It’s a shame that Spalding was allowed to be ‘left behind’, writes Head of News Andrew Brookes

So, £20 million and we’re ‘in the money’, right? Well, first things first, it’s important not to be churlish. This money is most welcome and we’re happy to play our part in the necessary debate on where it’s spent.

But it cannot – and must not – come without an important word or two of context.

Spalding is only getting this money because it has become – in the Government’s own words – a ‘left behind town’. That is a grim label to bear – and one that ought to carry shame from those that got us here.

Indeed, it may not be too unfair to suggest this is guilt money to try to make up for years of neglect. It’s not new cash, it’s a fraction of what we should’ve had for the last 20 or 30 years and there’s only so grateful you can be for that.

The list of culprits and reasons for getting here is probably too long to mention. They include the petty bureaucracy of bickering councils who haven’t been able to agree on our town’s traffic rules, the utility firms who dig up roads willy nilly and then come back a day later to fix the same issue, Governments who went chasing marginal seats with short term bribes and greedy landlords who let our best buildings fester.

And let us not forget the steady not-so-merry-go-round of ministers who flit from portfolio to portfolio with more care for their career than the impact of their policies and the people left short changed by their ascent up the greasy pole (having eight education secretaries since the start of 2018 is appalling).

A plague on all their houses (regardless of the party creed they spout).

And don’t let’s think this is the end. It’s not good enough to dangle one bauble in our faces while, with another hand, pull away the cash we need for our drainage boards, crumbling road surfaces, badly-resourced schools or impoverished health services. New benches outside Boots are no comfort if we can’t reach out a hand to our families on the brink of homelessness.

It’s now our job to embrace the opportunity of this funding and make something of it. This paper and our readers will, I’m sure, relish that. But we won’t forget why we’re here in the first place. Don’t patronise us, put your money where your mouth is and do something.

The public is – perhaps understandably – apathetic. They assume they’ll be ignored and that lots of possibly well-meaning but ultimately pointless committees will now squander the cash.

Businesses and community leaders have to seize the chance to form a meaningful board to drive action. If we’re ever going to thrive, now is the time to prove the naysayers wrong.