One of the biggest investments in Cleethorpes for years is now on the ground. Work has begun on £18.4m of regeneration across the resort, funded by a Levelling Up grant, reshaping three sites at the heart of the seafront town. As Gi Grimsby reported, work at the Market Place started with traffic management and site equipment arriving on Monday 18 May.
Three projects, one seafront
The programme covers three connected sites. The Market Place is being pedestrianised to create a flexible outdoor events space. Pier Gardens will gain a play area and a new memorial space. And the former Waves site on Sea Road will become a new three-storey building with an information point, public toilets, a Changing Places facility and commercially lettable space. Together they are meant to give the resort a modern civic core rather than a set of tired, separate spaces.
A grant with conditions
The funding comes with a useful discipline. The £18.4m is a grant that does not need to be repaid, provided the schemes are delivered as agreed with government. That is a strong incentive for North East Lincolnshire Council to finish what it has started, on the terms it signed up to, rather than letting the work drift. As the council has set out, the aim is a seafront that draws visitors back and keeps them spending in the town.
The seaside test
Coastal regeneration is hard. Seaside towns carry deep structural problems, seasonal economies, poor transport, an ageing housing stock, that a smarter public realm alone cannot fix. But footfall and civic pride are real, and a pedestrianised events space with proper facilities gives Cleethorpes something to build a calendar around. The money is committed and the diggers are in. The job now is delivery, and then a reason for people to keep coming back once the ribbons are cut.
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