Agenda item

An update on the Town Centre Improvement Plan has been enclosed at this agenda item and the Assistant Director – Strategic Growth and Development will be in attendance to answer the Forum’s questions on the update provided.

The Assistant Director – Strategic Growth and Development gave a brief update on the Town Centre Improvement Plan and highlighted the following key points:

• High Street Business Support Programme had supported businesses with online marketing and improving online presence
• Independent Businesses Promotion would be rolled out again in the lead up to Christmas via videos shared on social media
• Grants support for Businesses had been provided and it was hoped that this would continue in the future with further funding.
• Work had been undertaken with Visit Lincolnshire to assist with attracting visitors to Spalding.
• The recent Pumpkin Festival had been well received along with other events throughout the year and it was hoped that this would be built upon for the upcoming Christmas events.

Some strategic work had also taken place:

• Formed a stronger partnership with businesses and looked at the feasibility of a Business Improvement District.
• National Lottery Heritage funding of £250,000 had been sought to set up a wayfinding trail for visitors and also a Riverside Trail to make use of the River Welland as a town centre asset.
• A relationship had started to build between the Council and the National Lottery Heritage Fund to enable the Council access to larger funds in the future.
• An Arts Council bid had been submitted for Ayscoughfee Hall which would hopefully bring £1m into Spalding over 3 years to deliver cultural activity which in turn would help to increase footfall into the town centre.
• A Levelling Up fund bid of £20m had been submitted for the regeneration of the Castle Sports site with a focus on Health and Wellbeing. The bid was underpinned by the idea that the investment would diversify and strengthen the town’s offer and would also include funds to support cycling and foot connectivity into the town centre.

Members raised the following points:

• There was a degree of frustration among residents that there did not appear to be a great deal of activity on the ground. It was key that residents understood what actions were taking place.

• In regard to Abbey Passage, consideration should be given to whether it would be appropriate to gate the passage overnight as any improvements done could be quickly destroyed.

• It was pleasing that inward investment was occurring in the town centre. Was there any progress in regard to businesses opening at later times and on Sundays?
  • Officers confirmed that the idea had been discussed at the business sub-group. There were more businesses within the town centre that were opening for further hours at the weekend, but other businesses needed to have confidence that they would be able to generate footfall if opening for extra hours.

• Were there any plans to improve the safety of people in the town centre, such as enforcing the TRO?
  • Officers confirmed that a report was scheduled to go to the next meeting of Cabinet to set up a group to look at access issues within the town centre. A lot of background work with the County Council had already taken place around how the group may work however, it was unlikely that there would be any immediate solutions around issues such as the TRO.
  • It was noted that concerns around safety were being raised by officers at the Lincolnshire Community Safety Partnership.

• The last meeting of the Town Centre Steering Group had taken place in May and it was felt that another meeting needed to be set up in the near future.
  • Officers responded that the full steering group tended to meet every four months so agreed that another meeting was due. It was confirmed that a full meeting of the steering group would be set up in due course.
  • It was noted that there were various sub-groups of the steering group whose work had taken place throughout August and September.

• When would the public notice a visual difference in the town centre?
  • Officers confirmed that activities were planned to visually improve four areas of public realm within the town centre: Hall Place, Riverside, Red Lion Street and the area in front of Longstaffs.
  • It was difficult to confirm the costs of the projects and when they would be delivered due to material constraints and contractor availability.

• The regeneration of the bus station was a positive project, but it had been noted that Stagecoach had recently announced that the Spalding to Peterborough bus service was to be reduced from a 1 hourly service to a 2 hourly service. Could the Chairman of the Forum write to Stagecoach to express the Forum’s concern about this as the bus service was a lifeline to many residents?
  • The Chairman responded to say that he would first contact the County Council to ascertain the numbers of users of the bus service before contacting Stagecoach.