Freshney Place survey shows support for plans
It revealed a high level of support for North East Lincolnshire council's move to buy the shopping centre
Grimsby shoppers and traders have welcomed North East Lincolnshire Council’s decision to buy Freshney Place Shopping Centre – but they don’t all agree on plans for a cinema and what else they would like to see there.
In August, full council approved the decision to purchase Freshney Place Shopping Centre for £20m. The centre hosts 60 per cent of the town centre’s retail offer and supports one in five jobs within that area.
Cleethorpes-based Parkway Cinema intend to take over the multi-screen cinema planned at the western end of Freshney Place. A food hall and associated facilities are also planned as part of the redevelopment.
Childhood friends Kayliegh and Chelsea, both 26, were broadly supportive of a cinema.
“A cinema with a food court, it works in other areas,” suggested Kayliegh. “It would be nice to see something different and some sort of improvement.” Robin, 21, and Adam, 19, were also keen to see more eateries in the town centre. “More restaurants, like a Nando’s,” said Robin. “At the moment, all I’d go to really is McDonald’s and Curious Cat.
Pensioner Brian was less enthused by the prospect of a cinema:
“We don’t want a cinema here, it would be a white elephant. Nobody goes to the cinema anymore, they’re skint. Years ago, when we had Freedom Street, it was a fantastic centre but it’s the times, this country is going down the neck fast.”
“I hope they do better than they’ve been in business before,” said Jim Smith, 85, a daily visitor to the centre, from a fishing family and sceptical of the council’s purchase. “This used to be one of the best streets in town, I mean look at the state of it,” he added of Victoria Street South, adjacent to Freshney Place.
Mother and daughter Shirley, 79, and Jane, 52, were cautiously supportive of plans for a cinema to form part of the complex. “It’s all so empty at the moment,” said Jane. “I think a cinema would be helpful because you then don’t have to go all the way onto Cleethorpes. But then, there could be a bad end to it if open too late.” Shirley called for a youth club to be in the shopping centre: “It will keep them out of trouble.”
“I lived in Italy for 30 years and I came back five years ago and I was shocked there was hardly anything left of the shopping centre,” added Jane.
Freshney Place Shopping Centre’s offering currently includes M&S, Primark, Boots and other High Street chains, mixed with local bakeries and coffee shops such as Bakers + Baristas. But the number of empty or closed shops is noticeable, particularly the former House of Fraser store, and the centre went into receivership earlier this year, prompting the council to submit a bid to purchase it.
Local businesses nearby also shared their thoughts on the council’s move to buy Freshney Place. Nic Till, 42 and Riverhead Coffee’s owner, called for more events and experiences to be on offer.
It was a theme also echoed by retail colleagues Kaysie, 25, and Lyndsey, 35, eating outside the Minster. They also indicated enthusiasm for the idea of a discount card for customers shopping at different stores in Freshney Place. “It would be nice to see something different and some sort of improvement,” said Kaysie.
“The more things that there are, then it draws more people,” said Nic Till, whose coffee store is open every day of the week. “For me at the moment, people don’t spend time in the town. What I’m looking for from the council taking over is not necessarily more retail shops.
“I’d like to see more experience things, leisure activities, reasons for people to come. When there’s been an event in the town centre, it’s made a massive difference to our sales to comparable weeks.”
“I think it’s got rundown, there’s not the variety of shops and people are not using it like they used to,” said Paul Berry, owner/manager of nearby sci-fi comics store Starrider, open Tuesday to Saturday 10am to 5pm and which has recently celebrated 25 years open in Grimsby. “They need to do a lot to get that back and I suppose if they do, it’s going to have a benefit to everybody in the town centre.
“I’m excited to see the cinema. A lot of people find it difficult to get to the Cleethorpes one. I mean, I’d certainly use it.”
A spokesperson for My New Shoes in Abbeygate, open Monday to Saturday, noted that the shopping centre can seem a little “fragmented” due to the unfortunate positioning of the currently empty shops. “If they’re able to regenerate the area itself, it would be very helpful. With train disruption and cost of fuel being so expensive, people may not be able to travel out of town. So it’s very important to be able to offer something locally.”
While North East Lincolnshire Council has bought the shopping centre, it is managed on a day-to-day basis by hired external professionals. The purchase was mostly funded by grant money of over £17m from the government’s Future High Streets Fund.