Monthly Archive 5 December 2023

THE former House of Fraser building on Grimsby’s Victoria Street West has been bought by North East Lincolnshire Council as it continues its drive towards town centre transformation.

Contracts have been exchanged today and the sale, which has been advised by strategic partner Queensberry, also includes a leasehold on an adjacent car park.

The prominent five-storey building sits within the council owned Freshney Place and with a high-profile frontage on 9 to 29 Victoria Street West, it has been empty since House of Fraser closed four years ago.

Continuing to see it unused was not an option, said Council Leader Cllr Philip Jackson, who has responsibilities for regeneration and the economy. This purchase, he explained, would provide yet more opportunity for the authority and its partners to look at the redevelopment and diverse use of Freshney Place as a whole.

“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 that is what we are determined to do here,” said Cllr Jackson.

“We have a fantastic opportunity to re-invent Freshney Place and complement its retail offer with the new cinema, leisure attractions, and fresh new market. The House of Fraser building will now form an integral part of those plans. This is a good move for the town centre,” he added.

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 has started on the redundant St James’ House with the E-Factor purchasing the building to create a business hub.

This is in addition to the Future High Streets Fund, and projects earmarked for Towns Fund money including the already underway full refurb of Riverhead Square, a plan for new housing at Alexandra Dock and the new OnSide ‘Horizon’ Youth Zone. The latter involves the transformation of the historic redundant buildings along Garth Lane into a state-of-the-art centre for young people.

Meanwhile initial work has now started with Queensberry on the multi-million-pound Freshney Place Leisure & Market Hall Scheme with its new cinema, market, and leisure attractions.  More good news is the arrival, in mid-2024 of a Community Diagnostic Centre. The NHS facility in Freshney Place will bring thousands more people into the town centre every year – with such increased footfall through the town centre presenting more opportunities.

Article and image from NELC.

In one of the largest land deals done in recent years, North East Lincolnshire Council’s Cabinet agreed last week [30 November 2023] to release land to Associated British Ports (ABP).

The land includes 28 acres of allocated development land at Stallingborough Interchange, and two small areas of land in NELC ownership.

Pioneer Business Park (PBP) is a strand of the award winning South Humber Industrial Investment Programme (SHIIP) which has so far seen the Myenergi and HETA facilities developed on the site, with other projects in the pipeline.

Other elements of SHIIP include a new link road between Immingham and Grimsby which has unlocked development land and improved connectivity between the ports, and two ecological mitigation sites, the first in Europe, created to offset the environmental impact of future developments and provide a safe haven for birds. These innovative interventions have proven to be a key part in attracting large scale investment to the area.

Cllr Philip Jackson, Leader of the Council, said: “The sale has realised the opportunity to see development accelerated at Pioneer Business Park at a pace which is likely to bring with it a variety of benefits, including additional investment, facilities and jobs locally.

“I’d like to thank ABP for coming to the table with the proposals, and for creating what will be one of the biggest single developments in the area in recent times.”

ABP has also been working with other landowners in the area to assemble a wider parcel of land to concentrate these operations in. The overall deal will see ABP investing significantly to expand its port operations around Immingham after the purchase of the freehold of 227.5 acres at Stallingborough Interchange.

The prominent site is earmarked for commercial port opportunities including automotive, bulk warehousing, distribution and logistics uses, advanced manufacturing, as well as green energy initiatives.

In a prime strategic location next to the A180 and located two miles from the Port of Immingham and six miles from the Port of Grimsby, the designated employment site is one of the largest of the original Enterprise Zones in the area and is key to future proofing the continued growth of ABP’s commercial business on the Humber.

Simon Bird, Regional Director of the Humber said: “This is an important milestone in the future growth of the Humber ports. It demonstrates the need for strategic investment in land to facilitate the continued growth of ABP and to maintain the Humber ports leading position in the UK, as well as significant investment in the region for jobs.

“As demand is expected to increase for energy generation, automotive storage, bulk warehousing, and storage and distribution uses our space constraints within our ports will increase. This additional land will ensure the delivery of state-of-the-art infrastructure, facilities, and technological innovation for new and existing customers.”

Greg Lacey, Head of Property – Humber, ABP said: “It’s always a challenge to bring forward a site of such significant scale and I’d like to personally thank NELC for all the investment in time and costs to get it to this stage. We now pick up the baton to bring to fruition our shared ambition to create a major UK port logistics development.

“This is a unique opportunity, assembled by ABP working collaboratively with NELC and three other landowners. The site is the largest development land parcel in such proximity to the ports, and of significant scale versus wider opportunities in the Yorkshire region. It is unlikely any opportunity of the same size will be coming to the market for some time. The sizeable investment we have made in this shows ABP is a key player in supporting the growth of commercial activities within the region.”

Article and image from NELC.

PLANS for a new primary school in Scartho were approved by Councillors at a planning meeting last week.

The proposed plans for a new primary school in Scartho went before a meeting of the Council’s planning committee last Wednesday, and were approved with conditions.

The school, for children aged 4 to 11, will be built on land off Matthew Telford Park in Scartho.

Proposals for another primary school on land known as ‘Sunningdale’ in Waltham were deferred for further discussion.

The site in Scartho is owned by the Council and has been earmarked for education provision for some time.

Councillor Margaret Cracknell, portfolio holder for children and education at North East Lincolnshire Council, said:

“I’m really pleased that Councillors have approved the plans for a new primary school in Scartho after much careful consideration.

“In the coming years, school places will be much-needed and I await with interest the decision on the Waltham site.

“Together, these schools would represent a boost of some-210 additional school places, including a number of places for children with special educational needs.

“It’s important that, as North East Lincolnshire grows, the number of good quality schools grows to meet the needs of our children and young people.”

Work is expected to start on the Scartho site soon. Proposals for the Waltham site will be tabled for further discussion at a future meeting of the Council’s Planning Committee.

Article and image from NELC.

PEOPLE living and working in North East Lincolnshire are being asked to have their say on an historic Greater Lincolnshire Devolution Proposal.

A new Mayoral Combined County Authority, (MCCA), is being proposed by the three lead councils in the area – North East Lincolnshire Council, North Lincolnshire Council (both unitary authorities) and Lincolnshire County Council. All three have voted to accept the proposed deal.

Now it’s over to the borough’s residents and others across the Greater Lincolnshire area, to have their say. It is important that as many of those 1.1-million people as possible understand what devolution means and how it could impact upon their lives, those of their children and families, and their businesses or organisations. Please go to www.letstalk.lincolnshire.gov.uk/devolution- external site  or www.nelincs.gov.uk/devolution

Importantly, the MCCA is a means by which money is handed down from Central Government to be spent at a local level on what is best for all of Lincolnshire. The MCCA has the powers to decide its use. 

There is no change to existing local councils in the area. Instead, representatives from those councils, become part of a new MCCA alongside serving their own councils. One Mayor is then elected by Lincolnshire residents to chair the MCCA and lead talks with Government.

A new MCCA grows over time too – for the first few years, money comes down from Government in a number of agreed areas, but as the years go on, that grows – meaning more decisions can be made locally.

The initial Proposal which has been agreed with Central Government, pledges to:

• Improve transport and roads;
• Secure training to ensure local people can take advantage of new jobs;
• Help to improve the environment and achieve net zero;
• Enable good quality housing;
• Boost the economy by supporting local businesses to create new, high paid, high skilled jobs;
• Enhance digital services, like broadband.

The following has been agreed to allow the above to happen:

• Control over the relevant budgets, which are currently held by central Government, to ensure the above is achieved;
• An extra £24-million per annum for 30 years – worth £720-million to level up the whole of Greater Lincolnshire;
• A one-off £28.4m capital investment in Greater Lincolnshire’s priorities.

North East Lincolnshire Council Leader, Cllr Philip Jackson, said: “I believe, not only as council leader but also as a life-long resident of North East Lincolnshire that this is the best way forward for us here locally and for Lincolnshire as a whole.

“For our young people to grow up here and have opportunities and good futures, we must look at how we can work together across our region to do what we know is best for us all and to have the power and money to do those things. This Greater Lincolnshire Devolution Proposal is a way in which we can do that, and we must grasp this chance now,” he added.

Lincolnshire County Council’s leader, Cllr Martin Hill, said: “This is an important day for the council and the county. We have negotiated an ambitious deal with the government that will bring benefits to our residents for years to come, making sure we don’t get left behind. I hope that residents will take the time to understand what’s on offer and give their views as part of the consultation.”

Cllr Rob Waltham, leader of North Lincolnshire Council, said: “This is the single biggest opportunity to improve outcomes for residents in generations. It is a huge opportunity to create new jobs, improve skills and training, supercharge investment in transport and roads and back our businesses to drive prosperity further and faster.”

The consultation questionnaire, along with the Proposal is available at www.nelincs.gov.uk/devolution You can also go directly to the consultation questionnaire at www.letstalk.lincolnshire.gov.uk/devolution- external site 

Paper copies of both the Proposal and the consultation questionnaire will be available at the Municipal Offices in Grimsby, Grimsby Central Library, and the libraries in Cleethorpes, Immingham and Waltham from tomorrow (Tuesday 5 December) morning.

All the documents are available to be translated upon request for those who do not have English as their first language and in other formats upon request. The written documents and/or electronic media can also be put into alternative formats such as (but not limited to) Braille, Easy Read, Large Print, Audio, Video and Pictorial English. Please contact 01522 555222.

If organisations need more copies in different languages or formats to take to events please contact engagement@lincolnshire.gov.uk . Please note it takes up to five working days to get these through.

The consultation is open for eight weeks, closing on Monday 29 January 2024.

Article, image and video from NELC.