MAGIC WAND TIME: WAYNE AND TEAM EAGER TO SPRINKLE MAGIC DUST ALL OVER CLEETHORPES

 

Meet Wayne and Gerardine Hemingway (left) and the team at Hemingway  Design - the Wembley-based consultancy engaged by North East Lincolnshire Council to add sparkle to Cleethorpes for the benefit of residents, businesses and visitors alike. The firm's area of expertise includes seaside town regeneration. Says Wayne (61) who was in the resort yesterday: "You have an amazing coastline here. There’s so much natural beauty alongside the traditional seaside offering. There are real opportunities to capitalise on the staycation boom and the desire to live by the sea - a desire accelerated by the pandemic."

Leader of North East Lincolnshire Council Cllr Philip Jackson (right) has welcomed the appointment of Wayne's consultancy. "We have a unique chance to help shape the town’s future," he says. "I am confident that he and his team have  the expertise and experience to deliver a masterplan that will provide a springboard for creating a vibrant town."

* Statement from Hemingway design: "We are a talented and motivated team of graphic designers, urban planners, writers, art directors, ideas people and strategic thinkers. We combine diverse fields of skills and expertise to create meaning and transformation for ambitious clients. We collaborate, we create, and we care about the detail as much as the big stuff. We believe that great design comes from a desire to improve things that matter in life and this long-held philosophy underpins everything that we do - putting ethics and environment at the heart of design. It is this mantra that continually ensures our creative thinking and method for delivering socially responsible design."

* From now until Sunday 12 December, there is a survey live online where residents, business owners and visitors can feed in their views.www.thinkcleethorpes.co.uk. A series of round table events are also being planned in the coming weeks.

* In a parallel development, NELC has  appointed real estate consultancy GL Hearn (part of Capita plc) to work alongside it and Hemingway Design with a view to exploring property development opportunities in Cleethorpes.

* Oh dear - not the result he wanted! Although he and his family now live in West Sussex, Morecambe-born Wayne is a lifelong fan of Championship side, Blackburn Rovers FC. Any hopes that his visit to Cleethorpes might bring luck  proved in vain - last might they lost at home to Fulham 0-7!