Two major projects for Grimsby town centre will take a major step forward following this week’s Cabinet meeting.
Between the Future High Streets’ Fund and the Towns Fund, the Council has secured nearly £40million to be spent in Grimsby town centre in the next few years.
Cllr Philip Jackson, Leader of North East Lincolnshire Council, said: “We have come a long way in plans for Grimsby town centre. With the work to St James Square and Garth Lane almost finished, the obvious next stage is to properly connect all the work together. With plans for Top Town Market and the Towns Fund schemes coming next, alongside the enhanced cultural events and activities, it will be the start of the transformation that people and businesses are looking for.”
Future High Streets’ Fund
As previously reported, more than £17million has been awarded from the Government’s Future High Streets Fund to deliver sweeping changes to the heart of Grimsby, including a fresh home for Grimsby’s Top Town Market, a new cinema and leisure units nearby. Work to find a commercial partner to deliver this project will now begin.
Towns Fund
Additionally, nearly £21million has been awarded to Grimsby from the Government’s Towns Fund. Proposals for seven town centre projects were initially put forward for consideration in October 2020, requesting funds of £25million.
A revised proposal has been developed, adjusting the plans to fit the reduced funding offer. This work looked at how ready the projects were for the next stage of business case development and how viable the delivery of each project is within the permitted timeframe. This resulted in one of the seven projects, the Victoria Mills Quarter being removed from the plans.
The six remaining Town Investment Plan (TIP) projects will now be put forward to Government, with full business cases required to release the final funding allocation. The first two projects likely to be given approved by Government are the Riverhead Square project and the Activation and Community Fund project, a local grant programme for community and local business-based initiatives, which will support activity in the town centre.