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Press Release - 03 November
2006
BBEG write to Acting
Monitoring Officer LCC, David O'Connor
Mr David O’Connor
Acting Monitoring Officer
Lincolnshire County Council
County Offices
Newland
Lincoln
LN1 1YS
3 November 2006
Dear Sir
COMPLAINT REGARDING
COMPOSITION OF THE EXECUTIVE GROUP
LINCOLNSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL
I am writing on behalf of the Boston Bypass &
Economic Growth Pressure Group (BBEG) to raise a Formal Complaint
against Lincolnshire County Council with regard to the composition
of the Executive Group and the way the group was hand picked
by Martin Hill, the Leader of Lincolnshire County Council.
On 7 April 2005, our colleague Mrs Christine Basu of the Boston
& District Bypass Pressure Group (BBPG) wrote to Councillor
Hill and he failed to reply to Mrs Basu. Her letter is attached
for your information.
As a direct result of the decisions made by Martin Hill’s
Executive Group, Boston has been placed on an ‘aspirational’
list within the 2nd Local Transport Plan (LTP2) with a subsequent
Executive decision stating that no work is carried out on any
aspirational schemes within the whole of the LTP2 period.
At the first Joint Officer’s Group meeting, information
we have been trying to get hold of for some time under the Freedom
of Information Act, it was stated then that Boston should be
looked at on the 2021 horizon. This is simply unacceptable.
We believe Martin Hill is misleading the public by stating as
he did on BBC Radio Lincolnshire’s Breakfast Show on 31
October 2006 that, “If we are unsuccessful with the Government,
we can look at ways we can spend £6 million...”
As far as we are aware, no funding has ever been requested from
the Government.
Cllr William Webb, who is an Executive Group Member appointed
by Martin Hill, has also been given the role of Chairman of
the Joint Advisory Committee (JAC) for Lincoln, which has high
on their agenda, two bypasses for Lincoln.
Cllr Terry Taylor, stood for election in 2005, and had been
promised a role on the Executive Group at LCC, but as Cllr Taylor
had chaired the Economic Development & Tourist Working Group
from October 2003 to March 2005, he had been actively pushing
for the Southern Economic Corridor, which is undoubtedly the
main reason he was not elected by the people of that constituency
in Boston. Cllr Richard Austin, the Bypass Independent candidate
was elected by the public to replace Cllr Taylor. But of course,
Martin Hill did not replace the vacant position on the Executive
Group with the councillor elected by the people of Boston. We
believe he chose a councillor who more suited his own thinking,
that Boston was not a priority and was not in need of a bypass
or major road scheme.
81% of the people in Lincolnshire in a recent text poll on BBC
Radio Lincolnshire voted that Boston should be the main priority
in Lincolnshire for a bypass or major road scheme. We believe
that Martin Hill is pressing on with the Southern Economic Corridor
idea, but in the guise of a different name. This is not what
the people of Boston want or need to solve the dire traffic
congestion that the town has to endure on a daily basis.
We look forward to hearing what action you will be taking before
taking the matter up with the Standards Board. We are simply
not going to accept the current situation – do we have
a democracy or not?
Yours faithfully
ROBERT FISHER
Chair, Boston Bypass & Economic Growth Pressure Group (BBEG)
www.bbeg.org.uk
03 November 2006
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BBEG Meet MP
The BBEG have met with Mark Simmonds MP.
BBEG Chairman Robert Fisher states: "It was
a very revealing meeting, and it also gave us the
chance to reaffirm our group's stance that a bit-part
solution will not be acceptable - we do not want
to be passed off with another John Adams Way by
widening existing roads - the only solution is the
provision of a decent road infrastructure around
the town."
29 September 2006
Read
the full report...
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