PREPARE FOR A NOISY SUMMER IN CLEETHORPES AS WORK SET TO START ON NEW LIFEBOAT HOUSE

How the new lifeboat station will look - artist's impression, courtesy of RNL 

WORK will start later this month on construction of the new Cleethorpes lifeboat station.

The project will take around 12 months and cost in the region of £3 million.

Be warned - it will be noisy and there will be traffic disruption!

From  May 16, for approximately seven weeks, piling works will need to be carried out which will cause significant noise for the duration of the working day. 

These are unavoidable as, despite extensive consultation, there is no alternative available for this site.

Plans for the station were approved in 2018 and will provide the capability for an Atlantic 85 lifeboat to join the existing D-Class lifeboat already on station.

Says Mick Fowler, Lifeboat Operations Manager at Cleethorpes: "The start of the build of our new station is an exciting moment for all our volunteers in Cleethorpes, both operational and fundraising, as it marks one step closer to being able to move into the new facility."

Adds Andy Burden, Deputy Launch Authority at Cleethorpes: "The new building has been designed to be an asset to the resort, complementing and enhancing the central promenade and becoming a visitor attraction in its own right. 

"We are all local residents ourselves and are pleased that such care has been taken in the design of the station."

The new station will be built on the beach in front of the current station and will provide the capability to position a second lifeboat at Cleethorpes, a more powerful B Class Atlantic 85, which will join the existing D-Class lifeboat already on station.

This will allow the charity to respond more quickly, in a wider range of weather conditions, to a larger variety of incidents while keeping its volunteers safer.

The new station will have its own slipway for launch and recovery of the boats. 

Currently, the lifeboat has to cross a public road near a blind bend.

Changing and training facilities will also be much improved, and the RNLI shop will move on site as well, giving shop volunteers access to running water and a toilet, neither of which are available in the current shop.

From Monday April 19, Central Promenade will be closed to through traffic during the day whilst the contractors are working, except for the operation of the lollipop train.

A temporary signed and barriered footway will also be provided through the closure for pedestrians.

There will be no access for vehicles from Brighton Street past the Coastguard station, and cyclists will be asked to dismount and walk with their cycles through the restricted area or use alternative routes.

Entry on to and exit from the Central Promenade will be from Sea Road only. 

Parking will still be available, and an area created and kept free of vehicles near the works site to allow for cars to turn around.

The Central Prom will be opened fully at night between 6 pm and 7 am to one-way through traffic from the direction of the pier, allowing vehicles to leave via Brighton slip end. The temporary pedestrian footway will remain in place.

Additional signage regarding the traffic management in the area and on the approaches within Cleethorpes will be put out to divert traffic to other car parks and advise of the restrictions.

Access to Brighton Street slipway from Brighton Street for watersports users, the Resort Team and for the launch of the lifeboat will be preserved throughout.

Works and deliveries to the site will take place Monday to Friday, 8am - 6pm. 

There will be no work on bank holidays or on weekends of major festivals and events. 

Occasionally because of the tidal nature of the site there may be the need to work on other Saturdays from 8am - 1pm.

Steve Randall, Estates Engineer for the RNLI, coments: "We appreciate that this is an unwelcome disruption at the start of what we hope will be a bumper season for the resort, but the various restrictions on the build process that we have to accommodate, including tourism considerations and Natural England requirements to work on the site away from times when over-wintering birds are present on the Site of Special Scientific Interest means that we have no choice but to work to these plans and timings." 

Throughout the build, the RNLI’s contractors will be working to minimise disruption and are working with the organisers of all planned major events to ensure they are accommodated.

The station is due to be completed in mid-2023. 

The charity will be sharing regular updates on progress on their Facebook page www.facebook.com/RNLICleethorpes.

Another artist's impression of the proposed lifeboat station