A Spalding institution is appealing for help to keep a craft alive by purchasing part of the town’s former port ‘to change the lives of the community’.
The Chain Bridge Forge wants to buy The Sail Loft, the building next to it which dates back to around 1850 and was once part of the Port of Spalding.
It’s agreed a year long lease with an option to buy the property for £145,000 if it can raise the money by next February.
The charity which oversees it all, South Holland Life, had applied to the Spalding Neighbourhood Board for funding, but it was turned down and is not among the seven projects handed out a total of £2.2m as announced last week.
Instead, it’s looking to Crowd Fund the money and has set up a dedicated website for The Sail Loft at https://sailloftspalding.co.uk/
Geoff Taylor, the man behind Chain Bridge Forge and South Holland Life, says he wants the space to expand the award-winning and innovative learning experiences at the new building, but also to make it a hub for the arts in the town, eventually leading to having an artist in residence or education officer.
The initiative is aiming to target unemployed young people, those in home education, local schools and organisations and the wider community as a whole.
“Our goal is to transform this space into a vibrant hub for arts, crafts, digital techniques including AI, and community engagement,” said Geoff. “Our previous projects, at the Long Sutton Youth Shed plus artist lead digital workshops have demonstrated the need. They proved to be highly successful with active engagement from all participants. This experience gives us the confidence in the potential impact of this new venture.
“We are also currently offering Blacksmithing to young people through the National Saturday Club programme; I believe the only participant delivering traditional craft.
So we believe we have a fantastic opportunity to change the lives of the community especially young people.
“It will also prove there is more to South Holland and Spalding than the Market Place and something to engage the younger generation.”
For more details visit The Sail Loft website or www.chainbridgeforge.co.uk
