After reading your Observer article this week I felt I had to write to you.
Does he check anything before he writes his article, as this week’s about the Environment Agency and flooding is complete nonsense.
The largest pumping station in Boston, on London Road, is run by the Environment Agency. The Forty Foot, which drains all the areas to the west and south of the River Witham and right up to Bourne, is the responsibility of the EA, as are many catchment drains to the north of Boston.
It has a small depot and office at Swineshead, in the Black Sluice Internal Drainage Board yard, and is very involved in drawing up schemes with both the Black Sluice IDB and Witham Fourth IDB, also with the county council now it is the lead flood authority.
Caroline Spelman MP, when she was Minister for Defra, came on a visit to the Boston area with Mark Simmonds, IDB officers and members from both boards. Coun Richard Austin, the then Boston Borough Council leader, and myself, as Lincolnshire County Council chairman at the time, were also there and Coun Martin Hill, Coun Eddy Poll, etc from the county council attended a question-and-answer session with Mrs Spelman.
The Boston Barrier plans are going ahead as partnership working.
Surely your columnist could do a little research before he goes to print with such ill-informed ‘facts’?
Finally, could I please thank our drainage boards for all the sterling work they have done over Christmas and New Year, keeping Boston dry and if Observer would like to see them in operation I am sure that I could arrange that.
Coun Peter Bedford
Boston Borough Council leader
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