The Spalding Town Board says its renewing ‘hot spot policing’ for the town, but much of its decision making remains clouded in secrecy.
Last week it issued a release saying that it would start a consultation on how to spend the £2m a year, over 10 years, it will be given as part of the government’s ‘Levelling Up’ funding.
It also states that a report on the recent trial of offering police officers more overtime to patrol Spalding had ‘created a measurable decline in anti-social behaviour’ and it would be moved to ‘phase two’.
The Voice asked the board directly, a company that has sent out its press releases in the past and South Holland District Council, which sent out the latest one, to release the statistics behind the decision, but no response had been received from any of them at the time of going to press.
This paper also asked how the overtime offer would fit in with Lincolnshire Police’s threat to axe 400 jobs if it doesn’t get more funding from the government by October.
The release says board members unanimously voted through ‘phase two’ but it fails to say what it involves, how much it will cost or how long it will cover. No answers to any of the submitted questions have been received.
The Spalding Town Board said the decision to approve more ‘hot spot policing’ was made at its most recent meeting, but according to its website www.lovespalding.co.uk no minutes for meetings have been published in 2025 so far, as have only two agendas for meetings meant to have taken place in February and July.
The meetings are not held in public.
- The release also says the Spalding Town Board has ‘some new members’ without saying who they are.
The ‘Board Members’ page does appear to have been updated and from those previously announced in March 2024, no longer involved are: Lincolnshire Police’s Matt Dickinson, Spalding and District Civic Society’s John Bland, Tracey Stringfellow of Heritage Lincolnshire and Craig Delaney and Catherine Duce both of the Spalding Business Board.
Those now included: Stewart Elderkins replacing David Jones as cycle group PEDALS representative, new Spalding Business Improvement District (BID) manager Sarah Fletcher, Jacqui Bunce of the NHS, Lincolnshire County Council places manager Simon Wright, Batel Dungerwalla, the CEO of Lincolnshire Community and Voluntary Partnership, Lizzi van Egmond and Joanne Dawson, who is the director of strategy and operations at the office of the Police and Crime Commissioner.
The PCC himself, Marc Jones, remains on the board.
