Monthly Archive 15 March 2022

The new Creativity Strategy for North East Lincolnshire is set to be approved at the Council’s Cabinet this week.

The strategy, developed working with specialist organisation, Beam and funded by NELC, Arts Council England and National Lottery Heritage Fund, will help to drive forward the work underpin the resurgence in creative work in the area.

The strategy outlines nine “Stories” of” that will be considered in future arts, culture and heritage work:

• The role Grimsby, Immingham, Cleethorpes and the Wolds play in the world
• The Sea
• The Coast
• Green space, The Wolds, ecology and biodiversity
• Sustainable energy and environmental responsibility
• Welcoming visitors
• Food and drink
• Local people, industry, trades, innovations and achievements
• Historic buildings, public spaces and landscapes

“Stories are at the heart of this creativity strategy,” said Frances Smith at Beam. “The strategy is focused on how creativity can be used as a way to learn about, understand and share our stories with others. Stories will be at the heart of all creative activity in the area, the consistent themes running through everything.”

The Creativity Strategy outlines a five year framework and sets out key ambitions grouped under three key themes:

• Creativity for all: including increasing the amount and visibility of creative activities in the area, focussing on equity, diversity and inclusion, involving young people and bringing generations together;
• Creative economy: including developing the next generation of creative people, securing funding, supporting creative individuals and businesses;
• Creative working: including embedding creativity in everyone’s lives, taking advantage of digital technology, striving for quality, working in collaboration and learning from others.

These themes will be the driver for increasing the amount and quality of creative activity in the area, for increasing opportunities for people to be creative, for encouraging people to take part, for promoting the area, supporting the local economy and improving people’s lives.

The Cabinet will review the Creative Strategy on 16 March. If this is approved, the next steps will be to develop a Creativity Board for the area – a steering group – to continue and lead the work developed in the Creativity Strategy. There will be opportunities for local creative individuals and businesses to take part through open recruitment to this.

Article from NELC.

The wait is finally over, and the winners of the inaugural Civic Awards have been revealed.

Forging links with our Jewish community was the agenda of a recent seminar.

A TOTAL of 18,000 sq ft of Grimsby town centre development land is being bought by North East Lincolnshire Council as it looks at the future regeneration and reinvention of the high street area.

Contracts have now been exchanged on the area, which comprises of 3-15 Osborne Street and the land behind those buildings on Garden Street, which is currently used as a car park.

Supporting the purchase, the Leader of the Council, Cllr Philip Jackson, was clear of intentions to look at the wider plans for the whole of the town centre. In doing so, he added, the council was determined to grasp hold of opportunities and lead change with central Grimsby a priority. The buildings, he added, had been redundant for some considerable time.

Over the last five years, the reshaping of the town centre has been led by the local authority. Along with partners and stakeholders including the Greater Grimsby Town Board, it has won multi-million-pound funding bids from Central Government.

This money, all ring-fenced for specific projects, has seen the transformation of St James Square and Garth Lane with its new footbridge, river dredging and extensive paving and landscaping. Further to that, work is set to start soon on the redundant St James House with the E-Factor purchasing the building to create a business hub. There is also support for a long-held residents’ view that the town centre needs better facilities for people using public transport.

This is in addition to the Future High Streets Fund, and projects earmarked for Towns Fund money including the full refurb of Riverhead Square, a plan for new housing on the redundant Garth Lane site and the wider multi-use of empty space at Central Library. There is also the new OnSide ‘Horizon’ Youth Zone, which has just won £2.7m of National Lottery Heritage Fund monies. This involves the transformation of the historic redundant buildings along Garth Lane into a state-of-the-art centre for young people.

“In order to effect change, which we all know is needed, we must look at opportunities such as this with a view to shaping and guiding redevelopment. Town Centres across the country have changed almost beyond what any of us would have anticipated and we have a responsibility to ensure the community’s needs are served as we look to refocus the town,” said Cllr Jackson.

Article and images from NELC.

North East Lincolnshire Council is submitting a planning application to restore the Scartho Cemetery Lodge and bring it back into use.

Cabinet members have approved almost £3m of central Government money aimed to improve and maintain the carriageways, footpaths and highway structures of North East Lincolnshire.

Three more local organisations are set to benefit from “Heritage Starter” grants to support heritage projects, small and large, made possible thanks to the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Tuesday evening (8 March 2022) saw the unveiling of Luminations, a major new permanent public artwork by Esther Rolinson.

The elected Conservative Police and Crime Commissioner for the Humberside Police area is the focus of a new, regular series of articles in North East Lincolnshire Council’s community newsletter.

No 41, Alexandra Road, also known as Woodliffe Villa, Cleethorpes, is the latest building to receive Townscape Heritage funding.