Spalding is to bid to be the UK’s first ever Town of Culture.
The Spalding Town Board are set to bid for the honour in the ‘medium’ sized town category.
The UK City of Culture has been a feature since 2013 and the government has now announced one for town’s too.
A spokesman for the town board said: “The entry will be led by Spalding Town Board, working together with partners, and will set out a programme of activities that reflects the town’s strong heritage and cultural offer.
“This includes much-loved spaces such as Spalding Gentlemen’s Society, Ayscoughfee Hall, and the South Holland Centre. The bid will also recognise other cultural highlights such as the town being home to Gilbert Scott’s last work as well as the first music festival, BBQ 67 – and much, much more.
“Not only will the winning town have the kudos of being named the very first UK Town of Culture, it will also receive £3m to invest in culture which can be spent on themes of places, infrastructure, and people. In addition, two runner up towns will each receive £250,000.”
Robin Hancox, chair, Spalding Town Board said: “We know from community feedback that local people are rightly and clearly proud of our town’s culture and heritage, and we believe we have a strong case to be the UK’s Town of Culture.
“By working together with partners, we can come up with an entry that not only capitalises on what we already have in Spalding, but also sets out a case for further investment in our historic spaces and cultural assets which we also know from consultation matters to people.
“This is an exciting opportunity to celebrate Spalding’s culture and heritage not just
locally but nationally, and potentially attract more funding into our town. Spalding
Town Board is proud to be leading the bid.”
Councillor Nick Worth, leader of South Holland District Council, said: “Spalding has an incredibly proud cultural identity and heritage, and I am really pleased for us to support any opportunity to showcase that on a national stage.
“We want to celebrate what makes the town and district special whilst also unlocking new opportunities for investment, growth, improvement and cultural activities, and the Town of Culture competition is a brilliant platform through which to achieve this. I look forward to working with partners and residents to help bring it to life.”
Sir John Hayes, MP for South Holland and the Deepings said: “Spalding has a rich history at the heart of which is both the unique character of the fenland landscape with its great skies, open vistas, and the historical use of land by which South Holland became the breadbasket that fed the nation.
“Flowers too have adorned local fields for generations as tulip and daffodil bulb production has spawned and sustained so many local businesses.
“Having served Spalding as MP for almost thirty years, I have been privileged to experience the best of Spalding’s cultural past and present, and I am proud to back the bid for Town of Culture 2028.”
Towns have until March 31 to put their bids in with the shortlist to be unveiled in the next few months.
