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Cogglesford Mill (sited on the banks of the River Slea) dates from the 17th century. It is Lincolnshire's last working water mill and is possibly the last working Sherrif's Mill in England (making it of national importance). It is probably on the site of an earlier Mercian estate mill. The adjacent house where the mill worker would have lived is now a restaurant.

Sleaford's Bull & Dog pub, formerly the Black Bull, dates from 1689 (according to a date-stone set in its front wall) and is said to have the oldest surviving bull-baiting pub sign in England.

In the town centre stands Money's Mill, a 1796 windmill. It currently has no sails and for several years served as the Sleafords tourist information centre. At the nearby village of Heckington there is a working eight-sail windmill - unique in the UK.

Other town landmarks include the Handley Monument, the semi-derelict Bass Maltings, the ruins of the town's castle, and the Picturedrome (once a cinema (upstairs) and a pool hall (dowstairs), later a nightclub called Flicks and currently unoccupied). The Bass Maltings are set to be redeveloped into a multi use centre, with a shopping centre and residential flats.

Since 2000 Sleaford and its buildings have undergone significant expansion & improvement; with the building of numerous new private housing estates on the periphery, a new infant school, and refurbishment of town-centre buildings with a £15-million SRB 'Sleaford Pride' grant.

In 2005, a £55-million project was announced by Prince Charles and The Phoenix Trust, to restore The Bass Maltings complex on the southern side of the town. Sir Nikolaus Pevsner considered the huge brewing malthouses to be Lincolnshire's most important industrial architecture, stating in his Buildings of England book: "For sheer impressiveness, little in English architecture can equal the scale of this building. A massive four-storey square tower is in the centre of a line of eight detached pavilions. The total frontage is nearly 1,000 feet."

In April 2005, the Channel 4 magazine Location, Location, Location named Sleaford as one of the Top 10 'house price hotspots' in England, forecasting a strong surge above Spring 2005 prices before the end of 2005.

In 2006, a new conference centre was established in Sleaford. The New Life Conference Centre situated on Mareham Lane, is able to host 300 delegates in its large Auditorium and cater for other smaller events in its range of room facilities, creating an impressive conference venue.

In June 2009, planning permission was granted for a Tesco Extra store to be built on the former Advanta Seeds site. The grant of permission was conditional upon a new access road being provided, the proposed route of which crossed Boston Road Recreational Ground, requiring the removal of 47 rare, mature trees. Once the new store has opened, Tescos' current Northgate site is expected to be converted into four retail units.

The two main local football teams - the Legionnaires and Sleaford Town F.C. - played for many years on Boston Road Recreation Ground. Unfortunately, despite the efforts of several local Councillors (including the late Cllr John Pratt) to provide a new pavilion, the wooden pavilion finally gave way to rot and decay in 2004, and their new Stadium opened, located a little further down Boston Road just outside the town's curtilage in March 2007.

Sleaford Museum Trust has lacked suitable premises for many years during which time their treasures have remained in storage. Until display premises and suitable long-term funding can be found, the Trust has embarked upon what it considers to be the next best thing - a virtual museum accessible on the Internet. This was achieved in 2004 with a grant of just under £10,000 from the Lottery Fund's Local Heritage Initiative.

The United Reformed Church (previously the Congregational Church) in Southgate had its frontage redeveloped in 2007 to provide community rooms, called "The Source", with assistance from WREN and Lincolnshire County Council's 'Multi Use Centres' initiative. In 2008 Sleaford United Reformed and Community churches joined to become The Riverside Church.