Spalding Flower Parade ‘needs to be done right’ for town

Business owners have spoken of their hopes as plans to bring Spalding’s Flower Parade back to the town continue.

As Pinchbeck campaigner Stephen Timewell continues to work on his dream of revitalising the hugely popular event, there are hopes that it could ‘put Spalding back on the map’.

People who run businesses in the town centre have voiced their hopes for what could happen if the parade was ‘done right’.

Emma Peake, who owns Daisies Flower Shop in The Crescent, said: “It would be great but it needs to be done right.

“The funding from before just isn’t there, so it will never be like it used to be, with huge businesses like Geest, TSB and Midland Bank taking big floats.

“Will it be cheap and cheerful? If so, that will make Spalding look common. But if it’s done right it could put Spalding back on the map. They need a lot of people with a vision to get it off the ground.”

Speaking to our sister paper the Lincolnshire Free Press, Mr Timewell had said that he might have to use artificial blooms - such as silk flowers - instead of the real things.

However, Emma has called for him to make contact with growers in our area.

“We have a huge flower industry in this area and it doesn’t even have to be tulips which are used.

“Dear God please let it be fresh flowers, not silk - people won’t travel miles and miles for silk. Plus, they’re no good for the environment so what will you do with them afterwards? Real flowers just rot and die and can be used in compost.

“They need to speak to the flower growers in the area and get them on board.”

A fundraiser, launched by Mr Timewell, is aiming to bring in £50,000 to go towards the plans, which will include a 2.94 mile long parade route ending at the Castle Sports Field.

Spalding Town Retailers’ Association chairman Darren Sutton, who is manager of both Charmed Interiors and Bookmark in Spalding, says that the parade needs to remain in the town, a sentiment echoed by Emma.

He said: “It will be nice to have something to look forward to considering the current state of the world and it’s a real shame that it ever stopped.

“However, it really does need to stay in Spalding as the town centre needs a lot more support than Springfields does.

“How the economy is at the moment, it’s very difficult for businesses and it’s probably not the best time for fundraising. It will be hard for businesses to offer their support because everyone wants a bit of their money at the moment.

“It will help the town if it does go ahead - especially the hospitality industry - so I think we will just have to wait and see what happens.”