Controversial new Spalding planters are ‘just the starting point’ for a wider revamp says South Holland District Council leader Nick Worth

A historic fountain will not be moving into the town centre says a council leader - who has told critics that the controversial new planters are just the first phase of wider improvement plans.

Spalding’s unpopular ‘circle of doom’ seating and planters in Hall Place have now been removed and replaced with new wooden planters in a £280,000 project - which have also not gone down well with some skeptical locals due to the location, look and layout.

This has also reignited calls for the historic Johnson Fountain to removed from its current location in Ayscoughfee Gardens back into its original position in the town centre as a focal point.

But South Holland District Council leader Coun Nick Worth says that there are no plans to remove the fountain - which is now sitting on the former paddling pool site - but says there are more plans ahead to improve the town centre with Spalding Town Board cash.

Last year, Spalding was among 55 places in the country which were found to need extra investment and will be receiving £20million over a ten-year period as part of the Government long-term plan for towns but this money is not due to filter through until 2026.

He said: “The Johnson Fountain is not going to happen.

“The planters are staying in Hall Place but we are moving them a little bit. I view that as a part-time solution until the town board gets the £2million a year and then we will have bigger projects to enhance the town.”

Work started in recent weeks to remove the previous tired old planters and seating in Hall Place, Red Lion Street and the river bank near High Bridge with new wooden ones.

Concerns had been raised by some shops about how close the planters had been placed to the shop fronts.

Coun Worth said that previous planters had been removed in response to a public consultation conducted by the council last year and said the larger central space could be used for the market or for events.

He said: “I think there needs to be a couple more seats but this is a starting point and something that the town board will look at when they come up with the master plan for the town.”

His comments come after he issued a plea for people to be more positive about Spalding.

The Johnson Fountain - which honours Mary Ann Johnson's role in bringing drinking water to the town - was installed in Ayscoughfee Gardens in 2022.

The fountain was removed from Ayscoughfee in 2018 to make way for a new war memorial.

It had been moved to the grounds of the historic hall in the 1950s, having originally been sited in Hall Place in 1874.

Spalding Civic Society members were among the voices who had previously called for the fountain to be sited in the town centre.

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