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| The first phase of Wigmore Park is now well established |
A FURTHER 41 homes could be in prospect for an existing housing estate in New Waltham.
Barratt Homes is seeking planning permission to extend its popular Wigmore Park development off Station Road in New Waltham.
The site identified is farmland, off Binbrook Drive, which has been allowed to lie fallow in recent years.
If approved, there would be an attenuation pond to assist site drainage, landscaping and associated works, including biodiversity enhancements.
The proposal is currently under consideration by North East Lincolnshire Council.
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| The new houses off Binbrook Drive would be of two-, three- and four- bedrooms |
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| The central library - will it ever re-open? |
DOUBTS over the future of the Grimsby Central Library have increased after it emerged that the total bill for repairs and renovation could be £13-million plus.
An even if the money could be found - and there was the political will to carry out the works - the library might not open until spring 2029 at the earliest.
Previously, North East Lincolnshire Council kept this information under wraps but now it has relented in recognition of its pledge to be transparent with the public.
NELC says work to remove asbestos from the plant room at the top of the library is "progressing well" and that the "next steps" for the building are now under consideration.
In a statement, it says: "Once the roof has been either repaired or replaced, other asbestos would need to be removed, as far as practicable, in order to bring the building back into use - a process thyat could take as long as a year.
"Thereafter, further external and internal works could also include replacement of windows as well as the internal works prior to bringing back into use the basement, ground floor and mezzanine floors.
"Ideally, the long-empty upper floors would also be brought back inmto use for office space and/or cultural / community use."
Then comes the bombshell sentence: "Depending on the fit-out options for the building, the total works could cost between £12.3million and £13.6-million with the earliest potential reopening date of around Spring 2029.
A select committee of the council has called for capital funding to be agreed "on an urgent basis" to protect the building from further ingress of rain which has been threatening the fabric of the building for many a moon.
Its chairman, Cllr Steve Holland (Ind) says: “This committee is still gathering evidence and wants to hear as many views as possible.
"This will be particularly important in deciding the future of Grimsby Central Library."
He continues: "We are confident at this stage that a solution can be found which preserves the heritage and unique architecture of the building but which will also make it fit-for-purpose on a practical level so that it can become a treasured community asset for decades to come.
"The barrier will be cost of course, and that is something that needs to be collectively addressed with the aim of trying to achieve a consensus."
In the meantime, a pop-up library is operating within the Freshney Place precinct.
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| Grimsby Town Hall - elections set to be held in May this year |
WORD is that local council elections will be held this spring in North East Lincolnshire.
If they do go ahead, as scheduled, in May, opinion polls indicate that there could be numerous gains for Reform UK.
It is understood that both the Conservative and Labour parties - and possibly the Liberal-Democrats - had considered seeking authority to cancel the elections to spare ballot box embarrassment.
Impending local government reorganisation would provide the required pretext.
However, at a meeting of group leaders and NELC officers, it is understood agreement was reached that the traditional democratic process should prevail.
Reform UK currently has just one representative on North East Lincolnshire Council - Oliver Freeston (Croft Baker) who defected from the Conservatives in 2024.
The current 42-seat political composition of the council is as follows:
Conservative – 18
Labour – 15
Liberal Democrat – 3
Independent for North East Lincolnshire – 5
Reform UK – 1
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| Winter landscape - but where is the location? |
THIS oil-on-canvas by former Grimsby Town footballer John Trickett yesterday sold for above the pre-sale estimate at an auction in Yorkshire.
Leyburn-based auction house Tennants had predicted it would sell for between £100 and £150, but bidding had reached £170 before the hammer fell.
The artist, who is 72, was born in Sheffield but spent his early life in Cleethorpes and Grimsby where he attended Wintringham School.
He subsequently trained to be an accountant, but his skills on the football field resulted in his being taken on first by The Mariners, then by Torquay United for whom he played professionally.
After his playing days ended, he returned to Grimsby, working as a forklift truck driver and supplemented his earnings with paintings of dogs (notably labradors) , birds and landscapes.
So much in demand was his art that he went on to make it the main source of his income.
The identity of the successful has not been revealed nor the location of the scene depicted in the painting.
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| The Comat - there is already a portable WC in the front garden for the use of workmen when the project gets underway |
NEIGHBOURS have lost their battle to prevent an empty Cleethorpes guesthouse - The Comat on Yarra Road - from being converted to two Houses in Multiple Occupation.
At Wednesday's NELC planning committee, members rubber-stamped the change-of-use proposal submitted by Suffolk entrepreneur Danny Bloomfield who bought the property at auction last year.
Among the conditions of consent is that he must not disturb any bats that may be roosting in the roof space.
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| The car park on High Street, Cleethorpes, near where a telecommunications mast could be installed |
ANOTHER telecommunications mast and base station could be installed in Cleethorpes - not many metres away from the near the junction of St Peter's Avenue and Isaac's Hill.
A Berkshire-based company, Cornerstone, is seeking the consent of North East Lincolnshire Council to set up the equipment on the footpath adjacent to the car park in High Street.
If approved, the project will consist of a 20-metre high mast with six antennae attached, plus three ground-based cabinets.
Cornerstone believes it has the endorsement of the Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, because it has included in its application an article he submitted to The Times newspaper in December 2024.
This states: "Good homes need to be supported by good infrastructure.
"In the past 14 years, the Tories decided fewer than 60 infrastructure projects. We haven’t built a reservoir in 30 years, not least because the time it takes to secure planning permission for major infrastructure projects has almost doubled in the past decade.
"Every road, pylon and mast - which connect people with opportunity - must jump through endless hoops, only to be opposed, dragged out, before eventually, if lucky, approved."
However, there have been formal objections from some nearby residents who, contrary to the claims of telecommunications companies, fear that radiation from such installations poses a health risk.
Concerns have also been expressed about the potentially adverse visual impact on the street scene of such a conspicuous structure.
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| The design submitted with the applications gives a clue to the scale of the proposed mast |
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| The existing telecommunications equipment at the top of Isaac's Hill |
