Hope for fresh investment as Spalding United secures lease at town site

Fresh investment is promised for Spalding’s Sir Halley Stewart Playing Field after a long-anticipated deal was struck to secure the prime site’s future.

A new 25-year lease has been signed by Spalding United that will allow the club to take greater ownership of the field and push ahead with its plans to rise up the footballing pyramid.

The Sir Halley Stewart Playing Field was given to the town in the 1950s. It is a charity and the sole trustee is the district council.

The council says that the new lease will allow the club to realise its ambitions and will boost the activities on offer at the field for residents and community groups.

By having a lease in place, it is thought that there will be more opportunities to seek investment from outside sources.

This season the Tulips have made the move up to step three of English football’s non-league pyramid, the highest position at which the club has ever competed at. More than 1,700 fans saw them crowned Northern Premier League Midlands Division champions in April and the club wants that to mark the first step to greater glory — and said the town would feel the economic benefit of their rise up the ladder.

Fans have already seen the ground spruced up in time for the current campaign.

The site has been the subject of a long-running debate — with critics arguing against fencing off the site for the football club, while plans to sell it off for retail were floated more than a decade ago.

The Charities Commission describes the charity’s asset as: “A playing field for the benefit of the inhabitants of the town of Spalding.”

In a statement, the council said that — from the trustee’s perspective — the lease will: “Further the key priorities for the field’ to allow more residents to use the asset, seeing more local residents able to access, use and enjoy the asset, whilst supporting more local clubs and their members to continue to find a home and grow and helping Spalding United FC continue their fantastic progress and remain a key part of the town’s identity.”

As part of the agreement Spalding United bosses have reaffirmed their commitment to encouraging use of the grounds and to helping grow grassroots football and other sport and recreation opportunities at the Sir Halley Stewart and beyond.

Coun Nick Worth, leader of South Holland District Council and Coun Henry Bingham, portfolio holder for assets and strategic planning at the authority, said: “We are delighted that Spalding United FC and the trustee have agreed this deal, which can help start a fantastic new chapter for the Sir Halley Stewart, the local community and the club.”

“We have known for some time that there was a growing desire and need for investment in the facilities that the trustee would really struggle to find without the costs having to fall upon local taxpayers.

“This lease not only secures that investment, but also creates wide-reaching benefits for the local community, economy and businesses, whilst ensuring the field remains home to a wide number of sporting organisations and other initiatives.”

Spalding United chairman Andrew Killingsworth said: “From day one we have shown an interest in taking more ownership of the Sir Halley Stewart, not only to help our growth as a club but the growth of the local community as a whole, it’s a significant project and one we look forward to engaging as many people as possible with, so the club can grow in tandem with the town. This is another piece in the jigsaw that we needed to maximise the opportunity that has been presented to us all.”

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