A date with the wrecking hammer beckons for grand old Victorian chapel in Grimsby town centre

                       

It looks like the end of the road for a prominent building in Grimsby town centre. NELC has confirmed that an application has been submitted for demolition of the Old Victorian Chapel at 170 Victoria Site so that the site can be cleared and used for some unknown other purpose. A survey has indicated that there is no bat roost in the property which has long since ceased to be used for worship.

Planning green light for six-storey building in Grimsby's Top Town to be converted to 24 apartments

                                          

The planning thumbs-up has this week been granted for conversion of the six-storey Imperial  House in Grimsby's Top Town to 24 apartments. The man spearheading the project is real estate entrepreneur Jagdeep Bhullar of Buckinghamshire-based  Gurmehar Properties Ltd. Before work starts, North East Lincolnshire Council is stipulating necessary precautions in case the fabric of the building contains asbestos which can pose risk to human health. Arrangements will also be need to be in place in the event of fire.

Will new Prime Minister back reinstatement of direct rail link from Cleethorpes to London Kings Cross?

                                        

London ahoy? If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. Cleethorpes Railway Station 

NEW Prime Minister - new hope for direct rail service from Cleethorpes and Grimsby to London?

The former  leader of North East Lincolnshire Council, Cllr Philip Jackson (Con, Waltham),  has wasted no time in launching a fresh initiative to get the link restored.

He has submitted a notice of motion for consideration at the next full meeting of  the council which is due to held in Grimsby Town Hall at 7pm on Thursday July 30.

It reads as follows:

"In March, the Transport Secretary confirmed that North East Lincolnshire would not be getting its long-promised through train from London Kings Cross.

"Her decision came despite many years of lobbying by local MPs, business leaders and trade organisations. 

"Restoration of this through service would be a major boost for local business, industry and tourism. 

"We have a new Prime Minister wanting to see northern towns and coastal communities thrive and committed to 'good growth in every postcode'. 

"This council resolves to write to the Prime Minister, copying in the Transport Secretary  and setting out the clear business case for restoring a direct London rail service to North East Lincolnshire and requesting Government intervention to support its delivery."

This fresh move is certain to have the backing of MPs Melanie Onn (Lab, Cleethorpes and Grimsby)  and Martin Vickers (Con, Brigg and Immingham).

The trouble is that despite this week's Cabinet shakeout, Heidi Alexander has retained her position as Transport Secretary and, unless the Prime Minister intervenes, she is unlikely to change her mind.

The council motion is seconded by Cllr Stan Shreeve (Con, Humberston & New Waltham).

Future of Turkish restaurant put in jeopardy by triple whammy - hefty fine, roadworks and threat to licence

                                           

Restaurant's future could hinge on outcome of crunch meeting 

AN uncertain future beckons for the 06 Ankara Turkish restaurant in Market Place, Cleethorpes.

It has emerged that, late last year, it was slapped with a £40,000 fine by the Home Office after a spot check revealed that it had been employing, as a waitress, an "illegal worker".

The Government has also called for North East Lincolnshire Council to revoke the restaurant's drinks licence.

This review will be conducted on Friday of this week  by just three councillors:

* James Sawkins (Reform UK, Waltham)

* Robson Augusta (Lab, Park)

* Trevor Crofts (Con, Immingham)

Restaurant boss  Serkan Ucan insists that he "never knowingly employed" an illegal worker.

"We genuinely believed that all required checks had been completed correctly. 

"Had we known that there was any restriction preventing her from working in that role, we would never have allowed her to work. "

With limited understanding of the legal documentation, Mr Ucan says he had relied on advice from an accountant whose services he has since dispensed with. 

He says recent trading has also been been hit by ongoing works to remodel the market place and the loss of parking - concerns also expressed by two other nearby catering businesses, Steel's and Beckett's.

"If the premises licence is revoked, the business may not survive," he continues. "This would have devastating consequences for our family, employees and our ability to support our children."

The restaurant has found an ally in Grimsby & Cleethorpes MP  Melanie Onn, one of whose caseworkers, Emma Wilkinson,has been providing support.

It is understood that none of the £40,000 fine has been paid, and the period during which Mr Ucan could have appealed has expired. 

Kevin Keegan had illustrious and glory-filled career in football - and an awkward moment at Blundell Park

                                 

Kevin Keegan - uncomfortable moment in Cleethorpes

As tributes pour in for former star footballer Kevin Keegan who died today, aged 75, it is perhaps worth recalling that, as a lad, he was a regular summer visitor to Cleethorpes and other seaside towns on the Lincolnshire Coast.

These were the easiest beach destination from his childhood homes - firstly in Spring Gardens, Doncaster, then, a short distance away  in Waverley Avenue, Balby.

One of the earliest photograph is of him astride a donkey called 'Trigger' in Mablethorpe.

At that time, there was never thought to be any prospect of his becoming a professional footballer. 

Because he suffered from croup and a wheezy chest, his parents were told to forget any idea about their son playing active sport.

But while playing local league football, he was scouted by Scunthorpe United who gave him him his debut, aged 17, against Peterborough in the old Division 4.

"While we played well, we were beaten, so there was no romantic start to my league career," he later recalled.

At his time with The Iron, he used to get up to a jape with Tom Taylor, the sports editor of the Scunthorpe Evening Telegraph.

To the amusement of team mates, he used to perch on the journalist's knee and mimic being a ventriloquist's dummy.

Although Kevin Keegan went on to achieve star status, playing with Liverpool, SV Hamburg, Southampton and England, he also impressed as a manager with Newcastle United - a period of his career which brought him, on at least one occasion, to Blundell Park.  

In his autobiography, he recounts one of his experiences thus: "My assistant, Terry McDermott, and I sat on either side of the charming lady mayor in the directors' box.

"We had enjoyed a curry on the way to the game, and, as we sat chatting, the inevitable happened.

"I looked sharply at Terry, but the mayor carried on talking and appeared not to have noticed.

"It was an impressive display of diplomacy on the part of the town's representative, if not by Terry."

He continues: "A week or so later, to our huge embarrassment, we received a letter from the mayor, thanking us for the charming conversation and company, but adding that one of us had a terrible wind problem that should be attended to immediately.

"I told Terry that he should have owned up and apologised in case she thought it was me.

"We thought we would never be able to go back to Grimsby and sit in the directors' box until we discovered that the letter was a hoax written by the wife of one of the players, Brian Kilcline.

"I had made the mistake of telling him about the incident on the coach on the way home from our next away match." 

Name that plant! Tiny yellow flower defies the spray truck to bloom on Cleethorpes North Promenade

                                                    

It is reassuring that some wildflowers are surviving on the streets and pavements of North East Lincolnshire despite extensive spraying with Glyphosate poison by North East Lincolnshire Council. A Grimsby News reader  has submitted these photographs of a delightful yellow-bloomed  plant currently flourishing on North Promenade in Cleethorpes. The identification has not been confirmed, but it iss thought to be a snapdragon.

                                                                  

                                                                  

Worshippers likely to be highly delighted by enchanting new look planned for Grimsby church

                                             

These imaginative images from Georgina Walker of Cleethorpes-based Hodson Architects indicate what lies in prospect for St Mark's Church on Laceby Road in Grimsby. Part of the existing property is to be demolished and replaced with two new extensions - one of a single storey and the other of two storeys. There is also an attractive landscaping scheme. The church, which is currently flourishing across the generations, dates back to 1959-60 when it was built at a cost of £31,600 by Messrs F.A. Would. The first priest in charge was the Revd Peter Clarke.