The Voice of Spalding and South Holland
The community and businesses are being urged to get on board with a potential new water-based festival for Spalding.
Members of the Spalding Town Forum raised the possibility of getting a committee together to launch a festival based in and around the town’s waterways, maybe from 2021.
And they want to hear from interested people, businesses and groups who want to be involved.
Speaking at the forum’s meeting last week George Scott said: “We lost the Tulip Festival a few years ago and this could be a great way to attract tourists back to the area.
“I’m wondering if Spalding is interested.
“We were talking about improving Spalding town this week and this may be a way of doing it.
“It’s not going to be one individual who does this. We need support from all sections, not just the council, but various societies and businesses to get their heads together.
“I think it could be really, really successful.”
The potential for attracting a company to organise the event was mooted by Coun Harry Drury who told the meeting three years ago he’d looked to start a raft race.
He said: “Regardless of the water taxi our waterways are still under-used in my opinion.
“I would support anything around tourism and the water.
“I’m not putting a dampener on it as for every problem there is a solution, but the Environmental Agency are very precious about the use of the water they own and we’d have to go to individual owners of the parts of the bank because it’s owned by several organisations.
“We need local volunteers and local businesses to say they’re interested in making this happen and sitting on a committee towards it.
“If there’s a group of six to ten people who can sit around a table and go off and action their tasks I think it would help.”
Those interested should contact the Town Forum chair Jack McLean on jmclean@sholland.gov.uk
