Grimsby town centre’s leisure development has emerged as a winner in the Budget, securing £20 million of Levelling Up Fund cash.
The cinema addition and shopping centre remodelling, with the creation of a new market hall, is a centrepiece for regeneration plans from North East Lincolnshire Council. And it comes on top of an already approved bid for Cleethorpes town centre.
The local authority was already an instrumental partner in the project, but since it began it has taken ownership of Freshney Place, buying it out of liquidation.
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Philip Jackson, leader of North East Lincolnshire Council, is now confident that this major step change for Grimsby’s urban centre will help shape the future of the town.
“We’re delighted that Government has worked with us to help us deliver our plans for Freshney Place and the new market, and securing the Levelling Up Fund money for the scheme is fantastic.
“In the feedback we received on the bid, Government said that they understood our plans, and the strategic fit of the purchase of the shopping centre with the future plans for the town. They also praised the work we’d done to involve local people and businesses on the plans to date.
“Our ambition is real, and matches that of the people of the borough who have engaged with us, and helped us shape the future of our town.”
The scheme received planning consent earlier this year, and is the highlight of a town centre package of works that includes Riverhead area redevelopment, St James House remodelling for business use and the OnSide Horizon Youth Zone.
Parkway Entertainment Group, the Cleethorpes-based independent cinema chain is the anchor tenant. Details will now be awaited on the next steps, with construction contracts and timeframes to be laid out.
Government said the projects announced in the Budget, additional to the Round Two allocations, were described as “high quality” and will commence delivery later this year. It said investment had been targeted towards the left-behind places in the Levelling Up White Paper.
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