The Voice of Spalding and South Holland
Former Tulip Parade floats could return to Spalding town centre as the town’s In Bloom scheme is back and looking to enter the national competition again.
Spalding won gold in the Large Town category every year from 2014 to 2018 but didn’t enter last year.
Whether Spalding enters this year depends on what reaction organisers get from businesses and community groups who are being urged to get in touch about sponsoring or hosting flower displays including hanging baskets in town.
Coun Angela Newton said: “This year the Spalding In Bloom group will again be striving to brighten up the town with hanging baskets and planters.
“The Britain in Bloom scheme brings beauty and life to our town centres and evokes a sense of pride in the residents.
“It also helps to increase visitor numbers, improve the local economy and enables local residents to get involved in volunteering in their communities promoting community cohesion.”
Speaking at last week’s meeting of the Spalding Town Forum, Coun Newton said: “I don’t know at this stage whether we’d be able to enter the In Bloom competition this year.
“That would depend on how much help we get and how many businesses and sponsors come on board.
“It’s not just putting 100 baskets up, they want to know what schools and organisations have done and what you’ve done on your recycling, all sorts of things.
“I think it could give the town a lift and a boost.
“We need to lift our town, even if a business doesn’t want flowers outside their own business, they can sponsor a display elsewhere.”
The possibility of using the former Tulip Parade floats came from Coun Harry Drury who said he’d been in touch with the person who had kept the old Tulip Parade equipment in a shed.
“I just think during the summer months it would really brighten the town up and give some vibrance to shoppers, tourists and businesses to have some of these statically displayed within the town centre with flowers on them.
“They’re very keen to do something with them and I think it’s just a case of us asking if they want to do something.
“We’ve got fixed flower beds we can utilise but why not add something to them?”
Anyone interested in getting involved with Spalding In Bloom can visit its Facebook page.
You can also email Angela Newton on anewton@sholland.gov.uk
