On February 28, the Labour Party and local candidate Matthew Mahabadi met the people of Spalding via a walkabout of the market place and businesses.
We received interesting feedback on what the public and businesses want to see improved in South Holland and The Deepings in general.
People thought the area was lacking in public transport and concerns were raised about the lack of infrastructure. Also views were raised about the road links to the A1 from Lincolnshire via the new A16 which fell short of a dual carriageway in the planning stages some years ago.
It is clear from the increased volumes of commuting and heavy haulage traffic, planners did not consider the long term growth of our local economy and clearly serious mistakes have been made here. We cannot rely on the other routes such as via Market Deeping as again this route is not suitable for the current volumes.
As for the local rail links, people thought a direct Lincoln to London service (stopping at Spalding) and to get trains to run later from Peterborough back to Spalding would be good for the economy. We understand the last train is around 8.30pm, why not push for a later service and see what the demand is like?
It was also felt there could be better links with Boston.
We took an observation of the A16 and as we were parked in one of the lay-bys we witnessed the amount of (often dangerous) overtaking of HGVs. We also noted the numerous potholes and the uneven road surface. There is an urgent need for another carriageway. Many locals we spoke to about these problems asked how, as the constituency of a Minister for Transport, we are so poorly served by our local transport infrastructure.
We also spoke to market traders who suggested a covered market close to the town centre to drive further footfall and keep the traders out of the wet – perhaps converting the Sheep Market car park?
Shop owners were especially concerned about maintaining the centre of Spalding as the focus for shoppers, rather than drawing them towards Holland Market or Springfields.
This was the first of many tours we are planning across South Holland and The Deepings to meet the public and businesses, and understand their concerns.
Our aim was to put our fingers on the pulse of local views, and we feel it was very successful.
For details of future events, visit facebook.com/LabourPartySHD.
Rodney Sadd
local Labour candidate
