Hottest place in town - but might grass have been preferable to paving in grand revamp of Riverhead?

                                             

All that hard paving has made Riverhead oppressively hot in this week's  sunshine. Would grass have been preferable?

THE work  has proceeded at snail's pace, but is good to see that planting has this month been introduced at Grimsby's Riverhead and that the scheme is now almost complete.

But there are  questions that need to be answered.

What was the point of the scheme? Why was it allowed to fall 10 months behind schedule? Has it enhanced Riverhead and encouraged greater footfall? Does it represent value for money to the taxpayer?

The downside of installing so much paving is that, during a period of hot weather, it has made this part of Grimsby like an oven - a place to avoid.

Not only does concrete capture and store heat from the sunshine, but it reflects it back into the air - very uncomfortable for shoppers.

And, alas, the newly-planted trees and plants are mostly low-growing - there will be little or no leaf  canopy to cool the air.

As one Grimsby resident  told our reporter: "What's been put in place is not that much different from what existed before.

"The redesign is like Trafalgar Square but without the fountains and lions.

"So much time and money spent on something so unremarkable - a wasted opportunity."

Might grass and reduced amounts of  paved footways have provided a preferable alternative (as outside Grimsby Institute)?

                                    

  The trees will not be large as in this artist's impression, but otherwise the redesign has gone according to script

Unbeatable balance - grass and flowers outside Grimsby Institute. Might this have been a more pleasing for Riverhead?


In its recent extension  Haven holiday village in Humberston has favoured grass, shrubs and trees - so much more refreshing and pleasing than paving. 

The Grimsby News says:  Albeit extremely expensive, the rejig of the Riverhead represents an improvement on what existed before - but one that is only modest. We think grass - as seen in many town centre squares and gardens - would have created a far more pleasing setting, one also  less vulnerable to graffiti and vandalism. What is more, it would have provided a habitat for robins and blackbirds to peck about for worms. A refreshing fountain, too, would have been a boon. Maybe that will come later? In the meantime, credit to North East Lincolnshire Council for at least being aspirational. Here's hoping the trees and shrubs will be kept watered and nourished and that the square will be cleared regularly, possibly more than once a day, of litter such as empty drinks cans and discarded fast food cartons. Our  council needs to be on top of its game.