Ambitious regeneration will steer our town to a brighter future
COUNCIL LEADER SAYS THERE IS MUCH TO LOOK FORWARD TO LOCALLY THIS YEAR AS EXCITING PROJECTS GATHER PACE ...
MAJOR works to transform the heart of Grimsby will become a reality, the Leader of North East Lincolnshire Council said. Councillor Philip Jackson told your Grimsby Telegraph that The Fishermen’s Memorial will be returned to its rightful place at the heart of St James’ Square this month as contractors finish off the £1.8million enhancement scheme within the next couple of months. The national Covid lockdown delayed the start of works earlier last year but it is due to be opened by the end of next month.
It is understood the new lockdown is unlikely to have a major effect on development timelines. The Garth Lane public realm works are also due to be completed this year, with a new fivemetre bridge, paving the way for the major works to build the new Horizon Youth Zone.
And Riverhead Square will be revamped to make it an events arena with large screens promoting music and entertainment and sporting events.
“The new youth zone and other improvements will bring a new cohort of people into the town centre,” said Councillor Jackson. He welcomed the Future High Street Fund grant of £17.3million aimed at refurbishing the western end of Freshney Place and including a new cinema, market hall and food court.
The Leader said the new attractions will bring more people into the heart of Grimsby.
The town avoided the usual overflow of Christmas and New Year fly-tipped rubbish as bring-to collection centres remained neat and tidy compared to the mountains of fly-tipped rubbish from previous years. Councillor Jackson said the roll out of new, larger wheelie bins for recycling had helped make the bring-to sites avoid turning into eyesores. “That is a reflection of the improvements we have made with the collection service and this year we will be starting a kerb side food waste collection service,” he said. Immingham is expected to have a boom in job opportunities with the construction of the new industrial estate off the A1173.
It is part of the £42million South Humber Industrial Investment Programme.
The new business park is the site earmarked by Velocys, which has received planning permission for its new £350m ‘Altalto Immingham’ plant.
A joint venture with British Airways and Shell, it will convert hundreds of thousands of tonnes of black bin bag waste into aviation-grade fuel.
Near neighbour to both myenergi and Velocys is EPUKI, which acquired the distinctive-looking gas-fired power station just off
Hobson Way in 2017. Subsidiary company EP Waste Management Ltd has received planning inspectorate consent to almost double the capacity of the site, developing a 95MW energy from waste plant. This £300-million project, called the South Humber Energy Centre (SHEBEC), will provide 55 permanent jobs and 600 during construction. Councillor Jackson said: “The new Humber Link Road between Pyewipe and Immingham will open up new tracks of land for development.” Highways improvements started in 2020 will be completed this year also with the Toll Bar roundabout new traffic lights installed and the A18 new roundabout with Waltham Road in Barrnoldby-leBeck due to be completed by May. The completion of the Littlecoates Road and Cambridge Road junction will pave the way for the development of more than 300 new homes on the site of the old Western School.
Work on the Sea Road approach to Cleethorpes front is also due to be completed this year.