One year on: Overview of progress in the borough

A year ago this week, the Conservatives took the reins of North East Lincolnshire. It was an historic local election; for the first time in the borough’s history, it came under majority Conservative control. Here, leader Philip Jackson reflects on the progress made in the last twelve months…

BUSINESS & JOBS:

• It is now council policy to work towards becoming carbon-neutral before 2050, building on previous environmentally beneficial investments in electric vehicles, solar panels on council buildings and LED streetlighting. All future council decisions will have to take account of carbon reduction targets.
• Good progress is being made with the South Humber Industrial Investment Programme (SHIIP), a council-sponsored major industrial development site at Stallingborough designed to attract thousands of new jobs to the area. The ecological mitigation land associated with unlocking this industrial development land has won national awards and recognition.
• We have changed the emphasis of the marketing strategy for our area, with less emphasis on North East Lincolnshire and more focus on Grimsby, Cleethorpes and Immingham brands to ensure we direct the right message to the right audience.

GRIMSBY TOWN CENTRE & TOWN DEAL:

• Two Government ministers have visited Grimsby in the last year, announcing allocation of Government grant monies for key projects and reaffirming the Government’s commitment to and financial support for the Greater Grimsby Town Deal.
• The West Haven Maltings in Grimsby town centre are at last to be brought back into use after standing derelict for a generation. Government Town Deal funding is being used to convert them into the Onside Youth Zone centre, providing much needed innovative town centre facilities for young people. Preparatory work is currently being undertaken with a planning application due to be submitted in June.
• To complement this, and also with a significant amount of Government grant, Garth Lane public realm improvement works have just started. This includes a new bridge across the Freshney linking Riverhead Square with the Alexandra Dock and Fishing Heritage Centre, paving, lighting and seating improvements, as well as fountains in the Haven itself.
• St James’ Square improvement works have been agreed and funding secured. These will commence in June and will complement and enhance the existing use of the square while being sympathetic to the existing features of special significance. It is envisaged that events held within the new performance space will include theatre, music and pop-up markets.
• We have a more coherent plan for the heritage Kasbah area of the docks – it is for commercial and creative workspace, ensuring that we don’t detract from Grimsby town centre for other uses.

PROGRESS IN CLEETHORPES:

• Infrastructure projects in Cleethorpes are completed or well advanced, including High Street, Seaview Street and Alexandra Road. All these will contribute to increased footfall and boost the local economy leaving a lasting legacy for future generations.   
• Work has commenced on the new, exciting Sea Road development. This includes the demolition of Waves (formally the Submarine) and its replacement with a new build to incorporate a Tourist Information Centre, kiosks, Beach Safety, new toilets and commercial space on the upper levels.
• On the North Prom, the White Palm, funky fitness furniture, dancing lights and contemporary shutter art now all have relevant planning consents and will be completed later this year. This was a project inherited from the previous Labour administration and it was decided to continue with it to avoid any loss of grant funding and to put Cleethorpes on the map. It has certainly caused controversy and debate but has undoubtedly raised the profile of the resort, even before the work is complete!
• A Resort Manager has been appointed, underlining this administration’s commitment to tourism and improved resort and event promotion and management.
• A very successful and award-winning Festival Of The Sky was held in Cleethorpes last summer.
• Arrangements were made to display more of our heritage assets to the public in Cleethorpes Town Hall.                   

HIGHWAYS CONSTRUCTION & IMPROVEMENT:

• As promised in our election manifesto and during the election campaign, we have found a way to retain Tollbar roundabout, scrapping Labour’s plans to replace it with a traffic light-controlled junction. Improvements to the existing roundabout to tackle congestion and capacity issues will take place later this year. Pedestrian safety has already been improved with the provision of a Toucan crossing.
• In line with our election pledge, Scartho Road bus lane has been removed, improving traffic flows and easing congestion.
• Phase 1 of the major improvement works to the A18 have just been completed, over two months ahead of schedule. These will improve both traffic flow and road safety.
• Brereton Avenue road safety improvements have been completed.
• Major improvements to the Laceby Road/Winchester Avenue traffic lights have improved traffic flows.   
• Carriageway reconstruction and resurfacing works in Fieldhouse Road, Humberston, are now complete.  
• The long-awaited South Humber Link Road is at last open, with final completion scheduled for later this year. This provides vastly improved connectivity between the industrial areas of Immingham, Stallingborough and Grimsby and opens up further land for development.
• A much-needed new car park has recently opened at Grimsby Crematorium.

WASTE MANAGEMENT & RECYCLING:

• Initial improvements introduced to domestic waste and recycling resulted in a much more reliable service with a sustained reduction in missed bins and a major drop in complaints.
• Careful planning resulted in in the successful and reliable provision of waste and recycling collections over the 2019 Christmas and New Year period comparted with the shambles the previous year under Labour.
• Following major public consultation, plans are well advanced for major improvements in the way in which recycling is collected, increasing capacity and making it much easier for households. These improvements will start to be rolled out in the summer and should help to increase recycling rates.
• “Skip It” phase 2, in co-operation with community groups, proved very popular with residents.

PUBLIC OPEN SPACES & STREET SCENE:

• A major review of street cleansing, including a return to seven days a week working, is providing a much higher quality service for both routine scheduled street cleaning and tackling one-off issues.
• Increased frequency of cleansing of the major entrance routes to North East Lincolnshire provides a much better image for the area.
• Completion of the litter bin replacement programme has seen all smaller bins replaced with modern 240 litre bins, increasing overall capacity and making emptying easier and more efficient.
• A review of surface water drainage provision and improved gully cleaning has resulted in improved and more frequent cleansing in areas of higher flood risk.
• Weed spraying and removal has been improved.
• Grass cutting on verges and public open spaces has been improved.

ENFORCEMENT & LAW AND ORDER:

• We have improved the way we work with the police and other partners and agencies to crack down on antisocial behaviour.
• A full review of CCTV provision throughout North East Lincolnshire has been undertaken and proposals for improvement will soon be coming forward.
• There has been an increase in enforcement against littering, fly-tipping, dog fouling and the use of Public Space Protection Orders, with more court cases, to help tackle the minority who spoil things for the law-abiding majority.
• There have been fines for cycling in the pedestrian zone in Victoria Street, Grimsby.          

OTHER ACHIEVEMENTS:

• We promised to be a listening council. We have held very successful Cabinet listening events at both Grimsby and Cleethorpes Town Halls where members of the public can come along and talk to Cabinet members about issues and problems. We have received and wide range of views at these events and implemented changes as a result. More such events are planned for the future in different parts of the borough.
• The number of rough sleepers on our streets has steadily reduced during the last year.
• Major extra-care housing schemes are currently nearing completion on Convamore Road and Burwell Drive.
• The delivery of disabled facilities grants, enabling disabled people to continue to live in their own homes, has been made quicker, easier and fairer with the scrapping or means testing.
• A range of new measures to tackle the large number of empty homes in North East Lincolnshire are being evaluated and implemented.
• An OFSTED focused inspection in March 2019 (under the previous Labour administration) highlighted serious concerns with certain aspects of children’s services. The new Conservative administration was quick to act with radical organisational changes and extra resources to ensure that vulnerable children are kept safe.
• We have reshaped Labour’s playing pitch strategy away from Bradley Pitches to the improvement of other sports facilities across the borough like Clee Fields, Carr Lane and Barrett’s Recreation Ground, which will make these more accessible to more people and bring neglected assets back into use.