COUNCIL IN AUDACIOUS SWOOP FOR HUGE PARCEL OF GRIMSBY 'REDEVELOPMENT' LAND

Does demolition now beckon for these concrete buildings? 

A SURPRISE property swoop by North East Lincolnshire Council has led to it acquiring a huge chunk of what  it describes as "town centre redevelopment land".

Contracts have been exchanged on the area which comprises of 3-15 Osborne Street and the land behind those buildings, on Garden Street, which is currently used as a 94-vehicle car park.

Located between the town hall and the railway station, the largest unit had been used as a Poundland store and, before that, variously Somerfield, Kwik Save and Tesco.

In current times, the only other occupants of the adjoining buildings are believed to be Stafforce Personnel Ltd and Meridian Business Support Ltd.

The land and  buildings were being marketed by agents Sanderson Weatherall at £750,000, but it may be  that a deal was struck for a figure substantially below this.  

What happens next? 

At least for the time being NELC top brass are keeping plans under wraps, but the authority is keen to recreate the whole town centre, and this part of Osborne Street - currently a somewhat gloomy part of town -  is part of the jigsaw.

Says council leader Cllr Philip Jackson: "In order to effect much-needed improvements, we must look at opportunities such as this with a view to shaping and guiding redevelopment. 

"Town centres across the country have changed almost beyond what any of us would have anticipated.

"In this part of Grimsby, we have a responsibility to ensure the community’s needs are served as we look to refocus the town."                                                   

The council has bought itself a whole lot of land and property

The Grimsby News says: Most residents will probably welcome the council's bold move. Given the ugliness of the buildings, walking or driving down this part of Grimsby has never been a particularly cheerful experience. But NELC is strapped for cash and will probably have needed to borrow money to make the purchase. And that is just the start of the expense. Demolition works will be hugely expensive, and it is not clear if there is even a preliminary strategy for what happens next. Based on the slow progress on redevelopment of other parts of the town centre, plus the former Waves pub site on Cleethorpes seafront, there is also the question of whether the authority has the staffing capacity and expertise to bring projects to fruition. Perhaps the biggest concern is that it will need to recruit yet another set of (costly) consultants who will come up with a scheme that looks utterly fabulous on paper but  proves to be totally unfeasible.