Image © Steven Granville
Community leaders are getting behind a bid by Spalding to be named UK’s Town of Culture in 2028 after public feedback showed strong community interest in celebrating the town’s history and culture.
The first ever UK Town of Culture competition has been set up by the government to celebrate the significant cultural contribution of towns, and provides the opportunity for places and communities to celebrate their local culture and creativity.
Now, Spalding is set to enter this competition after consultation carried out by Spalding Town Board in 2025 revealed a significant appetite for celebrating the history, heritage, and culture of Spalding which is a source of pride for many local people.
The entry will be led by Spalding Town Board, working together with partners, and will set out a programme of activities that reflects the town’s strong heritage and cultural offer.
This includes much-loved spaces such as Spalding Gentlemen’s Society, Ayscoughfee Hall, and the South Holland Centre. The bid will also recognise other cultural highlights such as the town being home to Gilbert Scott’s last work as well as the first music festival, BBQ 67 – and much, much more.
Not only will the winning town have the kudos of being named the very first UK Town of Culture, it will also receive £3m to invest in culture which can be spent on themes of places, infrastructure, and people. In addition, two runner up towns will each receive £250,000
Robin Hancox, Chair, Spalding Town Board said: “We know from community feedback that local people are rightly and clearly proud of our town’s culture and heritage, and we believe we have a strong case to be the UK’s Town of Culture.
“By working together with partners, we can come up with an entry that not only capitalises on what we already have in Spalding, but also sets out a case for further investment in our historic spaces and cultural assets which we also know from consultation matters to people.
“This is an exciting opportunity to celebrate Spalding’s culture and heritage not just locally but nationally, and potentially attract more funding into our town. Spalding Town Board is proud to be leading the bid.”
Councillor Nick Worth, leader of South Holland District Council, said: “Spalding has an incredibly proud cultural identity and heritage, and I am really pleased for us to support any opportunity to showcase that on a national stage.
“We want to celebrate what makes the town and district special whilst also unlocking new opportunities for investment, growth, improvement and cultural activities, and the Town of Culture competition is a brilliant platform through which to achieve this. I look forward to working with partners and residents to help bring it to life.”
Sir John Hayes, MP for South Holland and the Deepings said: “Spalding has a rich history at the heart of which is both the unique character of the fenland landscape with its great skies, open vistas, and the historical use of land by which South Holland became the breadbasket that fed the nation. Flowers too have adorned local fields for generations as tulip and daffodil bulb production has spawned and sustained so many local businesses.
“Having served Spalding as MP for almost thirty years, I have been privileged to experience the best of Spalding’s cultural past and present, and I am proud to back the bid for Town of Culture 2028.”
The deadline for expressions of interest for UK Town of Culture 2028 is 31 March 2026, with the shortlist of towns expected to be announced this spring.
The UK Town of Culture competition aims to celebrate the significant contributions of towns to the national story. The competition focuses on building a more socially cohesive country where communities feel proud of their place and empowered to celebrate it. First ever UK Town of Culture competition to restore pride in communities – GOV.UK
Spalding BID believes that Spalding’s application to become the Town of Culture for 2028 could not come at a better time for the town. We have the Spalding Town Board’s Pride in Place funding, a new Spalding Gentlemen’s Society Museum space, the new £28m leisure centre, as well as programmes for venues like The Sessions House, Ayscoughfee Hall Museum & Gardens and South Holland Centre. All this, alongside Spalding BID’s work to promote the town’s businesses, will make Spalding a really great place to live, work and visit, improving footfall and economic opportunities for our businesses. We wholeheartedly support the plans behind an application for Spalding to become the Town of Culture for 2028″.
Sarah Fletcher, BID Manager, Spalding BID
“I see the Town of Culture bid as a fantastic opportunity to positively impact the much needed development of a grass roots arts scene in the town and wider community.”
Liz Kelleher
Artist and organisation lead for A&E Collaborative
Public quotes from consultation:
“Culturally, Spalding is strong and we should develop that.”
“Spalding is a historic town and its heritage should be celebrated.”