challenge while the National Lottery
Fund can also be ruled out because that treasure chest is now raided regularly
by the Chancellor to pay for projects that should be funded by government
instead of those which benefit the community directly as was originally
intended.
The outlook therefore looks bleak and if the scenario I have painted is a little
hard to swallow, then consider the Red Hall, an early 17th century property that
has become the jewel in Bourne’s architectural crown. It was bought in 1860 by
the Bourne and Essendine Railway Company for use as a ticket office and
stationmaster’s house when the newly built railway link opened but when this
closed in 1954, this magnificent building became redundant. It was offered to
Bourne Urban District Council, Kesteven County Council (the former county
authority) and South Kesteven Rural District Council for a nominal £1 but turned
down by all after councillors said it was a useless building and one that should
be pulled down rather than spend public money on it for any other purpose.
Fortunately, not everyone was so unsympathetic and the late Councillor Jack
Burchnell enabled Bourne United Charities acquire the freehold in 1962 and it
survives to this day.
The Red Hall is an important Grade II listed building, The Croft is not. It is a
large but unspectacular house built as a family home in 1922 by a local corn
merchant with little to commend it other than the land on which it stands. If it
were offered to Bourne and the initial obstacles overcome to enable it open in
its chosen role, we would have yet another Butterfield Hospital situation in the
making, with a needed and much loved amenity surviving only through voluntary
help and goodwill. Apart from the capital investment required to bring the
building up to standard, the organisers would also face an annual demand for
upkeep and maintenance and it would be inevitable that financial advisers might
recommend at some time in the future that the parkland would make excellent
housing and could be sold off piecemeal to fund annual overheads. The wheel
would therefore have turned full circle.
As it is, the developers may consider that they have spent enough money on
trying to obtain planning permission to develop the site, their many attempts
thwarted by opposition from the town, including a vociferous nimby element
living in the vicinity, particularly Maple Gardens.
If the site is left as it is, The Croft is likely to remain empty and boarded
up, a strange and remote property surrounded by stone walls and iron gates, and
it will soon acquire the mystery of those large empty mansions so popular in
Gothic novels and old Hollywood B movies. If this happens, it will become the
monument to a victory by the small man over big business but it will be of no
benefit to Bourne.
A proposal that the market should be moved back on to the streets appears
to have been shelved as it was destined to because the idea has no merit and
deserves to sink without trace in the swamp of failed endeavour. The discussion
however raised the question of how many stalls there once were lining the
pavements in North Street and West Street with one approximation of almost 90 on
some days, a wild estimate that could never be substantiated.
Faulty memory syndrome was apparent here, perhaps enhanced by a nostalgia for
days long gone, because evidence to the contrary came from many quarters, from
eye witnesses of past times, from old photographs and even from an elderly
gentleman living in retirement in Yorkshire who used to help his father collect
the tolls and who gave us a graphic description of a market with around 16
stalls on a Thursday and even fewer on a Saturday.
Further proof of less rather than more stalls has emerged with the discovery of
a thirty-year-old drawing of the street market by the late Geoffrey Atkins
(1930-90), a prolific recorder of Bourne life in pen and ink drawings, many of
which survive including one of Baldock’s Mill that is currently used as a
letterhead logo by the Civic Society.
I found it among the papers of the late Martin Frisby-Boor, chairman of the
Bourne branch of the Family History Society who died last December, that have
been lodged for safe keeping at the Heritage Centre. Martin had an unquenchable
thirst for local knowledge and was instrumental in staging the millennium
exhibition at the Corn Exchange in 2000 showing what Bourne was like 100 years
before in 1900.
The drawing from 1977 depicts Thursday market day with just 12 stalls ranged
along both sides of North Street and therefore we can imagine that there were
unlikely to be more than another half a dozen in West Street. As the current
average attendance of stalls on the market at its new location on the paved area
behind the Town Hall is around 25, often more, this would appear to be the last
word on the matter.
Government frequently appears to be media driven, responding to events
only when provoked into action by the newspapers and there is evidence of this
here in Bourne over the enforcement of the bylaws and other regulations
affecting the environment. Unauthorised posters and hoardings advertising in
public places have becoming a familiar sight yet nothing was done to have them
removed until a report and photographs appeared in the Stamford Mercury
showing examples of fly posting, especially on railings in the town centre and
on the high fence on the north side of Exeter Street announcing such subjects as
house sales, shops, jobs and services (August 11th).
The issue was raised by Councillor Trevor Holmes who told the town council last
week: “There seems to be a plethora of fly-posting about and it is to the
detriment of the town’s appearance. It is against the rules and makes the place
look a mess. I think it has gone quite far enough.”
South Kesteven District Council is responsible for keeping the streets clean and
has pledged to get tough with the culprits by handing out fixed penalty notices
of £75 where necessary. Enforcement officer Gwen Mayo told the newspaper:
“Dealing with the problem of fly-posting, litter, dog fouling and graffiti is
one of our top priorities. Not everyone listens to advice but everyone remembers
a fine.”
Yet we are also informed that these fines can only be handed out to individuals
actually caught putting them up which appears to be a soft option. It does not
take a Sherlock Holmes to determine who the culprits are behind these illegal
posters because their names, addresses or telephone numbers are usually
included. The council should therefore follow up this information as a matter of
urgency and stop the town from being defaced in this way and not wait, as has
happened this week, until their illicit conduct is spotlighted by the local
newspapers.
The Lincolnshire Free Press took up the story on Tuesday revealing that
the posters in Exeter Street had now been removed (August 15th) and quoting the
leader of SKDC, Councillor Linda Neal (Bourne West) as saying that they had
launched a blitz on illegal postings and anyone who wanted to collect notices
that had been taken down could pick them up from the rubbish tip.
What the local newspapers are also saying: The Local, which broke
the story last week about the preferred developers being dropped from the town
centre rebuilding scheme, continues to make the running with a front page report
questioning whether the project will ever materialise (August 18th). A round up
of views from residents reveals that they have been told little or nothing of
what has been happening and their anger is voiced by Mrs Cis Handley, aged 72,
who stands to lose her home in Burghley Street which is in the middle of the
designated area. “It is disgusting that we had to find out about it from the
newspaper”, she said. “We should have been the first to be told in black and
white.”
She and other residents, including many shopkeepers, must now wait to hear
details of the new scheme by the second choice developers, Dencora and Wilson
Bowden, and whether their properties are affected but the newspaper says there
is some doubt over whether the project will ever happen at all. South Kesteven
District Council, however, continues to give assurances that the scheme will go
ahead as a matter of priority. Councillor Linda Neal, the council leader, told
the newspaper: “Meetings have been held with the second choice developer but it
is too early to give an indication of timescales.”
Thought for the week: Taxpayers in Lincolnshire paid £3.3m for local
government workers and councillors to travel the equivalent of 15 return trips
to the moon last year. Lincolnshire County Council staff and elected members
claimed for 7.2 million miles travelled, 850,000 more than two years previously.
That means the authority is clocking up 2,328 miles a day more than it was in
2004 and it has cost taxpayers £9.2m in the past three years.
- front page report on the Lincolnshire Echo newspaper‘s web
site, Monday 14th August 2006.
Saturday 26th August 2006
One the willows at St Peter's Pool has died - see "A dead tree
. . . "
The set back for the town centre development has brought the advisability
of the entire project into sharp focus and perhaps this is an opportune time for
South Kesteven District Council to consider an alternative.
Problems highlighted by the preferred developer, Henry Davidson Developments,
those of escalating property values and a reduced demand from retailers, may be
confined to this particular site only because there is evidence from elsewhere
in the country that large chain stores prefer an out of town location rather
than a cramped urban environment.
The present impasse in the regeneration of the core designated area, that
triangle of land between West Street, North Street and Burghley Street, comes at
an opportune time when Wherry and Sons Ltd, the old established family firm of
seed merchants, is energetically trying to get planning permission to build new
homes on the old railway station site in South Road which is currently occupied
by their offices and other departments, although it is unlikely to proceed
because the local authorities are totally opposed to the proposed density of
properties at this location, a development that would also be detrimental to the
appearance of the Red Hall, a Grade II listed building and one of the oldest and
most attractive secular properties in the town.
Contributors to the Bourne Forum, who often show more common sense than can be
found in the council chamber, have suggested that the land would make an ideal
retail park, one similar to that recently established at Springfields, near
Spalding, which is rapidly becoming a popular shopping venue for people from all
over South Lincolnshire, including Bourne.
The site is in a less cramped environment with the advantage of planning
flexibility and sufficient space to overcome the overshadowing of the Red Hall
and the inherent traffic problems likely to be generated from a residential
development of 121 homes. This would leave the town centre free for a less
ambitious project in which existing owners might not be quite so optimistic over
the sale price of their properties, one of the stumbling blocks over the aborted
scheme, and enable small retail units have a place within a traditional shopping
area rather than exist cheek by jowl with the big stores. It is also known that
the multiples much prefer out of town locations and as well as attracting Wilco
and Peacocks, there might even be a chance that more prestigious companies might
be interested.
The availability of this land could well be a blessing in disguise for SKDC but
whether the opportunity will be recognised is another matter. I pointed out
recently that a previous chance by the local authority to buy the site forty
years ago was ignored because members of the old Bourne Urban District Council,
which was then the governing authority for these matters, did not have the
vision for its potential, specifically to build a new public library. Officers
opened negotiations with British Rail and the District Valuer for a possible
purchase in February 1965 when the railway installations were being dismantled
after the closure of the line but the idea came to nought and the land was
eventually bought by Wherry and Sons Limited, thus leading to the present state
of affairs.
The proposal to acquire the site and use it as a retail park is by no means
perfect but it has found favour with many and although there may be drawbacks
and problems to overcome, not least access to the A15 trunk road, SKDC ought to
have the required professional staff equal to the challenge and it is therefore
worthy of consideration and should not be rejected out of hand.
What the local newspapers are saying: Businesses are not getting
sufficient support from our local authorities, according to a front page story
in The Local which reports that receivers have been called in to handle
the financial affairs of the Angel Hotel following the departure of the new
owners, Nick and Brigette Frankgate, after only 14 months (August 25th). Gordon
Cochran, chairman of the Bourne Chamber of Trade, told the newspaper he was not
surprised that another small business had gone to the wall and added: “Life is
harder for small traders than the general public believe. Everything has been
cut to the bone. Nobody I know on the high street is making any real profits.
They are all cutting back.” He added: “The town and district councils do not
promote this town, they only promote themselves.”
But Councillor John Smith, a town councillor (Bourne West) and the portfolio
holder for economic development at South Kesteven District Council, suggested
that that onus was on the owners of the various businesses to make them
successful. “It is up to them to supply goods that people require of the right
quality and price”, he said. “There are a lot of successful businesses in the
town and there are a lot more that would like to move here if there were
suitable premises.”
The fire which wrecked the Bourne Cricket Club’s pavilion at the Abbey Lawn in
the early hours of July 10th was arson, according to the Stamford Mercury.
The police reported at the time that the blaze was caused by an electrical fault
but an investigation by insurance assessors suggests that it was started
deliberately (August 25th). Club chairman Hedley Stroud said in a statement that
the seat of the fire was at a low level in a small room next to the bar and
added: “Thanks to good work by the fire brigade they managed to prevent it from
spreading. Another five minutes and we would have lost the whole building.”
Plans to rebuild the pavilion for the second time in 40 years are now underway
but its appearance will not be so attractive. The Local, which also
covers the story, says that because the security of the building is being
stepped up, barriers and window guards will be included in the design. “The
pavilion will look awful compared to how it was but we must blame the society we
are living in”, said club secretary David Johnson. “Rebuilding will put a
tremendous strain on our finances because everything needs to be replaced and
insurance will not cover the final bill. Quotes are now being prepared but it
will be the beginning of next season before we are up and running.”
A twelve-hour power cut in Bourne on Tuesday was a timely reminder of how
dependent we have become on electricity. Fitful sleepers will know that we were
cut off soon after midnight and as it was a moonless night, a trip to the
bathroom was fraught with danger and the possibility of a stubbed toe. Come
morning, there was no welcoming shower to start the day, the orange squeezer and
coffee percolator stood idle in the kitchen and matches were needed to light the
gas stove, and although the breakfast was cold milk and cereal and no toast, at
least there was the chance of a cheering cup of instant coffee made with hot
water from a saucepan.
Computer screens were blank, there was no news of the day from the television or
radio and housewives put their feet up knowing that the vacuum cleaner and
washing machine would not start even if they were switched on. Come midday when
the power returned, there was a sigh of relief all round but did we really miss
it? Perhaps many filled their time with one of the lost arts, that of
conversation, and if so, then half a day without electricity can’t be all that
bad.
A dead tree has now added to the neglect around St Peter’s Pool whose
appearance has been deteriorating for several years, a condition that becomes
particularly apparent during dry summer months when water extraction from
underground sources is at its height.
The tree is one of eight weeping willows on the eastern edge of this ancient
artesian spring, planted between 1920 and 1930 and most probably donated to the town by
one of its leading citizens at the time, Cecil Walker Bell (1868-1947), a local
solicitor and holder of many important posts including coroner, council clerk,
school governor, lay reader and people’s warden at the Abbey Church. He gave a
number of willows to be planted at various points around the area and it is a
fair assumption that these were among them.
He was particularly anxious to ensure that the river and St Peter’s Pool always
looked their best and supplied the trees to enhance their appearance. It is not
clear why this one has died but it should be removed and a mature replacement
planted to ensure that the familiar and attractive landscape remains unchanged.
This would also be a good opportunity to clean out the debris and other rubbish
that has accumulated and is now exposed on the bed of the pool, to reinstate the
fractured concrete and crumbling stone parapet, to uproot the waist-high weeds
that have grown up on the opposite bank, to give the railings on the northern
edge a lick of paint and to replace damaged and defaced notices that have become
largely unreadable. In other words, give it the tender, loving care so badly
needed.
To say that the appearance of this ancient site is a mess is merely voicing the
opinion of many who feel completely powerless to do anything in the face of
total silence to their appeals from Bourne United Charities which administers
the Wellhead Gardens. By ignoring the problem, the trustees are not keeping
faith with those who went before and perhaps this dead tree will open their eyes
to how badly St Peter’s Pool needs remedial work as a matter of urgency before
it sinks even deeper into a state of total dilapidation.
Barely a week goes by without reading newspaper coverage of fund raising through
physical feats or foreign excursions and many thousands of pounds are donated in
this way. But the thought often creeps in that those involved are on an ego trip
and might have saved the high costs involved by staying at home and
participating in some other, less expensive method of charitable giving.
The various adventurous projects we have read about in recent years have
involved walking the Great Wall of China, climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, paddling a
canoe down the Amazon and trekking over the Andes, excursions usually paid for
by sponsors with the money raised donated to chosen charities. The question is
which came first, the objective or the fund-raising and although we would not
wish to deter genuine giving to good causes which are always in need of money,
it eventually comes down to the same thing, that participants are fulfilling a
long held ambition with others footing the bill.
If, say, £5,000 is raised to send someone to climb Everest, how much of that
money actually goes to the charity in question? The organiser gets the thrill of
a lifetime with a few hundred left over for cancer research, or whatever. Surely
a better method would be to raise the cash and donate the lot and in return
choose a less glamorous method of paying penance such as sweeping the streets of
Bourne or spending a week picking up the litter, tasks that would not incur such
high expenses. They would also be of far greater benefit to the community but
unfortunately such mundane activities are not high on the list of personal
ambition.
Message from abroad: Thank you for your article on Aunt Pat and Uncle
Lou, it just flooded back loads of memories to me. I was not always allowed to
go home after school, only when my dad was home and my mother would send me to
Bourne House but that was always fine with me because I got to spend more time
with my best friend, Jennifer Twell, who lived there. Maxine Edwards was another
girl who grew up there and we met up again in June of this year and we talked a
lot about Aunt Pat and Uncle Lou. Thank you again. - email from Diane Horton
(née Kilbon), Irondale, Missouri, USA, Monday 21st August 2006.
Message from home: Thank you so much for putting Auntie Pat and Uncle Lou
on your web site. They worked so hard and we the children loved them. I think
that they should get an OBE or something and if I knew how to get it for them I
would. Thank you also for the hard work you have put into Bourne House hostel
and the history of the town and once again I thank you as I feel that the hard
work done by the Schmids will be remembered for ever. - email from Maxine
Follows (née Edwards), Boston, Lincolnshire, England, Monday 14th August 2006.
Thought for the week: Millions of households that are already struggling
to pay their bills will soon have to choose between heating their homes or
putting food on the table. - Ann Robinson, director of consumer policy at
uSwitch.com, on the latest rise in energy prices, quoted by The Times, Saturday
19th August 2006.
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