Spalding Festival has been cancelled for a third year, due to a lack of sponsorship.
The beerfest and live music event, organised by Spalding Round Table and Spalding Ladies’ Circle, was due to take place for a fifth time.
However, the organising committee has been unable to gain enough sponsorship to safeguard the running of the event this year.
It comes against a backdrop of financial uncertainty in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, which caused the cancellation of the event in 2020 and 2021.
One of the Spalding Festival bars
And South Holland District Council was believed to be less enthusiastic about the festival this year because it has events on the same weekend to mark the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.
Tom Bradshaw, chairman of Spalding Festival organising committee, said: “We’re very disappointed to have to cancel it again.
“After the past couple of years of Covid, we really wanted to put it on again to give people something to look forward to.
“So we’re sorry to those thousands of people, we’re sorry to all the bands, organisations and financial backers that support us but, most of all, we’re sorry for the local good causes who would’ve benefited from the fundraising.”
The festival began in 2016 and regularly attracted more than 5,000 visitors across the three days.
It’s raised about £100,000 – the majority of which has been distributed to a wide variety of good causes in the district. Spalding Festival is the only charity-led event of its kind in South Holland.
Planning for this year started last September and Mr Bradshaw said the committee had felt it necessary to accept the vastly increased fee for hiring the Castle Sports Complex main hall and Castle Field.
“The hire cost more than doubled from 2019 when we last held it.
“We’ve been offered other venues at no cost but we want to keep it in the town centre – we think that’s important to the people who come and enjoy it,” he added.
“We did think about pushing the date of the festival back for this year but we’re keen to keep it established on the spring bank holiday weekend in May so people know when to expect it each year.”
The committee is now focusing its attention on bringing Spalding Festival back for its fifth year in May 2023.
“It will be bigger, it will be better and we’ll look forward to seeing everyone again then,” said Mr Bradshaw.
The scheduled dates are Friday, May 26 to Sunday, May 28. Anyone who can offer support is asked to make contact through Spalding Festival’s Facebook page.
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The final in the latest series of road closures for works on the A1, as part of the Grantham Southern Relief Road project, has been temporarily postponed
A weekend northbound A1 closure was due to be in place between 8pm on Friday, May 20 and 6am on Monday, May 23.
However, Lincolnshire County Council said the closure has been temporarily postponed and once new dates have been confirmed they will be shared.
Works on phase three began in April this year, with the council anticipating that winter 2023 will be the completion date for the relief road.
This will be with the view to reduce congestion and carbon emissions, and provide opportunities for growth in the local economy.
The £102 million Grantham Southern Relief Road project has been led by Lincolnshire County Council, supported by South Kesteven District Council, Highways England, Greater Lincolnshire LEP, Network Rail, Homes England, the Department for Transport and local business contributions.
Safety improvements have been carried out at corner where numerous accidents have occurred in East Keal.
The council is looking into what else can be done to prevent motorists from coming off the road at Hall Corner, while police are looking into the possibility of fitting a speed camera.
A cement lorry recently overturned on the corner in February.
Lincolnshire County Council has found a slight dip in the road where Blacksmith Lane meets the A16 could be the reason why heavy vehicles travelling at excessive speed are tipping over.
It is considering whether to smooth out and realign the road, but says it is concious of the impact that closing the A16 would have on traffic and local businesses.
Several safety improvement measures have already been put in place, including ‘slow’ markings, enhanced bend warning signs and improved chevrons.
Problems have been found with the road surface on the corner. | Photo: Google Street View
Lincolnshire Police are assessing whether a speed camera on the corner would be beneficial, and will be taking speed readings in the coming weeks.
Larger barriers and longer safety fencing have been proposed by the public. However, the county council says that in order for it to be big enough to withstand the impact of overturned vehicles, the cost can’t be justified.
Either the local parish council or the country council could also explore whether to fund a reactive speed sign on the location.
Richard Davies, executive member for highways, said: “We are very thankful to the residents and members of the parish council who have given us their ideas and support in what can be done at Hall Corner. Local knowledge and personal feedback are cornerstones of what we do in terms of delivering the best solutions in the most informed way.
“There has already been much done at this bend to try and mitigate the issues faced and we now have more planned for this particular area that will go on to encourage all road users to drive accordingly in line with the road and conditions.
“I would like to thank everyone involved so far for their input. We will all work together to get the best resolution we can for Hall Corner.”
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