Could Boston get its own town council?
Councillors warn the town could lose its voice — and its identity — as local government faces its biggest shake-up in decades
Boston could be set for a major change in how it is run, with plans unveiled to create a new town council as part of sweeping local government reorganisation.
Boston Borough Council has launched a public consultation on proposals to establish a town council for the town’s currently “unparished” areas. The move comes as the borough prepares for life after abolition, with councils across Lincolnshire expected to be merged into a single unitary authority.
Councillors say the change is urgent. Without a town council in place, Boston’s town centre wards would be left without what they describe as “true local representation” once the borough council ceases to exist.
At a full council meeting on Monday (January 12), deputy leader Coun Mike Gilbert said the issue had been debated for more than 20 years — but that time is now running out. He warned that the Boston Town Area Committee, which currently represents the town centre, would disappear under reorganisation.
“In the absence of a town council, the people of Boston town centre wards will have no true local representation,” he said, adding that the town risks losing its “unique cultural and historical identity”.
Under the proposals, a new town council would have 22 councillors and cover the current Boston Town Area Committee footprint. Seven wards are planned, including Fenside, Skirbeck, St Thomas’, Trinity, West and Witham, along with a combined Staniland and Station ward.
While broadly welcoming the plans, Coun Stephen Woodliffe said many residents still don’t understand what’s coming. He warned that some believe the borough council will still exist in a decade’s time.
“It won’t,” he said. “This borough is going to disappear and we need to do something about it.”
Coun Anton Dani echoed the urgency, saying Boston is at a “critical time” and calling for the public to fully engage with the process to protect the town’s assets and heritage.
The second stage of the community governance review consultation is now under way, with residents invited to have their say before a final decision is made.