'FANTASTIC' RESPONSE TO APPEAL FOR IDEAS ON HOW TO BRING NEW ZEST TO CLEETHORPES

Could Cleethorpes be in line for £20-million 'levelling-up' grant?  

MORE than 2,200 Cleethorpes residents and others have this month chipped in with ideas for how to regenerate the town as a top place to live and work.

They have all responded to a questionnaire drawn up by a consultancy, Hemingway Design, which has been briefed by North East Lincolnshire Council to devise a ‘masterplan’ for the resort. 

"That’s a fantastic number,” NELC co-ordinator Helen Thompson told a scrutiny panel meeting. “But we want to double it by December 12."

 Equally upbeat was NELC's inward growth an investment manager, Damien Jaines-White, who claimed there was “potential” for Cleethorpes to be a beneficiary of a £20-million ‘levelling-up’ grant if the masterplan hits the sweet spot with the Government. 

He maintained that Whitehall tended to look favourably on projects where there was a high degree of "public engagement".

Cllr Oliver Freeston (Con, Croft Baker) appealed for officers to encourage pupils at local schools to submit their own ideas. 

“Perhaps £10 vouchers could be awarded to those who come up with the best proposals,” he suggested.

 Mr Jaines-White acknowledged that this was worth pursuing, while Ms Thompson said families would have the chance to have their say at stalls to be mounted at the forthcoming Christmas markets in Cleethorpes and Grimsby.

It is understood Wayne Hemingway of Hemingway Design will this week be coming up to Cleethorpes and Grimsby from his home in Sussex to update councillors and officers at a series of meetings.