It’s been a busy year for Dennis . . . but there’s still much to be done

Spalding town centre manager Dennis Hannant has had a busy first year in office. We take a look back at the past 12 months’ successes and look forward to Dennis’s plans for 2016.

When Dennis was given the role of town centre manager 12 months ago, his remit was to work with local businesses to breathe new life into the town centre.
It has been hard work, but many positives have come out of his first year in the job – and Dennis hopes there is much more to come in 2016.
In the first few months, he spent hour after hour meeting and building relationships with a host of local businesses and groups such as the district council and retail associations.
As a result, his first major piece of work was a Town Centre Plan.
Entitled “The Springfields Effect”, the plan outlines the objectives and goals to develop the town centre.
One way in which Dennis has set that ball in motion in 2015 is the successful Spalding Food Festival.
Held in August the event attracted 53 stalls and around 2,000 people – and it is hoped it is the foundations of what Dennis hopes to achieve in 2016.
Phil Scarlett, Spalding and District Area Chamber president, said: “The Spalding Food Festival was a great success and something to build on in the future.
“It should not be underestimated the amount of time and resource that went into organising this event.”
As well as all the “behind the scenes” organisation needed to make the event a success, Dennis also implemented a new website to promote the event and held a competition to design a logo for it – something which will be used again next year.
With the Springfields Shopping Centre attracting 2.4 million visitors per year, it is an important attraction to encourage visitors to Spalding and into the town.
To capitalise on these visitors, Dennis produced the first joint Spalding Town Centre/Springfields Shopping Centre flyers, which advertised six town centre businesses and drew visitors into the town.
Other successful events during Dennis’s first year included; two Italian Markets, Spalding Velo Prix and the Armed Forces Day and St George’s Day Parades – of which Dennis acted as secretary and produced event plans and sourced sponsorship.
At this year’s Christmas Light switch-on, which Dennis organised with Tulip Radio, there was a raffle to win a car, sponsored by EMG. The money raised was donated to the Friends of Johnson Hospital.
Simon Beardsley, chief executive of the Lincolnshire Chamber of Commerce, said:
“I am delighted by the activity delivered by Dennis in his first year.
“Dennis is committed to developing Spalding’s town centre and seeing the town grow. We are pleased that the activity organised in the last year is having an effect on the town centre, and we hope to see it go from strength to strength.”
Looking to 2016, Dennis is seeking permission to use the Market Place for commercial use on non-market days in order to create activities and enliven the town centre. He will deliver four key events including a food festival, whilst continuing to support local community-led events and delivering a number of smaller events including continental markets.
Dennis will continue to work closely with SHDC and LCC Officers to improve the fabric and cleanliness of the town centre. He will also continue to work alongside the South Lincolnshire Tourist Forum to encourage and increase the number of visitors to the town
Matt Clark, chairman of the Town Centre Management Board, said: “After a long wait and significant work in applying for funding for the critical TCM role to become a reality, I was thrilled to appoint Dennis to the role one year ago.
“His work and devotion to his role, throughout the 12 months has continued to impress. I am looking forward to next year now, where our board are confident in seeing improvements to the town in respect of attractiveness, advertising and activities, all of which can only have a positive impact on footfall to our town centre businesses throughout the day and evening.”