Spalding, Lincolnshire

For other places and people named Spalding, see Spalding.

Spalding is a market town in Lincolnshire, England, perhaps best known for its annual Flower Parade. The number of visitors continues to decline although it still manages to attract a large number of regular attenders from all over the world. It is traditionally part of the Holland division and is part of the South Holland district.

River Welland

The River Welland flows north from Crowland, through Spalding and out to the Wash, bisecting Spalding from east to west. Consequently the town has developed as a linear settlement around the river. Coronation Channel was built in 1955 to protect the rest of Spalding from flooding after particulary heavy rains and allowed the area around the banks to be safely built upon. Although this area has become heavily built up, the river retains its recreational usage and fishing is still a popular sport.

Growth

The town has a population of about 22,000 (26,000 including Pinchbeck). The population continues to grow at a fast pace, including large numbers of retired people and immigrant workers from eastern Europe seeking work in the many food processing factories or on the land. However, like most of the country, public services have not kept pace with the growing population, leading to shortages in services such as NHS dentists and doctors, and the maintenance of a local road system perhaps more suited to 1960s traffic levels. The A16 used to pass through the town until August 1995, when the Spalding-Sutterton Improvement opened.

Spalding's nearest major hospitals are Boston (18 miles north) and Peterborough (20 miles south) and, despite the growing population, hospital services continue to be cut. As from September 2006, there will be no after-hours doctors available, and Spalding will be totally dependent on paramedics and the NHS Direct phone services. A new hospital is currently being built in Spalding which should provide a wide range of modern facilities. There will however be no in-patient facilities and essentaily the new building will place all the current services scattered arount the town under one roof.

Education

Spalding's two secondary modern schools are the Gleed Boys School and the Gleed Girls School; Boston College and Stamford College also have Further Education centres in the town. The town's state grammar schools (still selective by 11+ exam) are Spalding Queen Elizabeth Royal Free Grammar School (for boys) and Spalding High School (for girls), both of which consistently achieve exam results close to the top of the UK's annual educational league tables. However, many find that in seeking higher education the area is unable to offer suitable employment and subsequently many are forced to move from the area.

Local economy

Spalding is located at the centre of a major region of flower and vegetable growth, due to the rich silty soil which mainly comprises drained recovered marshland or estuary. There are many garden centres and plant nurseries, as well as a thriving agricultural industry and various vegetable packing plants. The main vegetables are potatoes, peas, carrots, wheat, barley, oats, broccoli, spinach, lettuce, cabbage, kale and Brussels sprouts. The vast majority of these are sold to large concerns such as supermarkets, with little being available for sale locally.

Despite this local fruit and vegetable shop 'Booth's' sells lots of local produce to Spalding's citizens. They sell all major fruit and vegetables ranging from the famous, locally grown 'Boston' potatoes to imported rarities such as custard apples.

Known as The Heart of the Fens, Spalding is famous as a centre of the bulb industry, and has close links with the Netherlands (origin of the Geest family, who were former major local employers). Many small and internationally famous products are supplied from the area including the George Adams pork products, Welland Power generators from the Farrows family. The annual Tulip Parade takes place on the first Saturday in May, and is a major tourist attraction, comprising a procession of floats on various themes, each decorated with tulip petals, a by-product of the bulb industry. In years when the tulips are late, daffodils are sometimes used in their place. When the tulips are early, crepe paper has to be substituted. The flower industry has, however, become less important in recent years, and the bands of bright colours that covered the fenland are now essentially gone.

Local buildings and facilities

The best-known building in Spalding is Ayscoughfee Hall, formerly a 15th century country house and now a museum and tourist information centre. Also contained within the town is the Gordon Boswell Romany Museum.

Four supermarkets are available to locals: a Sainsbury's in the centre of the town, a Co-op in the Winsover Centre, a Marks and Spencer Food Hall, and a Morrisons in Pinchbeck. The Castle Sports Complex provides fitness facilities throughout the day and evening. The South Holland Centre is an arts centre close to the Market Place that provides concerts, theatre productions and films. A new £425m, 860MW combined cycle gas turbine power station, owned by Intergen, was built on the former site of British Sugar on West Marsh Road by Bechtel in October 2004. In mid-2006 a new wind farm (operated by Wind Prospect UK) became visible from much of Spalding, located in nearby Deeping St Nicholas.

Spalding is situated on the Lincoln Central - Peterborough railway line, operated by Central Trains.

Spalding is also known as very remote,which attracts elderly and young people.

Spalding also has its very own local radio station, Tulip Radio ^* broadcasting on 87.9 in April/May and October/November.

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