Consortium's surprise proposal to pave grass path between Premier Inn and Cleethorpes Country Park

                                                                   

Would the path be 'improved' if it were to be paved?

A GRASSY footpath in Cleethorpes could be paved to make it more accommodating for walkers and other users.

The half-mile path - stretches of which become boggy after heavy rainfall -  runs between Cleethorpes golf club and the Buck Beck.

At one end is the Premier Inn, while, at the other, is Cleethorpes Country Park.

The idea has been submitted by agents for the Lidl-led consortium which wants to redevelop the former Pleasure Island theme park with a supermarket, two hotels, a garden centre, an amusements building and no fewer than 272 holiday cabins.

But the consortium needs to allay the fears of Natural England which believes the influx of holidaymakers will spook the shorebirds that dwell for nine months of  the year on the nearby sandbanks and saltmarsh.

By means of a proposed 'pathway improvement scheme', the  consortium believes Pleasure Island's outdoors-loving visitors will be induced to head for the country park instead of the beach, thereby easing the pressure on the sand-dwelling and wetland birds.

To this end, it has commissioned a Newcastle-upon-Tyne firm, One Environments Ltd. to come up with ideas which include paving the path and installing knee-high safety railings, benches and other outdoor furniture.

However, the proposal poses questions which are not addressed in the preliminary documentation. 

Might heavy rainfall run-off from hardstanding raise the prospect of flooding for the golf course?

Would the golf club face the prospect of a claim if a holidaymaker was struck by an errant golf ball?

Would hard surfacing be damaged by the heavy equipment used by the drainage board  to clear the banks of the Buck Beck when they become overgrown?

Would residents of Thorganby Road, whose houses back on to the Buck Beck, have their privacy  compromised by increased footfall past their properties?

Would the birds and other wildlife of the country park be diminished by a summer influx of holidaymakers?

Who would be responsible for maintaining the footpath? 

The 'pathway improvement scheme' is one of several  new ideas  submitted by the consortium to North East Lincolnshire Council as it seeks to secure the support of planning officers for its project.

The Newcastle design firm has come up with this concept of how an 'improved' path might look 

Might increased footfall alongside its course be of concern to Cleethorpes Golf Club - especially near the 12th hole which is adjacent to the path?