Grantham Independents Paul Stokes on the community events that have united the town

Several times recently I have been fortunate to attend events that have been shining examples of how great it is when the Grantham community comes together with fabulous outcomes, writes Paul Stokes of Grantham Independents.

I was at the Grantham Rotary Club Swimarathon awards at the beautiful Harlaxton Church the other evening. A record breaking £53,874 was raised this year by swimmers over the weekend in February. 52 local charities, groups, organisations and schools were at a full house in the church to receive their grants.

This money was raised by hundreds of swimmers representing all sorts of organisations for the benefit of others, all made possible by the fact that we have wonderful facilities for swimming and staging events such as the Swimarathon at the Meres Leisure Centre, run by LeisureSK on behalf of South Kesteven District Council.

I was also at the Inspire Plus summer games prior to this where hundreds of local schoolchildren participated in the non-competitive Mini-Olympics over three days. The children’s participation was facilitated by schools and their fabulous staff, volunteer coaches from all sports spectrums and overseen by Inspire Plus staff.

Once again the event was made possible by the expansive facility at the Meres Stadium with its pitches and athletics track, together with conference area. So many communities worked together to bring about this event and I am proud that the council’s facilities are at the core.

I attended Grantham Dramatic Society’s production of Calendar Girls at the Guildhall Arts Centre. A wonderful display by local talent made possible by the community turning out in large numbers and using the engaging theatre and services within it.

Recently and shortly there are shows from the fabulous Grantham School of Dancing, Dancepointe, Grab Band and many more who all do great work within the community, plus the benefit of a vast variety of professional shows. The Guildhall Arts Centre is wholly funded by South Kesteven District Council and we are lucky to have this venue as the centrepiece for so many events.

This is a busy time for our parks, play areas and of course the market place, where the Saturday market is now flourishing, supported by various events.

Grantham has so much to look forward to and does have lots to do. It is a great place to live and if you have any suggestions of things that might be an addition please contact me on: paul.stokes@southkesteven.gov.uk