In 2021 Boston secured £21.9m in Town Deal funding from Government to deliver an ambitious vision and bring transformational improvements to Boston. In 2025 Boston also were awarded £20m of Pride in Place funding (£2m to be spend every year over the next 10 years from 2026.)
This funding will help make the town an exciting place to live, work and visit for generations to come. It will support an aspirational, skilled and healthy population and create sustainable economic growth. It will help to increase pride in place and will launch Boston into the future, building on its unique heritage

Board Members

Boston Town Board

The Town Board is led by a board made up of private and public sector representatives, with a chair from the private sector, in line with government guidance. Claire Foster, Chief Executive and Principal of Boston College is the Interim Chair.

Claire Foster - Interim Chair of the Board

Claire is an experienced college leader in further and college based higher education, having recently retired as Principal and CEO of Boston College. Claire has a passion for Further Education and the role it can play in transforming lives.

Councillor Mike Gilbert

Deputy Leader of Boston Borough Council

Sam French

Lincolnshire County Council representative

Andy Lawrence

Port of Boston

Andy was born in Boston, went to Boston Grammar School and has worked in various roles at the Port of Boston, becoming the Port Director in 2004 aiding it to thrive and develop into a major East Coast small port, with an annual turnover of over £9.5 million.

Andy is also a member of the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers.

Richard Tice MP

Boston & Skegness

Richard Tice is the Reform UK MP for Boston and Skegness and was appointed in July 2024.

Tracy Stringfellow

CEO, Heritage Lincolnshire

Tracy’s background is in the heritage sector, having worked for Royal Greenwich Heritage Trust for the last eight years and previously for the Royal borough of Greenwich. She has worked in museum education in Birmingham and Lincolnshire and was Museums Manager for North East Lincolnshire Council before moving to the south east and London in 2009. She was born and raised in Grimsby. As well as her extensive experience of working on major projects in the heritage sector, Tracy is a trustee of WSUP, the Woolwich Service Users Project, a charity which supports people at risk of homelessness in south east London.

David Fannin

David Fannin is a Founding Director of the Lincolnshire Voluntary Engagement Team (LVET) CIC, an advocacy organisation and a collective of voluntary, community and social enterprise organisations across Lincolnshire, who have a focus on health, care, or wellbeing.

David retired as Chief Executive at Lincolnshire Community & Voluntary Service (LCVS) in 2024 and brings significant experience of building a successful charity, collaboration and partnership working, and knowledge of strategic, financial, and operational oversight and compliance.

Before LCVS, David worked for 21 years in local government. He was Assistant Chief Executive at South Holland District Council, responsible for community development, performance assessments, communications and marketing and strategic partnerships.

David was born and educated in Belfast, completing a degree in Geography before moving to London to join the Civil Service. He has an MSc in Public Sector Administration and is a Fellow of the Royal Society for Arts, Manufacturers and Commerce (the RSA), an organisation with strong social values and a mission to develop better solutions to present social challenges.

David is a community representative on the Boston Town Deal Board and a Governor at Boston College, an active advocate and champion for the community and voluntary sector. He is also a member of the Theddlethorpe GDF Community Partnership, working to provide local people with the information they need to decide on whether the east coast of Lincolnshire might host a critical national infrastructure Geological Disposal Facility for the UK’s nuclear waste.

Jacqui Bunce

NHS

Jacqui is the Lincolnshire NHS strategic partnerships and estates lead working with all of the local NHS organisations, the County Council and the District Councils. This work includes the planning for growth and integration to improve health outcomes.

Jacqui has worked in Lincolnshire for the past three years, prior to this she spent 15 years leading and delivering strategic change projects across Hertfordshire. This included the changes to hospital services across the county, the development of the award winning New QEII Hospital Welwyn Garden City and the refresh of the Hertfordshire Health and Wellbeing Strategy in 2016

Abdul Hamid Qureshi

Imam and Director of UKIM Mosque and community Centre

Abdul Hamid Qureshi is Imam and Director of UKIM Boston Mosque and Community Centre. Imam Qureshi was previously Director of Lancashire Council of Mosques and is an Executive member of Interfaith Network UK, a national interfaith organisation. Imam Qureshi, who also holds a post graduate qualification in Management Science has previously played very important roles In Burnley, Lancashire, North West and national forums on education, economics, and community development initiatives.

Emma Tatlow

Chief Executive Officer at Active Lincolnshire

Inspector Ian Cotton

Lincolnshire Police

Michael Morris

CEO & Founder of Tonic Health

Alison Fairman, BEM

Community Representative / Boston in Bloom

Alison has lived and worked in Boston for 40 years. Founder member Boston Citizens Advice Bureau, Boston in Bloom (Chair), Boston Hanse Group (Chair), Trustee of Boston Preservation Trust and St Botolph Restoration Trust. Past Chair Boston High School Governors, Boston Area Partnership, East Lindsey Standards Committee, currently Independent Person Boston Borough Council.

A member of the Transported Art Management Committee, Public Realm Group & Freeman of the Borough of Boston.

Jurate Matulioniene

Chairperson of BLC Group, Managing Director of the Boston English Academy and Boston Lithuanian Supplementary School and Online Lecturer at Vytautas Magnus University

Jurate is the Chairperson of the Boston Lithuanian Community Group and the Managing Director of the Boston English Academy and Boston Lithuanian Supplementary School, which she established 10 years ago. Jurate is responsible for the overall running of the community group, coordinating projects and events, and networking with local community groups, Boston Borough Council, LT Embassy, and private and public sectors. She is also leading volunteering groups that develop inclusive activities to promote the school as a positive, fun and professional environment and a leading force in the community. Through time and dedication, she has significantly contributed to the growth and success of the BLC Community Group and coordinated a number of successful local projects.

Neil Kempster

Chestnut Homes

Neil Kempster is a Chartered Surveyor who has spent virtually his entire career working in the development industry in the Lincolnshire area.

He is Land and Development Director at Chestnut Homes, where he has worked for nearly 20 years. During that time Chestnut Homes have built over 500 new homes in the Boston area and have been involved in numerous public sector funded schemes, helping to attract around £25 million of funding into the borough.

He is currently involved in the delivery of The Quadrant development, a large-scale mixed-use development which includes a new Community Stadium for Boston United, 500 new homes as well as retail, leisure and commercial developments.

Neil is also Vice Chairman of Boston United Football Club, as well as a Director of Boston United Football Club Community Foundation.