Partnership faces future uncertainty

The future of a three-council alliance may come under the spotlight following last week’s elections.

The newly-elected Independents at Boston Borough Council are hoping to revitalise the town centre and festive events as they rethink the former administration’s policies, writes local democracy reporter Daniel Jaines.
With Boston’s leaders gone, along with South Holland District Council leader Gary Porter, some have already questioned the future of the South East Lincolnshire Council’s Partnership – an agreement between the two and East Lindsey District Council to share some back room services and staff.
Coun Anne Dorrian, on Boston council, said the alliance would be looked at, saying there had been issues around accessibility to local councillors and local people.
“We need to look at it and see if it’s really working but overall I have no major views at the moment of upsetting that apple-cart,” she said.
With a joint population of 306,919 and a workforce of around 1,000, the partnership is the largest in the country.
It was signed-off in August last year after South Holland came out of a joint venture with Breckland District Council in Norfolk.
The new partnership has shared management and it was hailed as a good move for investment and growth.
It also gave a united front against devolution, a move which could see regional councils rather than small, local authorities.
But the leadership of all three councils will change after Conservatives lost seats across the board.
The Boston Independent group took 19 seats and left the former Conservative administration with just five councillors following the election results on Friday.
Speaking at the weekend, Coun Dorrian said she was “overjoyed” by the result.
Asked what was next for the council, she said: “Our vision for Boston initially is to deliver a town centre strategy. That’s very important to us, we made that promise and we will deliver on that promise.”
She also said she had already been in touch with people regarding next year’s Christmas event in the town.
“We’re not all about just Christmas, but it’s important that we get that in train so the event in a few months’ time is going to be as fantastic as it’s ever been.
She said no major decisions had yet been made, adding: “We’re not throwing the baby out with the bathwater.
“We’re not coming in here just to wipe everything out the previous administration did, we’re going to utilise that funding that was attracted to the town but we’re going to look at it with fresh eyes and see is this what local people really want and need?”
The Conservatives also lost control of East Lindsey District Council, although there was not as much of a swing as some neighbouring authorities.
l Election night in detail, pages 14-17.