We went to see the ones at Bicester in Oxfordshire, and Street in Somerset.
The principal difference between them and the one near Spalding was, and is, their close proximity to the centre of those two market towns, as opposed to the long distance of Springfields from the centre of Spalding.
As someone who is not fond of shopping at the best of times, I saw immediately what was to prove the problem. Large numbers of visitors easily move on foot between the centres and the towns’ retail centres at both Bicester and Street.
I was one of only, I think, two members who voted against the idea of a shopping outlet at Springfields, in the strong belief, proved correct, that the scheme would do nothing whatsoever for Spalding as a market town.
I said that it would kill Spalding. I later said that a supermarket in Holbeach would kill that town as well.
Whilst only nearly true, the latest proposals would put yet another nail in the coffin of Spalding as a lively market town.
The recent idea of a weird “pod” in the car park outside Sainsbury’s is another symptom of the same problem.
A lively market town relies on footfall and the variety of independent traders to retain the interest of the public. Were the situation to repeat itself all these years later, I would still vote against it.
Not easy to say “You were warned”, but you were.
Sutton Bridge
