Plans for an arts commission, and safe place in Spalding are continuing with venues being sought for both.
More details of some of the projects that the Spalding Neighbourhood Board is looking to fund through its £20m over ten years have been revealed in recently published minutes of its meetings.
It had previously announced that The Spalding Gentlemen’s Society, Spalding BID, Lighthouse Community Hub, Project St Thomas, CVS Lincolnshire and Tonic Health had been the first projects to benefit from its Pride In Place programme.
It has also agreed funds with other projects which are still looking for a permanent base.
A board spokesman said: “Further work is taking place with other shortlisted proposals to refine their project funding allocations. These will be confirmed in due course.”
Among them are £406,000 funding over four years for an ‘A&E Arts Space’.
That would be in a ‘council property’, the minutes for May’s board meeting states.
A spokesman for the Spalding Neighbourhood Board said this was in addition to shortlisted proposals.
“The board has agreed to fund a public arts commission within the next four years following a number of applications focused on this theme. More details on this will be shared as the commission develops.”
The board has also ‘approved in principle’ a ‘pilot’ for a ‘Safer Space/Welcome to Spalding’ hub in the town led by the Spalding Business Improvement District (BID).
May’s meeting minutes state South Holland District Council had been looking into the ownership of the Hole In The Wall site to use that building.
It has now reopened as a pub, but BID manager Sarah Fletcher says it is something they’re still looking to open at a different premises.
She said: “This has been identified as a key element to offering businesses and residents somewhere to pop in and talk through concerns, ask for help and guidance if they need to raise any concerns, run a business/pub/Shop Watch scheme from and for services to operate out of.
“It may also be somewhere for businesses in the town to meet and network etc.”
Sarah continued that BID is still looking at how it would work and staff such a facility.
The minutes reveal that many of the projects that received grants did not get as much money as they originally asked for.
The Spalding Gentlemen’s Society, which received by far the highest donation of £1m, was looking for £3m, while the People Make Spalding initiative by CVS Lincolnshire to improve volunteering was given a reduced amount.
The June minutes state: “Members emphasised the importance of maintaining visibility of progress across all approved projects and ensuring that delivery updates are shared regularly between meetings.
“The need for clear monitoring arrangements, measurable outputs and effective communication to demonstrate early impact was highlighted.
“The board also reinforced the importance of transparency and accountability as funding begins to translate into activity on the ground.”
The most recent minutes of the July meeting, nor its agenda have been published.
Members voted to have the meetings every two months from July onwards meaning the next one would be due this month (September).
The meetings are not held in public.
The June minutes state: “It was emphasised that, despite reduced formal meeting frequency, members should be kept regularly updated on projects as they progress through email updates to ensure continued oversight and transparency.”
