Questions raised over whether the Castle Sports Complex could have hosted Spalding Flower Parade and Spalding Beer Festival
With work on a £26million revamp of an ageing leisure centre not due to start until the autumn, questions have been raised about whether the site could have staged two major events.
The Castle Sports Complex in Spalding is being transformed into a health and wellbeing hub but this work has prevented the leisure centre from hosting Spalding Beer Festival as well as last week’s flower parade.
Spalding Beer Festival has been cancelled this year as organisers, Spalding Round Table, could not find an suitable alternative location in the town centre while the committee of volunteers who staged Spalding Flower Parade opted for Springfields Events and Conference Centre after facing a similar dilemma.
Coun Gary Taylor, who is leading on the Castle Sports project, told the last South Holland District Council meeting that construction workers are not due to start work on the health and wellbeing hub until September.
This sparked a question from Spalding councillor James Le Sage later in the meeting.
At Wednesday’s meeting he asked: “With some forethought and the fact that you have announced that no building work will commence until September - could it not have been possible for the local beer festival to have gone ahead? And for the tulip festival could have gone ahead from the Castle Sports Complex?
“With the (building) deadline of September, both of these events could have been run from the Castle Sports Complex, in the town centre where they should be held.”
Coun Taylor responded to say that the council had previously explained to the parade that there would only be a two-year arrangement for the use of the Castle Sports Complex due to the revamp.
He added: “Some of this work has taken place, trenches have been dug and the some of the land is every uneven for large scale events.
“I do hope that in the future we can look at alternative town centre venues for these events. Events can take place at Springfields but we do need to draw more people, locals and those from away, to town centre events and that is what we need to work on in the future.”
Earlier in the meeting, Coun Taylor had stated that early trench and survey work was being undertaken at the Castle Sports Complex but work was not due to get underway until September when operations would be moved to a temporary location in Red Lion Street.
The modern health and wellbeing hub is due to reopen in January 2027.
Coun Taylor had stated that officers will be organising a previously promised briefing for councillors ahead of them receiving the business case for the project.
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