Boston Borough Council celebrates successes from Year One of the Boston Town Centre Strategy and Action Plan

Boston Borough Council is celebrating the very successful first year of achievements through the Boston Town Centre Strategy and Action Plan 2023-27.

The four-year strategy was developed following a period of public consultation with residents, visitors, businesses and stakeholders to help direct the council on ways to revitalise and enhance the town centre, support the local economy, instil a sense of pride in heritage and place as well as bring the Borough's diverse community together.

From this clear vision, an action plan based on the themes of Clean and Safe; Open for Business; Culture, Heritage and Events; and Transformation was developed.

The action plan has helped bring the council, its partners, community representatives and the voluntary sector even closer together to lead the programme of work set out in the strategy and action plan.

At the start of the first year, 73 actions were committed to, with an additional action later added on. By the end of the year, 24 actions were completed, 47 were on target and three required further attention.

The activities and initiatives in Year One included:

• A deep clean of the market place took place on 27th February 2024 to 2nd March 2024.
•  An amazing Christmas Festival and Illuminate Parade was delivered, bringing thousands of people to the town centre.
•  Additional significant events took place in the town centre such as the Foodfest and Boston's Strongest event on 14th July 2024, boosting community cohesion and enhancing trade
•  A Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Policy was approved and adopted by full council on 15th July 2024.
• Enhanced floral displays were provided in partnership with North Sea Camp Prison.
• A volunteer co-ordinator post was introduced to support volunteering.
• A Changing Places toilet was installed in Central Park.

A joint operation with the police and the Council called Operation Plotting continued and focused on addressing anti-social behaviour, street-based violence, and serious harm. This work was enhanced through the introduction of Community Rangers.

Town centre specific promotional material was produced.

• A Market Development Plan was agreed by Boston Borough Council's Cabinet.
• A Public Space Protection Order regarding feeding wild birds in designated areas in the town centre (which was a new action in the Strategy/Action Plan) was agreed at Cabinet.
• A Street Art Policy was produced and agreed by Boston Borough Council's Cabinet.
• A Business Development Plan for the Guildhall in Boston was developed and agreed at Boston Borough Council's Cabinet.
• A business forum was established for the town.
• Twenty-six new car park ticket machines were installed.

Cllr Dale Broughton, Deputy Leader and Portfolio Holder for the Town Centre, said: "This summary report captures the highlights of everything that has been achieved in the first year of this strategy and it is something the community can be very proud of.

"Events have brought thousands of residents and visitors to the town centre on a scale which has not been seen here for a long time. We are improving the appearance of the town centre, enhancing our historic market and working with our partners to tackle anti-social behaviour and crime.

"And this is just the beginning. Now in year two, we are building on those first successes and working hard to deliver even more improvements and opportunities for the whole community.  

"Work is continuing on tackling enviro-crime and improving community safety by enhancing CCTV and the continued presence of Community Rangers.

"There will be further improvements to street cleaning, work has started on the Rosegarth Square regeneration scheme and we have another opportunity to bring people together with the 900^th anniversary of the Boston May Fair and much more.

"There is a huge amount of good work happening in Boston and this strategy is making a positive difference for our residents and businesses."

The Year One summary can be found here