‘This facility will benefit the whole Horncastle community’

At an extraordinary meeting of the town council on Thursday, John Whelan, heading up the working group to create the facility, showed a presentation which outlined their vision for the Horncastle Plaza Project.

Originally, the working group has proposed to put the plaza on Prospect Street but this has since been reconsidered due to the street’s risk of flooding and of noise nuisance, so it will be situated at The Wong instead.

As well as a skate park with multiple ramps, the multi-use facility will see a performance space with seating, which could be used by the town’s dance and gymnastics groups for outdoor performances.

It also includes a bandstand for music groups to use for al fresco performances, and to work with Horncastle Heritage and History Group to produce a history board to showcase Horncastle’s rich history.

There is also scope for an art wall for art groups to use throughout the year, with the option to create specialist murals on there for occasions such as Remembrance Day or Christmas.

John said at the meeting on Thursday that he hopes the new site will see the skatepark and complex become the focal point of the community, with access for all and to acknowledge

The group also did not want to give up on Prospect Street and it has been proposed that the land be utilised as a dog park instead.

John also assured the town council that an archaeologist will be on standby in case anything historically significant is found on the site during construction.

He said: “We want to reassure the community that we are really focused on this being a community project, and that we’re bringing a facility to the town that they are going to benefit from.”

Councillor Matt Wilkinson said that he had always been supportive of this project, but that he wanted to be sure that more than 50 percent of the town’s population would also support the project – and that he wanted to see more positive than negative feedback.

John said: “In the past we’ve heard that people have only known about it when they’ve read about it in the paper so we will be talking to people to see if we can get plenty of support.”

Coun Barker added: “I totally support what we seen, this is a good opportunity and we should find every reason to do it.”

Coun Aron, however, had his misgivings about the Wong being used for the site and raised concerns over where the travelling funfair would be situated if it returns to town again.

John said they had looked at all alternative uses to see if there was another location for the new facilities.

All but one of the councillors voted in favour of the plans, with one abstention.

What comes next for the group is to look into becoming a charitable organisation, and to gauge the feelings of the town on the plans.

You can share your thoughts on the Horncastle Plaza Project by emailing the group at [email protected]