Press Release - 03 August
2006
BBEG take Formal
Complaint to the Local Government Ombudsman
The BBEG have today emailed the Complaint Form
to the Local Government Ombudsman as follows:
Which council or authority are you complaining about?
Lincolnshire County Council
Have you complained to the council or authority?
Yes
If you know, please say when you complained to the council or
authority.
We have followed their complaint procedure as follows:
Stage 1 – 2 May 2006 - Read
the letter...
LCC Response - 12 May 2006 - Read
the letter...
Stage 2 - 23 May 2006 - Read the
letter...
LCC Response - 8 June 2006 - Read
the letter...
Stage 3 – 20 June 2006 - Read
the letter...
Stage 3 - Second letter – 7 July 2006 - Read
the letter...
LCC Chief Executive responded on 12 July 2006, stating, “The
Chief Executive will decide whether to instigate an investigation
and I will let you know the outcome of his decision as soon
as possible.” Read
the letter...
What do you think the council
or authority did wrong?
The Department for Transport quotes a shared priority of “improving
access to jobs and services … and reducing problems of
congestion, pollution and safety.” The prioritisation
of road construction by Lincolnshire County Council seems to
go against the views of the public and Councillors elected to
represent them.
Last year’s Audit Commission report resulted in Mr Speechley
being imprisoned for 2 years. To state that his involvement
was ‘very limited’ and related to a ‘small
section of the route’ surely would not then warrant a
2 year custodial sentence?
Our formal complaint mentioned very clearly that Cllr Hill
was in fact, we believe, Finance Chairman at the time (despite
his recent comments in the May 2006 edition of County News)
and he proceeded to get elected an entirely new executive from
his own same political party. We understand that the whole current
cabinet were supporting Mr Speechley as Councillors. Despite
escalating costs to over £77 million, Lincolnshire County
Council are proceeding with the plans for the A1073 whilst deciding
that Boston is placed on an “aspirational list”
and that “no work be undertaken on any aspirational schemes
during the 2nd Local Transport Plan period”.
In addition, public opinion remains high. The preliminary
result of the MORI survey in September 2005 saw the public put
roads as a top priority and a bypass for Boston top of the list
(23%). This poll seems to have been abandoned by LCC and an
internal poll taken by County News, the Council’s own
publication? The recent BBC Radio Lincolnshire text poll showed
the highest number of votes cast for any feature they have done
with Boston coming out at 81%, ahead of Lincoln (15%), Skegness
and Stamford (2% each). More...
Why did LCC state that the Southern Link Road scheme in Boston
was “simply unaffordable” and refuse to look at
possibilities of placement of this road further out of town
to avoid such heavy compensation costs at its proposed location?
Surely by comparison the A1073 is actually far too costly?
How has this affected you?
Businesses in Boston are dying. Big stores are reporting high
falls in turnover. Lorries are avoiding Boston, preferring the
rat runs around Horncastle, Langrick, Hubberts Bridge, etc.
Boston is choking on the fumes of pollution and congestion and
the public who elect Councillors to represent them want something
urgently done about it. Boston has to be a high priority, if
not the highest in Lincolnshire at this point in time.
What do you think the council or authority should do to put
things right?
Lincolnshire County Council should not be allowed to proceed
with the A1073 in light of the events surrounding Mr Speechley
and escalating costs. Lincolnshire County Council to date have
refused to prioritise Boston for a bypass and the decision makers
(LCC Executive Group) were hand picked by Martin Hill, Leader
of LCC, from his own same political party, following the resignation
of the former group as a result of the Audit Commission’s
damning report last year. The Audit Commission have been copied
with all stages of our group’s Formal Complaint. The Council
have ignored Boston and delayed the issue long enough now. An
external investigation needs to occur into why LCC have never
requested funding from the Government for a bypass for Boston
and moreover why they have put Boston on an “aspirational
list” and decided that “no work be undertaken on
any aspirational schemes during the 2nd Local Transport Plan
period”, if we are to ever find a way forward.
Robert Fisher
For and on behalf of the Boston Bypass & Economic Growth
Pressure Group (BBEG)
www.bbeg.org.uk
03 August 2006
