DEADLINE LOOMS ON COUNCIL PUSH TO SECURE £60-MILLION FROM WHITEHALL COFFERS

The council's aspiration for Market Place in Cleethorpes - as depicted on hoarding surrounding the site of the demolished Waves pub on Sea Road

                                                                 

DEADLINE day looms for North East Lincolnshire Council as it prepares bids for £60-million Levelling-up funding from  Whitehall.

To be in with chances, it has to submit the bids - there are three of them - by noon tomorrow,Wednesday July 6.

They are as follows: 

* Up to £20m for revamping Market Place, Sea Road and Pier Gardens as part of a Cleethorpes 'masterplan'.

* Up to £20m to 'reconfigure' Freshney Place and the market hall in Grimsby to bring leisure activities to the town centre. 

* Up to  £20m for the development of a 'transport hub' in Grimsby town centre and repairs to infrastructure. 

NELC hopes to learn if its bids have been successful early in autumn.

The Grimsby News says: Here's hoping that our area is successful in attracting monies to enhance the area.  But, even following personal representations to senior Cabinet minister Michael Gove,  there are no guarantees. The projects are not particularly imaginative - in fact they have a whiff of staleness about them. There is a depressing absence of proposals to 'green up' key sites in Cleethorpes and Grimsby - surprising given that the Government's emphasis on the importance of 'environmental benefits'. It is regrettable, too, that Immingham, once again,  seems to have been forgotten. It is a shame that our community leaders have failed to come up with a package that is more creative, more all-inclusive and more likely to inspire the community.