Revamp project means Pier Gardens will be closed - starting next Tuesday - for more than a year

                             

Bird's eye view of how part of  revamped Pier Gardens might look (Image: NELC)

PIER Gardens is to be fenced and closed off for 15 months while it undergoes a long-delayed £7.9-million refurbishment.

This was confirmed today by North East Lincolnshire Council.

Following a protacted bidding process, the contract has been awarded to Maylim, a London-based civil engineering firm with special expertise in paving. 

Previous projects undertaken by the company have mostly been in the capital but at least one in Birmingham.

The man in charge in Cleethorpes will be Tom Taylor, who enthuses: "The plans aim to make a beautiful space that people will want to spend time in."

Will there be jobs for local people?

Insists Mr Taylor: "We want to work with the community by creating local employment and businesses opportunities.

"There will also be a series of events to engage the whole community."

The scheme - which will see the loss of some lawns and shrubs to paving - has not been entirely welcomed in Cleethorpes, but NELC leader Cllr Philip Jackson says: "It's time for a change."

                                 

An uncertain future beckons for the long-established lawns and shrubs in Pier Gardens

                                 

No precious coins or jewellery found, but Top Town dig yields important clues about medieval Grimsby

                                            

All very interesting - the dig has revealed new clues about the Grimsby of yesteryear

AN archaelogical dig has opened a window into the life and times medieval Grimsby.

No buried gold, silver or gems have been found, but experts from York Archaeology have scooped up  remnants from scraps of leather shoes to potery and fish bones  at Grimsby’s Freshney Place redevelopment site, near the historical Flottergate area.

The excavation has been undertaken  about two to three metres  lower than the modern ground level and is thought to have been the probable ground level of Grimsby in medieval times (approximately 450AD to 1600AD).

The finds - made between last October and this week - seem to confirm that this part of town was once home to  a leather workshop.

Says Phil Moore of dig co-ordinators BWB Consulting: "The wet nature of this site means that there was always the potential for finding preserved organic material - wood or leather, for example.

"You may think that damp conditions would cause these to rot away, but the soil can actually contain very little oxygen, which stops the microorganisms that prompt decomposition from surviving here."

Louise Jennings, North East Lincolnshire Council's heritage officer, has welcome the discoveries.

"You could well imagine people of the time making leather aprons or shoes on the site.

"Being so close to the sea, it’s understandable that people would have fish and shellfish as part of their diet, so the appearance of oyster shells and fish bones isn’t surprising.

The items found have been removed to York Archaeology’s conservation laboratory for cleaning and further examination, with a view to them being returned to the town and  put on display in the future.

Cllr Hayden Dawkins, NELC's portfolio holder for tourism and heritage, comments: "This is wonderful to see - knowing that a whole world is right under our feet is truly fascinating.

"It is so important that we understand our past and have the ability to teach younger generations about how the Grimsby of today came about."

NELC says 10-week revamp of site in Grimsby will create more welcoming area for pedestrians

    

Refurbishment project will see installation of a maze

WORK has begun on a 10-week project to spruce-up a triangle  of vacant  land between New Cartergate and Frederick Ward Way in Grimsby.

The first phase involve the installation of  new paving, public seating, street furniture, soft landscaping a ground-level maze and CCTV.

To allow the team from contractors Specialist Surfacing Ltd to work safely,  five parking bays on the east side of New Cartergate are being temporarily suspended. 

However, vehicle access for residents and businesses is being maintained at all times, along with access to the seven parking bays on the west side of New Cartergate and the footpath to the bridge over the River Freshney.

The second phase is due to  take place during the school holidays, from Monday 16 February to Friday 20 February, and will involve the installation and realignment of four tactile pedestrian crossings at the corners of Lord Street and Cartergate.

Says a North East Lincolnshire Council: "The works will transform an overgrown and underused space in the heart of the town into a safer, more welcoming area for residents and visitors to utilise."

Pier Gardens has become winter camping refuge for rough sleepers with nowhere else to call home

                                                     

A sad early-February sight on Cleethorpes is the increase in distressed individuals who are having to sleep rough in tents on Cleethorpes seafront becaus they have nowhere else to call home. Just over the past  few days these two tents have appeared in Pier Gardens ahead of its proposed revamp later this year.  

                                                                          

Proposal to extend hotel still on hold following objections from Environment Agency and Anglian Water

                                                   

Flood risk is among the issues holding up plans to extend the Premier Inn

JUST over 12 months after it submitted an application to extend its Premier Inn in Cleethorpes, owners Whitbread are still awaiting a planning decision.

The proposal is to demolish the former Brewers Fayre restaurant in favour of a three-storey accommodation block, smaller restaurant and bar.

However, the main stumbling blocks to consent has been an objection from the Environment Agency pending submission of an "acceptable" flood risk assessement given the site's proximity to the Buck Beck.

Earlier this month such an assessment was supplied by the applicant but the EA has not yet said whether the assessment meets it concerns.

Meanwhile, an objection has also been sounded by Anglian Water because there is a 1600mm  sewer crossing the site and within the curtilage of the proposed building

It says any extension to the hotel needs to be "located in areas of public open space and/or adoptable highways to ensure on-going maintenance and access is possible". 

The applicaton remains under consideration by North East Lincolnshire Council planners.

Just what the kiddies ordered - springtime date at Grimsby Auditorium for Peppa Pig and family

                                                         

It's destination Grimsby for Peppa Pig and family. The show based on the animated TV characters is coming to the auditorium on March 3 and March 4 as part of a UK tour which began last night in Llandudno and ends in Tunbridge Wells on May 4. More details from peppapiglivecom 

                                                              

Fancy that! Green bin waste collected in North East Lincolnshire over year weighs sames as 400 whales!

 

A much valued service - binmen on the go

AN update on recycling in North East Lincolnshire has revealed that residents have recycled 24,050 tonnes of plastic, cans, cardboard, paper and glass over the past 12 months

This is almost 4,000 tonnes more than last year and weighs the same as around 8 million bricks!

Throughout 2025, bottles, cans, glass, cardboard and paper were recycled in the blue and grey bins. 

From empty bottles at New Year’s Eve parties to the mayhem of wrapping paper at Christmas, everything adds up.

Additionally, 42,000 tonnes of waste was collected in the green bins throughout the year – the equivalent weight of  around 400 blue whales.