WEDDING VENUE IN PEOPLE’S PARK SCRAPPED DUE TO COVID
NAVIGO CONFIRMS IT’S STEPPING AWAY FROM PROJECT - AND THE CAFE IS CLOSING DOWN
A PLANNED wedding venue in the centre of Grimsby has been scrapped due to the impact of Covid-19.
Navigo has confirmed it is stepping away from the Floral Hall development, which would have seen a brand new wedding venue brought to People’s Park.
The Floral Hall would have been turned into a 100-capacity wedding venue, and was approved by North East Lincolnshire Council’s planning committee back in July 2019. The plan was to convert part of the existing greenhouse, create a bespoke space that can also be used as a Bridal House, and replace three portable buildings towards the back of the site.
The venue would have hosted a range of events from children’s parties to affordable weddings as well as charity functions and free community activities.
The People’s Park cafe, also run by Navigo, will also be closed down as they remove their full services from the area. According to Navigo, the venue has been scrapped due to nationwide cuts to adult social care provided by councils and local care providers - brought on by the impact of the coronavirus.
Navigo director of finance Simon Beeton said: “The last year has been extremely challenging for everyone and essential NHS care providers, like ourselves, are being asked to make further cost efficiencies.
“After very careful consideration, we have decided to move our services away from People’s Park including the Floral Hall. “This was a difficult decision but we have done all we can to make savings while ensuring there is no disruption to core services, we continue to prioritise the needs of our service users and minimise the risk to staff.”
As well as “streamlining service provision”, other reasons for the project being scrapped include the delays caused by Covid-19, increased restoration costs, and the focus on the redevelopment of Grimsby Garden Centre.
Other cuts Navigo are facing including outsourcing their education programme to an external company as well as not hiring anyone for the currently vacant night shelter case-worker post. Simon added: “We always have a responsibility to ensure that we use our finances appropriately and focus on providing core mental health services to the local community.
“But like many other organisations, we have been asked to make savings by the council and for us this is the most efficient way to do it while minimising the impact on our service users, staff and the wider community.
“As a NHS mental health services provider, we need, more than ever to focus our time and resources effectively. There are unprecedented challenges ahead and our focus remains on providing care and support to the people of North East Lincolnshire.”