OBSERVER: I dread what town will look like in 2021

As expected, the borough council recently rubber-stamped the decision to increase council tax by 2.4 per cent.
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Coun Aaron Spencer said it was going to be a challenging few years for the council and “what we will look like in 2021 will be very, very different to what we look like today.”

What a delightful prospect we have in sight! With all the cuts being made I dread what the town will look like in five years’ time.

It seems everything could be in the firing line once again, but sooner or later residents are going to get to the stage of saying “Enough is enough.” Very little seems left that the council can sell off in an attempt to make money; a colleague commented recently that it wouldn’t be long before Central Park was sold for housing or a supermarket, then realised he might not be joking!

Coun Spencer also commented that the council needed to ensure taxpayers were getting a fair deal from the borough council; many believe that stage has already been passed and that we are not getting a fair deal. Cuts continue and it seems that eventually we will be paying only for salaries to be paid, with any services actually still available probably put out to ‘private’ companies who will then charge for everything. It might seem far-fetched but it could happen and what will taxpayers say then?

Eventually a decision has to be made to impose slightly more on the tax we pay, if only to get something done; it is to be hoped that the five councillors who actually abstained from voting will have their electorate at heart by raising their hand one way or another.

Did you see, read or hear last week that East Lindsey District Council actually decided to rescind a decision made two years ago when they imposed parking charges and now some parking in Louth, Horncastle and Spilsby, for example, will revert to being free. The main reason for the change of heart? The council took note of the concerns of businesses, both large and small, in those areas that the charge was affecting shoppers.

Will our borough council take note?