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Multi-million pound investment in Boston is progressing well, with significant improvements now being seen on the ground – with more still to come.  

That was the message at Boston Town Deal’s exhibition event, which was held on Thursday, 28th September, at Blenkin Memorial Hall –  a building that has been transformed through the Town Deal.

The event was held to enable the public to find out more about the projects that are being delivered thanks to the £21.9M Towns Fund investment, which was announced for Boston in 2021. 

Matt Warman, MP for Boston and Skegness, opened the exhibition event, which showcased the Town Deal projects, as well as Levelling Up and UK Shared Prosperity funding and the opportunities these represent for the town. 

Visitors to the event were able to view a new film which premiered on the day and tells the story of the progress and projects: https://youtu.be/O0piNQZSpQ8. People could also find out more information in the Boston Town Deal annual report: https://tinyurl.com/mprzdtvn, which was also published to coincide with the event. 

In addition to the main public event, a special session was held for young people, with attendees from Haven High and Boston College coming along to find out about the projects and plans for the town. 

As well as meeting with representatives from the projects, the students were also able to take part in tours of the Blenkin Memorial Hall and St Botolph’s Library – another Boston Town Deal refurbishment project which will ensure the Stump’s historic collection of books can be retained in the town.

The students were also encouraged to leave their feedback and share their views on the projects and plans and what they would like to see for Boston.

The exhibition event culminated in a presentation by the Chair Neil Kempster, and a prerecorded version of this presentation can be found here: https://youtu.be/jnVv-1ebuk0?si=JDP5RslssWlzPMyp.

It has been fantastic to share an update on Boston Town Deal’s progress, highlighting our achievements to date and the exciting plans that are continuing to be delivered.

In particular, it was great to be able to host people in Blenkin Memorial Hall, one of our first projects to complete and a building which has been extensively refurbished into a space for the whole community.

At the event, and in our annual report and film, we wanted to let people know about how the Boston Town Deal is moving forward, and what the investment and improvements mean for the town.

It was really good to speak to people, to hear their thoughts, and answer their questions, and I would like to say thank you to everyone who took the time to come along to the event.

We have a unique opportunity through Boston Town Deal to bring long-lasting and far-reaching improvements that will benefit the town for generations to come and as we shared at the event, we are starting to see our ambitions for Boston realised. We look forward to continuing to deliver for the town.

Neil KempsterChair of Boston Town Deal

Other projects being delivered through the Boston Town Deal, which was showcased at the exhibition event, are:

  • The Mayflower, which is a new inspirational learning, business, and community space that was granted planning consent in February 2023.
  • Boston Leisure Project, which will see the redevelopment, refurbishment, and two-storey extension to the Geoff Moulder Leisure Complex carried out by Boston Borough Council.
  • The Centre for Food and Fresh Produce Logistics is supporting businesses to grow and thrive in Boston, with local businesses The Greenhouse and London Road Bakery recent beneficiaries of the programme.
  • Boston Railway Station, with transformational improvements, including a new community café and start-up offices set to begin in November 2023.
  • Healing the High Street is a programme of town centre regeneration to maximise Boston’s heritage, which includes the work currently underway to enhance Dolphin Lane. 

Levelling up is about making sure anyone, wherever they’re born, can go as far as their talents will take them. The Government’s investment in Boston is about two key things: making sure people share the pride we all know the area should inspire, and making sure people have the skills to start businesses, grow the economy and stay local.

I’m proud to have helped make sure the Government knows that investing in our area will unlock huge potential. I look forward to delivering these current projects and those developed in the future with the Town Deal board.

Matt WarmanMP for Boston and Skegness

The refurbishment of the Blenkin Memorial Hall is the first completed project in a series of local initiatives that are being delivered through the Town Deal, and it’s refreshing that our town is actually thought of very highly by those in government who monitor progress across the country. This is something that Boston has done well and we should be very proud of that!

Cllr Anne DorrianLeader of Boston Borough Council