Retailers have a say on Spalding town centre manager

The process is underway to recruit a town centre manager for Spalding.

An advert for the new role is due to be posted this week and interviews are due to be held next month.

Retailers in the town are now being asked to put forward their views on what the town centre manager’s role should include and what their business expect from the new appointment.

Phil Scarlett, president of the Spalding and District Area Chamber of Commerce, said: “It is the town retailers who should set the agenda for the town centre manager.”

The appointment of the town centre manager follows a lengthy process to decide how to spend some of the £207,395 section 106 money provided by Springfields as part of the planning procedure for the shopping outlet.

Other suggestions for the money from Spalding Town Forum included a bandstand for Ayscoughfee gardens, a water taxi mooring at Chain Bridge Forge and a community studio at Tulip Radio.

The process was delayed further back in January when a sub-committee was set up to decide on the best options for the money.

At that time, Mr Scarlett said he feared the 18-month time lapse since he had been asked to come up with a proposal for a town centre manager had meant Spalding had lost out on a number of benefits which could have been taken advantage of had someone been in position.

Town centre business people will now take their views to the next meeting of the newly-founded retailers’ forum on Wednesday (April 16), when there will be two meetings to encourage as many people as possible to attend.

The first will be held between 7.30am (for a 7.45am start) and 8.45am and the second from 5.45pm (6pm start) to 7pm.

Both meetings will be at the cafe at Sainsbury’s supermarket.

Mr Scarlett said: “I would urge retailers to make a note of the meeting date and encourage their neighbouring retailers to come with them.”

One comment

  1. Interesting choice of venue for the meetings, were there no town centre venues willing to host it?

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