Category Archive News

Next year’s budget will be challenging, says Council Leader Philip Jackson, but key priorities will be at the forefront.

A day of enforcement action in Grimsby town centre has received praise after catching out lawbreakers.

North East Lincolnshire Council is set to submit a funding bid to bring three park tennis courts back up to playing standard.

From May 2023 individuals, who wish to vote in person, including those acting as a proxy on behalf of another individual, will be required to produce an accepted form of photographic ID to prove their identity before they will be issued with a ballot paper.

This will apply at:

• UK parliamentary by-elections 
• Recall petitions
• Police and Crime Commissioner elections
• Local government elections in England

For full details and more information please go to Voter Authority Certificates and Anonymous Elector’s Documents | Electoral Commission- external site 

Article from NELC.

WORK to reinvent Grimsby Town Centre will carry on next year as North East Lincolnshire Council invests for the future, whilst continuing to tackle challenges centred upon key services and the national economic picture.

A brand-new way of helping creative ideas get a step on the ladder is being launched by Grimsby Creates.

Up to £5,000 will be available for creative and heritage projects in North East Lincolnshire.

The Grimsby Creates Crowdfund is your chance as a creative practitioner, arts, community or heritage organisation to access crowd matched funding and additional grant funds of up to £5,000 for your grassroots creative or heritage project.

If your project activity will take place in North East Lincolnshire, you could access your share of a funding pot of £30,000. Funding is available until March 2023.

Over the last few years, Spark Grimsby, which was set up to help creative individuals and organisations light up their business plans, has already helped 120 people with their hopes to use their creative talent and develop business ideas.

This latest initiative provides a crowdfunding platform, where people can submit their ideas, and subject to being selected, receive 1-2-1 coaching and help market the idea, and then launch it via a platform to seek crowdfunding to make the ideas a reality.

But the key thing is that people only need to raise up to 50% of the funds: if they hit their targets, Grimsby Creates (through Arts Council England) and the National Lottery Heritage Fund have a joint pot which will match the funds, up to £5K, raised as part of the commitment to help develop culture, heritage and arts in the town.

On the same platform, other national companies such as Aviva, Sport England and British Cycling are also offering matched funds for other, non-arts projects.

Cllr Tom Furneaux, Cabinet member for culture and heritage, said: “This is an excellent initiative, and one that people can really get behind themselves. I know we’re going through a tough period at the moment, and people will really be looking at what they spend their money on, but this is a great opportunity for local organisations to find out what local people want to support.”

To find out more about the project, and see how you could potentially access funds, visit www.crowdfunder.co.uk/funds/grimsby-creates.

Article and image from NELC.

North East Lincolnshire Council, working with its partners in social care and health, are proposing changes to the current Disabled Facilities Grant process.

New measures are set to be introduced to the present procedures, which will improve the time and way in which such grant applications are processed, agreed, and implemented across the Borough.  This will lead to a more efficient allocation of grants, allowing funded work to be carried out in peoples’ homes more effectively.

The new plans will also alleviate issues that have been experienced with the recruitment of Occupational Therapists, who work within the health sector and are required to assess the grant applications. There is a national shortage of such professionals and one measure being proposed is the employment of Trusted Assessors who will be fully qualified to assess the more straight-forward grant applications.

The over-arching changes represent the further implementation of a ‘whole system’ approach that will ensure people returning from hospital, as well as those still living independently, will receive the help and support they need to live safely in their own homes.

Changes also include a rise in grant amounts to reflect the increase in costs of works, and a two-tier procedure to separate straight-forward applications from the more complex adaptations, which take longer.

Disabled Facilities Grants are Government funded and administered by all Local Authorities. Applications are assessed and successful awards are wide-ranging but all focus upon changes required to peoples’ homes to allow them to live safely and independently.

To take part in the consultation please go to www.nelincs.gov.uk/have-your-say

Article from NELC.

North East Lincolnshire Council has received a £50,000 grant from Government’s Brownfield Land Release Fund (BLRF) to deliver initial works on a disused site in Grimsby.

A total of more than £61,000 has been awarded to 13 local creative individuals and organisations to help them test and develop ambitious and innovative ideas which can then be upscaled in the future.

A VITAL step in the transformation of St James’ Square has been completed, with local company the E-Factor, purchasing St James’ House.

The former office building has been bought by the E-Factor Group, which has plans to bring the building back to life using a £1.5m slice of Towns Fund money along with significant private investment.

The move provides a major boost for the Square and will pave the way for the building to be completely renovated and transformed into a business hub exclusively for local businesses.

Mark Webb, Managing Director of E-Factor, said: “We’re absolutely delighted that we can now plough on with our plans to develop this building and provide quality business accommodation for a variety of local businesses and entrepreneurs right in the town centre. There will also be space for business events and small conferences, all aimed at supporting local business people. This is a significant investment for our company, but we are determined to continue to be part of the positive story of growth in this area.

“We recognise that this building has been empty for some time and with our investment, supported by the Towns Fund, we are confident we can bring it back to life.

“We are an independent limited company, but every bit of our profits are reinvested in supporting the huge contribution local business owners and entrepreneurs make to this town. E-Factor will once again be providing wrap around business support, easy in easy out terms and all the guidance we can give to help create and grow successful local businesses. The more people who do business in the town centre, the better it will be for shops and restaurants also located there.”

North East Lincolnshire Council’s Cabinet approved a business case to help renovate the building last year with the use of Town Deal money. Whilst not putting any council cash into the scheme, authority approval was needed to enable the release of Government monies.

North East Lincolnshire Council leader, Cllr Philip Jackson, said: “The success of the Wilkin Chapman building on Cartergate and the redevelopment of St James’ Square, a key heritage asset in the town, meant that the next step was to deal with St James’ House in a way that can increase footfall in the town centre and provide benefit to other local businesses.

“I’m delighted E-Factor has taken this building on to bring a new dimension to St James’ Square, a fantastic heritage asset in our town centre. We are extremely pleased to support this scheme.”

Confirmation of the building’s new future has delighted those who have worked hard in the background to progress plans. This includes the Church’s representative body, the PCC (the Parochial Church Council) – the former owners of the building.

Fr Chris Hewitt, Vicar of Grimsby Minster and Chairman of the PCC, said: “St James’ House was built in the early 1970s and for many years provided offices and meeting space in the town centre for a variety of organisations including the council, the BBC and it also provided accommodation for the Parish office. 

“More recently the building became surplus to requirements and over the last few years a number of alternative options were investigated, which unfortunately did not proceed.  We took the decision to appoint Scotts Property to dispose of the building and they received a number of expressions of interest.  We carefully considered these, not only from a financial perspective, but also with regard to the presence of Grimsby Minster and our social investment in St James’ Square and the surrounding area.  The proposal from E-Factor provided the best fit and we are delighted to have sold the property to them.  We look forward to seeing it play an important role in the future of St James’ Square and the town centre.”

Lawrence Brown, Managing Partner at property agents Scotts, explained: “We’ve been working with the PCC and the Minster, together with other agencies, for several years to try to bring forward various alternative uses for the building.  We’ve considered residential conversions, offices, medical related uses, art galleries and cultural space together with retail and restaurant units. 

“We’ve been so close on several occasions – most recently immediately prior to the lockdown at the start of the pandemic, but, as everyone knows, this changed everything.  All of this work had taken place ‘behind the scenes’ and when we were instructed, by the PCC, to openly market the property we received lots of interest from a range of different people.  After careful consideration the offer from E-Factor met the objectives of the PCC most closely and we can now look forward to seeing a refurbished building in the heart of the town centre.”

E-Factor Group Ltd (E-Factor), have been both developing and managing a portfolio of commercial properties around North East Lincolnshire for more than 12 years.

Article and image from NELC.