New council leader's rejig proposal for Cleethorpes Market Place scheme has put officers in a bit of a tizz

                                                         

What happens next? It's anyone's guess

     

SENIOR NELC officials  have warned of the risks that loom if the Cleethorpes Market Place pedestrianisation scheme is re-jigged.

New council leader Oliver Freeston (Reform UK, Croft Baker) has put the cat among the pigeons by seeking amendments even after the contractors have started the project.

For the benefit of traders and their customers, he  favours the retention of 12 short-term parking places in winter when there are likely to be fewer pedestrians.

But his proposal - described as 'recalibration' - has flummoxed  officers who warn of  the following risks:

* Loss or clawback of Levelling-up funding if delivery requirements are not met 

* Reputational risk arising from perceived inconsistency or change in direction 

* Project delay

* Public dissatisfaction where expectations differ 

The administrative cost of changing tack would be £10,00-plus 

The council leader also favours waiving short-term parking charges at the sites off St Peter's Avenue and behind the Old Vic pub - moves that could, says officers,  cost the authority £72,500 per annum in lost income.

It has also emerged that, whatever course is pursued, a barrier-bollards installation is being proposed. How ugly will that be!

The issues are due to be thrashed out on the morning of Friday, July 10, at Grimsby Town Hall.

The public are welcome to attend the meeting which starts at 9am.

The Grimsby News says: Whatever  the  advantages and disadvantages of the proposal and counter-proposal, NELC has got itself into a muddle of its own making. The previous Conservative administration is to blame for this. In its deliberations, it should have been open and transparent from the outset. Instead meetings were held in private between interested parties, project board officers and cabinet portfolio-holders with next to no attempt to engage the public. Regrettably, it has been exactly the same secret approach around the corner from the market place at Pleasure Gardens where a similarly controversial project is underway. As has often been said, democracy dies behind closed doors. The new leader is to be commended in seeking to bring light and fresh air into how NELC conducts its affairs.