Spalding’s Lighthouse Church members outline their vision for former Coneys department store

The people behind plans to covert an empty department store say they want to make a difference to the town and the wider community.

Members of The Lighthouse Church are hoping to create a soft play centre, youth zone and enlarged foodbank along with a place of worship within the former Coneys store in Broad Street, Spalding, if planners give the green light. The plans also include a late night ‘safe place’ to help anyone in need, a Christian bookshop and a space to offer life skills sessions.

The project has received a mixed reaction from readers – with some saying it should remain a shop.

But Senior Pastor David Sandhu has stressed that the aim of the project is to bring more people to the town centre.

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He said: “We are so excited by the prospect of this move. We want to give back to the community by providing things that don’t currently exist in the town centre and give people more reasons to visit the marketplace, which suffers from having so many empty buildings.

“Childrens facilities are lacking, and this new facility will be a huge benefit to families in the area throughout the week while we continue to do church on a Sunday upstairs, where everybody will be welcome to join us”.

Coneys, which was previously Hills, has stood empty since May when the owners were forced to close the doors for the final time citing significant costs and declining sales.

The church is planning to use its savings to purchase the building if members of South Holland District Council’s planning committee grant permission.

Members came up with the idea of having a soft play centre within the building after seeing the need for a facility within the town centre.

Treasurer and trustee Jenny Tedbury said: “It has been something that it is close to our hearts for a little while. We have a lot of families in the church with small children. We heard people saying that there is nothing to do in Spalding for mum with small children who don’t have access to a car during the day.

“Walking small children in a buggy down to Springfields is a long walk but they could pop into town and take their little one out to soft play and meeting up with other mums to have a coffee.

“Our ethos is about supporting the community.”

Another part of the project is to extend the foodbank in order to help more people as the cost of living crisis continues to have an impact on family finances.

Mrs Tedbury said: “It is affecting young families and people of all ages who suddenly find themselves struggling financially. The foodbank usage is increasing.

“We have a lot of families coming to the food bank that they can access support. They are not going to be hanging around the town centre.”

The church needs approval for a change of use from retail to a mixed use comprising of ancillary retail, cafe, play space, offices, church, community meeting place and foodbank.

The full proposed community benefits in the church’s planning documents are:

*A weekday after school ‘youth zone’ for teenagers to congregate and socialise safely

*A daily parent and child “soft play café’ for parents and carers to meet, socialise, provide their children with fun and exercise in safety

*A regular warm space for adults who need opportunities to meet with others, eat, keep warm and socialise

*A permanent foodbank, open more frequently than the Agape foodbank currently is and with opportunity to run a “soup kitchen” facility

*Late night safe place to support local emergency services helping late night economy users to find help in need, or to safely call a taxi

*Life skills courses and support, such as a parenting course, run by the Church and partners eg. Christians Against Poverty (CAP)

*A Christian bookshop/resource centre for Christians from all local Churches to find resources and materials

*More reasons to attend town and spend time in town.

*Volunteer and employment opportunities.

Spalding Business Board chairman Craig Delaney said: “I would rather see this building put to good use rather than left empty as a monument to what went before them. To utilise this space for the Church’s community groups is doing exactly what we need – bringing people into the town. I shall wait with interest to see what happens.”

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