Spalding community champion Mick turns his attention to tidying up town

This overgrown verge is the sort of mess Mick Clarkson wants to tackle.

A big-hearted community volunteer with a determination to make Spalding a more attractive place to live has targeted his next project.

Mick Clarkson wants to highlight and tackle areas which have become overgrown, ugly and, in some cases, perilous to pedestrians.
He’s launched Facebook page Tidy Up Spalding NOW! and is inviting group members to submit photos of places which require attention.

The inspiration for this came during a recent trip to Grange-over-sands in Cumbria for a family wedding.
Mick says the experience made him realise just how poor parts of Spalding look – and what a difference a greater sense of civic pride makes.

He said: “It was absolutely smashing there.
“A lovely place they call God’s Waiting Place. The flowerbeds were all well tended and there were low, double-skinned walls planted with begonias and other flowers.
“Everywhere you looked it was beautiful and cared for.
“I said to my wife (Julie) that Spalding could and should be like that too but nobody seems to care.
“It actually made me feel sad and for the first time in my life I thought if I could sell up, I’d go.
“If I didn’t have children down this way, I think I would.”

Pretty Grange-over-sands, Cumbria – the inspiration for Mick Clarkson’s Spalding clean-up.

But instead lorry driver Mick wants to stay and keep making a difference in his hometown.

His first venture, earlier this year, was transforming a small, rough piece of South Holland District Council land on the Royce Road estate where he lives. Pop’s Patch, as it’s affectionately known, is now a well-kept, attractive area and an example of what can be achieved reasonably easily.

On the back of that success, the 54-year-old was commandeered into helping The Garth School create an outside sensory area this summer.
Mick’s enthusiasm and drive pulled dozens of volunteer helpers together and businesses, including The Voice, were happy to support such a worthwhile cause with product donations.

He has a thirst and talent for turning around run-down outdoor areas into eye-catching attractions to be proud of.
He added: “I’d do it full-time if I could get the sponsorship.
“Wouldn’t you get some great enjoyment out of it?”