Springfields Outlet Shopping expansion will boost its investment in Spalding town centre to £1.2million

Plans for a £14million expansion of Springfields Outlet Shopping in Spalding will also boost its investment in the town to £1.2million, it has been revealed.

A start date is yet to be confirmed for the addition of 18 new shops, cafes and restaurants to the 45-acre site in Camelgate which was given the go-ahead on Wednesday.

Members of South Holland District Council’s planning committee voted 13-2 in favour of the plans first revealed by Springfields’ owners, Triton Property Fund, in March 2019.

Two office buildings currently used by NFU Mutual and Springfields Horticultural Society will be demolished to make room for the new stores, 15 of which will sell so-called “comparison”, rather than outlet, end-of line goods that have been reduced in price.

It will also see Springfields pump £200,000 into Spalding town centre on top of the £1million it has provided since the shopping centre first opened in 2004.

Ian Sanderson, director of Sanderson Leisure and Retail which manages Springfields, said: “We welcome the decision to approve the proposals which will enable Springfields Outlet to deliver new high-quality retail and leisure space aimed at premium and designer brands to complement, not detract from, the town centre.

“We will continue to work with South Holland District Council and other partners to strengthen linkages and encourage more visitors to the town centre.

“In the 15 years since Springfields Outlet first opened its doors, we have contributed around £1 million that has been spent on town centre initiatives and the extension will also lead to a further £200,000 being invested.

“In addition, the extension will boost the local economy by creating a further 350 jobs in these challenging times.”

The go-ahead for Springfields’ expansion came just hours after it was confirmed that Spalding’s only department store, Hills, would be closing after 60 years.

Fears about the expansion of Springfields’ were raised by several committee members, despite the outlet’s £200,000 offer to improve the town centre.

Voting against the plans, Coun Andrew Woolf said: “The town centre is dying and to allow something like this to be passed will further make it die.”

But planning committee chairman Coun James Avery said: “This will become a significantly more prominent site and, essentially a retail gateway to Springfields and, hopefully, Spalding as well.”