Having worked with South Holland District Council in Spalding, Lincolnshire during 2022 and 2023, I seem to have become a fixture in the local press since then!
Last week, I was pleased to be featured in a thoughtful and in-depth Spalding Guardian article by reporter Bridie Short about the “challenges of modern-day trading” in the town.
Spalding is a town that has a special personal resonance, as it’s close to where my late grandmother lived for most of her life, and even now I can remember being taken around the town centre’s Hills department store and Ayscoughfee Gardens as a child.
Access
My actual recent work in Spalding involved being part of a council-led Town Centre Access Task Group that was set up to investigate sentiment and perceptions around current access arrangements to the Market Place and surrounding area.
Though a pedestrian zone already exists during the day – aimed at creating a safe and pleasant environment for shoppers – the restrictions have long been widely ignored by motorists.
These discussions around traffic access opened up wider conversations about how people use – and want to use – the town, reflected in a consultation led by Spalding Town Forum in summer last year.
As a result of the consultation findings, there are now plans to rewrite the TRO (traffic regulation order) that underpins the town centre pedestrian zone, to make it easier to enforce.
Separately, plans for a Business Improvement District (BID) for Spalding were approved – narrowly – by local businesses in June this year.
One consequence of all these developments has been lots of discussion in the press and online about what Spalding’s future might look like, which has no doubt contributed to me being regularly asked to share my thoughts.
Distinctiveness
In my latest comments, I put what is happening in Spalding in the context of national trends.
These include the move back towards bricks-and-mortar retail after Covid; the way in which trading on platforms like Etsy can act as a route into the market for high-street traders of the future; and the need to recognise and harness Spalding’s distinctiveness in any plans to improve the town.
The town centre can’t compete with the Springfields outlet down the road, but it can offer – and needs to keep offering – character and experiences that you can’t get anywhere else.
Repurpose
Comments I’ve made to the Spalding Guardian before have covered similar themes about how we navigate town centre change.
Back in July, I addressed the debate around the repurposing of the former Coneys – and previously Hills – department store, asking:
“Do you wait for a potential retail use that might never come, or support something that isn’t retail, but that will bring life and footfall to a vacant unit now?”
In that case, a proposal for change of use was subsequently approved by councillors, against planning officers’ advice.
Positive
And before that, in June last year, I was front page news as I shared my thoughts on what the town needs to do to thrive, highlighting its “inherent charm”, “fantastic independent shops”, and the importance of sharing positive messages about what the town already offers.
After all, as I argued back then, “no town has been improved by people saying how rubbish it is.”
When I shared that particular article on LinkedIn, one commenter remarked:
“So, this is all about promoting and communicating the reasons to visit and spend.
“I don’t know Spalding but I find it hard to believe that its solutions lie only in mar/comms with no substantive changes to its form.”
That completely misunderstood my point, however, as I replied at the time:
“Indeed not – that’s why the article addresses many other issues, such as transport connections and repurposing surplus space.
“But that change is driven by the people in the town, and some reflection on its existing strengths and distinctiveness – and communicating that better – is never a bad thing.”
Another commenter reinforced my argument about the importance of understanding and harnessing the distinctive qualities of a place:
“Spalding’s distinctiveness is in large part down to its history and heritage, often one of the most important assets a town has to deploy for its future development.
“A close analysis of those assets may well form part of the solution for its future well-being and success.”
Talking up
In any town, it would be foolish to pretend that everything is perfect as it is, or that we should ignore its problems.
At the same time, though, we shouldn’t feel guilty for talking up the positive attributes that every town has.
From my own work across the country, I know that relentless negative messaging can scare away the new businesses and investment that those places need.
And it can grind down the existing traders in those towns who are investing time and energy in trying to serve their community well.
As I argue in this latest Spalding Guardian article:
“I think we need a bit more balance in the way we talk about our high streets and a bit more appreciation and thanks for those people who are working so hard to try and do something worthwhile for us.”
Fingers crossed that the upcoming Spalding BID can help beef up the upbeat messaging about the town, while also working with partners, such as the council, to make a meaningful and positive difference to the experience of visiting.
Get in touch
CannyInsights.com works with towns like Spalding all over the country to help understand the challenges that are holding places back, and the positive messages that can attract more visits, spend and investment.
Drop us a message if our expertise can be useful in your town or city.
