Spalding & District Civic Society notes the approval of the plans for the extension to the Springfields Shopping Centre. We also note the s.106 contribution of £200,000 from the developer for the benefit of the Spalding town centre.
We cannot ignore the fact that the Springfields has been successful in achieving over 15 years of growth in turnover, bucking the national trend in retail. This is testament to the marketing abilities of the centre’s manager SLR Outlets Ltd.
Springfields currently attracts 2.3 million visitors a year, which is predicted to increase to nearly 3 million visitors a year.
There is no doubt that alone, the town in its current state could not attract anywhere near this number.
It is a pity that to date, apart from the successful Water Taxi, ways in which to attract some of those visitors to the town centre have not been fully explored to their fullest potential.
We recall the promise made during the Springfields extension consultation period, that there will be funding to support ways of improving links with Spalding town centre and local attractions.
The innovative ideas of using social media to promote local heritage attractions such as Ayscoughfee Hall and Chain Bridge Forge, were welcome, as were the ideas of promoting local venues and events, and the proposition of interactive screens with 20 per cent of screen content being dedicated to advertisement of Spalding town centre, linkages to the centre via the water taxi and promotion of local attractions.
The extension plans also include proposals for planters, signage, seasonal bedding, sculptures and artwork referencing the heritage of the Springfields bulb growing history, but that history is not just confined to Springfields.
It is a history shared with Spalding and the local district.
Perhaps there is scope for exploring ways in which themes from these public realm features can be incorporated in Spalding town centre as well.
This would enhance the attractiveness of the town, which the High Streets Taskforce has identified as one of 25 key priorities of High Street regeneration.
We hope that as part of the overall package, that every avenue in which Springfields can help improve the attractiveness of the town centre, will be explored through the promised participation of Springfields in the Town Centre Regeneration Steering Group.
With the challenges that the closure of several key shops in the town, and the devastating news that Hills are planning to close after 60 years of trade in the town, the work of the Town Centre Regeneration Steering Group is now more urgent than ever. Businesses are facing incredible pressures as a result of COVID-19, and the sense of despair is all too apparent.
Now that approval for the extension has been granted, work on the promise of delivering support to Spalding town centre needs to begin in earnest. It cannot wait until the extension is complete as there may be little left in Spalding town centre to promote.
We also urge that an ongoing relationship between Springfields and Spalding town centre be forged, so that both can share the economic gains that the expanded centre will deliver to the area. We hope that South Holland District Council will do all it can to help that to happen.
The authority will gain from increased business rates which we hope will be used to enhance the level of investment in the maintenance and improvement of Spalding town centre year on year.
The Society will be awaiting developments with interest, and trust that the words in the Planning & Retail Statement prepared for the Springfields owners, Triton Property Fund, in support of the planning application become deeds.
John Bland
Chair, Spalding & District Civic Society
