CAN MP LIA NICI RESCUE COUNCIL'S LACKLUSTRE FUNDING BID FOR TOP TOWN REVAMP?

                                                       

Lia Nici - on same page as Boris

A TOTAL of 50 local councils - including North East Lincolnshire - are competing to secure a chunk of Whitehall money to revitalise town centres.

The full amount in the pot is £1-billion, and NELC is hoping to be awarded up to £25-million towards a cinema-inspired revamp part of Grimsby town centre.

So far the Government has not revealed the criteria for making the award, nor who will make the decision.

If lobbying by local MPs is likely to be a factor, NELC should be in with a very good chance.

This is partly because Martin Vickers (Cleethorpes) is - or certainly has been  - on cordial terms with the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, and partly because the latter regards Lia Nici (Grimsby) as someone to be greatly cherished.

The Conservative Government is also keen to keep Grimsby voters sweet as a reward for what happened at last December' General Election.

On the downside, the NELC bid is decidedly  underwhelming and has signally failed to inspire townsfolk.

And unlike those from competitor-authorities, it is not even all its own work.

It has   been compiled by an unnamed property consultancy and a London-based  firm of architects - Leslies Jones of Ladbroke Grove.

The closing date for bid submissions is July 31, and the one from NELC is due to be talked up, then signed off by its cabinet at a meeting this afternoon. 

Below is a list of the 50 hopeful towns:       

        Brierley Hill High Town Centre

Barrow Town Centre

Dover Town Centre and Waterfront

Plymouth City Centre

Kingswood, Glos

Leamington Town Centre

Scunthorpe

Blackpool Town Centre

Kirkham Town Centre, Lancs

Runcorn Old Town

Bideford

Barnstaple

Sutton in Ashfield

        Newton Abbot

Barnsley Town Centre

Fratton, Hants

Ramsgate

Elland Town Centre, W Yorks

        Grimsby Town Centre

Rochdale Town Centre

        Southampton

Salisbury City Centre

Newcastle-Under-Lyme Town Centre

Doncaster Waterdale

Northallerton

Grantham

Loftus (Redcar and Cleveland)

Nuneaton Town Centre

Tamworth Town Centre

Bolton Town Centre

Paignton

Scarborough Town Centre

Carlisle City Centre

Blackfriars - Northern City Centre

St Neots

        Blyth Town Centre

Clacton Town Centre

Trowbridge

Bacup Town Centre

Wealdstone

        Portsmouth,

Grays Town Centre

Holbeach

        Harlow Town Centre

Putney Town Centre

High Wycombe

Cinderford Town Centre

Maryport Town Centre

Middlesbrough Centre

Woolwich Town Centre

The Grimsby News says: NELC should be commended for at least being sufficiently enterprising to prepare a bid. What a pity it is - as we have previously reported - that it is so lacking in imagination and originality. It is a stale document without a single fresh idea. The authority will have spent a huge amount of precious monies on the initiative. Just how much has yet to be revealed. But why did it not engage a local firm of  architects - one which would be possessed of  a far better understanding of Grimsby, its heritage  and how best to devise a scheme that would work for the town and its people?