Vital and Viable Market Towns
Update: 10 January 2025
We are pleased to be working with REAP Consultancy Services to update the Vital and Viable Town Action Plans for Alford, Wainfleet, Spilsby, Horncastle, and Louth.
The existing action plans stem from the post pandemic era and were written to help re-establish town centre economies in each of the five towns, and provide a plan of activities the local communities wanted to see brought forward.
Over the next few months and working with the Place Officer for Market Towns, Kate Giffen, Jo Blackwell from REAP will be reviewing the existing actions, undertaking local consultation, and working to update the plans to reflect current actions and add any new activities and opportunities.
Consultation events are happening during January 2025 and advertised in each town, with Jo visiting local places to talk to people, businesses, organisations, councillors, and other stakeholders to share what has been achieved since the existing action plans were published and provide details of the consultation.
The events are as follows:
- Louth in-person event: Monday 13 January, 5.45pm at the Meridian Centre
- Louth online event: Monday 27 January, 5.45pm
- Spilsby in-person event: Wednesday 15 January, 5.45pm at the Franklin Hall
- Spilsby online event: Thursday 23 January, 5.45pm
- Horncastle online event: Thursday 16 January, 5.45pm
- Horncastle in-person event: Tuesday 21 January, 5.45pm at the Community Centre
- Wainfleet online event - Monday 20 January, 5.45pm
- Wainfleet in-person event - Friday 24 January, 10am - 12pm at the Methodist Church Hall
- Wainfleet in-person event - Friday 24 January, 1.30 - 3.30pm at the Town Council Offices
- Alford online event - Wednesday 22 January, 5.45pm
- Alford in-person event - Tuesday 21 January, 10am to 12pm at Soul Foods
- Alford in-person event - Thursday 30 January 5.30 to 7.30pm at John Spendluff School
You can contact Jo directly via email: jo@reap-consultancy.co.uk.
We understand the important role our market towns play in our local economy and attracting visitors to the area. Our aim is to work with local communities to protect, promote and preserve our market towns by keeping them thriving, clean centres which are attractive places to live, work and visit.
In 2019 we commissioned the Institute of Place Management (IPM) to deliver their Vital and Viable workshops in each of our inland chartered market towns, each workshop was well attended by a variety of volunteers, businesses and community organisations who offered insight into their town centres. Taking this into consideration, and looking at other data related to each centre, the IPM have created reports for each with recommendations for regeneration and ways to future proof our high streets.
This project is locally led and we are working with people within the community to help them deliver tangible outcomes for their towns. If you have any questions or ideas for your market town please email kate.giffen@e-lindsey.gov.uk.
One of the first outcomes of this project was realising that we needed to change and improve the way we communicate with our town centre stakeholders and place makers. That's why we have committed to hosting annual meetings in each town as an opportunity for you to discuss issues in the town and share your ideas. We will also produce an e-newsletter for each town which will act as a way for us to keep you updated with our work but will also be a tool for you to share your information too.
You can find out more about each town project, and sign up to our e-newsletters, using the links below.