Blueprint to transform South Holland’s town centres into vibrant hotspots revealed

Plans to transform the area’s town centres into vibrant destinations with bustling specialist markets have been revealed.

South Holland District Council leader Nick Worth has shared his vision of creating areas that become go-to spots for residents and visitors, both day and night.

Among the ideas which he hopes will encourage visitors into towns are specialist markets, street entertainment, live auctions and busy night scenes.

Coun Worth, who has also recently taken on the authority’s markets portfolio to give it a ‘bit of a shove from the top’, believes the first step is to make people see our town centres as places to be.

Encouraged by successful events such as Spalding Flower Parade, Spring into Spalding and the Pumpkin Festival, he hopes more regular attractions, led by busy markets, should be the first step.

“Let’s now try to concentrate on bringing people in, particularly this time of year,” said Coun Worth.

“Let’s see what extra stallholders we can get in and what specialist markets we can get in.

“We want a drive on it. We want to start creating a bit of atmosphere. I’d like to encourage some buskers and a bit of live entertainment there.

“It’s about generating footfall and atmosphere. I’ve always felt that where you have a good market you have good footfall.

“People don’t necessarily spend all their money at the market but it does draw them in. They meet people there, chat to people and create that atmosphere.

“A good market can make a difference.”

SHDC currently operates markets in the district’s four towns, Spalding, Crowland, Long Sutton and Holbeach, and recently secured £50,000-worth of branded gazebos thanks to UK Shared Prosperity Fund backing.

With street food stalls and makers markets proving popular across the country, it is hoped South Holland’s towns can get some of that action.

“I’m looking at what’s going on at some of the indoor markets at the moment, like at Holbeach and Bourne. They’ve got 30 to 40 stalls there.

“I think if we can get a bit of that and a few more in it would be good.

“Up until last year I ran the Holbeach Food Festival for a number of years and I felt the best way to get people in was going to other markets and asking people ‘would you like to come?’

“You’ve got to be pro-active. I’m going to get round a few markets and see what we can do.”

The return of live auctions are also being viewed at Priory Road as a way to create atmosphere at markets.

“I like Long Sutton market, what used to attract me to that was an auction there,” Coun Worth continued.

“There was nothing special there, nothing more than a fiver. But the banter you got round there just made it entertaining. I’d be interested in doing something like that again, something a bit different.”

While a thriving market can attract punters and visitors, they can only form part of a bigger picture, especially in towns that want footfall throughout the week.

That is where Coun Worth believes the newly-formed Spalding Town Board - set up to see how the £20 million Government investment in a Left Behind Town can be spent - come to the fore as a place to streamline ideas and allow groups with their own ideas on how to improve the area can brainstorm and pull together.

“The town board will be the way,” he explained.

“Businesses sit on the town board and Spalding Gentlemen’s Society is represented, the Civic Society is represented.

“What we’ve done with the town board is make it clear to them what we’re already doing so they don’t duplicate that, but they can add to it.

“It’s just making sure different ideas can all go to that board.”

With an eye on the future, the town board is also engaging with the board while the YMCA are also planning to poll youngsters - the very people who will one day be spending their disposable income in the area - in the district to understand what would bring them into town centres.

“The town board had the discussion about the empty shops (in Spalding), and the (vacant) Calthrops one seemed pretty ideal to me to become residential, certainly the top floors,” Coun Worth added.

“The more residential properties you have in towns, you’re actually creating your own footfall and more of a night time economy.

“I’d love to see more restaurants in the town. We’ve got some nice ones but we’d like more.”

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