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All change at Spilsby

Things are looking up in Spilsby following an investment of more than £1 million in the town

Words: Estrild Bennett Photographs: John Smith

Spilsby is now one of Lincolnshire's most thriving market towns, thanks to a series of initiatives, spearheaded by local people, which have attracted more than £1 million worth of investment.

Increasing numbers of tourists are discovering the delights of this charming wolds town which is presenting a more attractive face to the world than ever before.

Efforts to bring more funding and visitors to Spilsby began seven years ago when a dedicated group of people began work on a scheme called the 'Three Market Towns Challenge' competing in this government initiative, Spilsby - together with Alford and Wainfleet - succeeded in winning £1.2 million to spend on the three Lincolnshire towns.

But in the home town of the explorer, Sir John Franklin, work did not end there, says former East Lindsey district councillor and town councillor, Giles Crust.

"We took our share of the money and doubled it with lottery grants and other sources. This enabled us to spend about £1 million on the town," he said.

"We did up Franklin Hall, an old drill hall which is now one of the finest civic halls in Lincolnshire."

Money from the three towns venture was also used to renovate the central area of Spilsby, surrounding the statue of Sir John Franklin. In addition, a thirty-six-mile scenic walk for tourists was set up. This was split into six individual circular walks around the area designed to provide activities for visitors staying in the town. Maps showing the routes followed by the walks have been printed and distributed to a wide range of tourist information centres.

Experience gained working on the market towns challenge gave the project's organisers the confidence to launch into the Heritage and Economic Regeneration Scheme (HERS) - an enterprise involving a dedicated group of people based around the district council and the local Chamber of Trade.

"We found that if you can spend money and get the right output then funders will give you more money," said Mr Crust. "They love a town that does what it sets out to do and does it well."

With money from HERS, the Spilsby group were able to restore the town's shop fronts to their former Georgian elegance. They were also able to spend £400,000 on improving the market place. This included laying an attractive, functional surface in the car park to replace the old worn tarmac and refurbishing a shabby 1960s' block of public toilets.

"One of the things that carried most economic benefit to the town was the brown 'Historical Market Town' sign that went up on the A16 said Mr Crust.

"As we have a bypass, visitors to the area don't necessarily pass through the town and see what we have to offer but after the sign went up, tourists started coming in. On the first day the sign went up, one shop reported an immediate increase in business.

"After this a restaurant opened up and started bringing in more people. These visitors then saw the shops we had and came back during the day to shop here. Now Spilsby is as busy at night as most market towns are during the day. It has been a real cascade effect.

"The regeneration project has also given shopkeepers the confidence to invest and that's what they are doing."

For those who have put such hard work into bringing their town to life, the ideas still keep coming. Giles Crust would like to see a closed-circuit television system installed in Spilsby to make people feel more secure at all times of the day and night.

"The projects we have already completed have taken seven years' work. We did not lay a single brick for the first two years. It was just a hard slog, two meetings a week for two years.

"Now the centre of Spilsby is improved unbelievably. You have got to do something to get people in and we have done it in Spilsby. It is a beautiful market town."