Major plans for a building for businesses and residential use in Grimsby have been frozen
The project on Victoria Street has been put on hold due to the economic climate
Longstanding plans for a six-storey ‘gateway’ to Grimsby have been frozen because the economic climate does not make them viable.
Instead, a temporary car park at the corner of Victoria Street and Frederick Ward Way has been made permanent. Users of nearby Pure Gym will be able to use it for free.
Pure Gym had warned it would have to move out of Grimsby town centre if it could not rely on the car park for its customers. While temporary permission has been given for the car park a number of times since 2001, Pure Gym required permanent permission for the car park to stay.
This was granted by North East Lincolnshire Council earlier this month. Plans for a mixed commercial and residential six-storey development on the site and adjoining premises, dubbed Victoria Gates, have been frozen indefinitely. Impressive posterboards for the potential development have been at the car park still this autumn.
“At the current time, there are no appropriate alternative uses for the site,” writes Lawrence Brown of Scotts Property in a letter included in the permanent car park application documents. “Although a large multistorey development has been proposed for the site, current economic conditions are such that it is not viable to develop this.
“Therefore, if the site cannot be used for car parking then it will sit vacant and fall into dereliction. This does not present an appropriate visual image to visitors to the town centre,” wrote Mr Brown, referencing council regeneration plans such as Riverhead Square and the Horizon Youth Zone.
In another application document, DGW Planning state the site’s comprehensive redevelopment “will not be achieved for quite some years yet and is dependent upon a number of external factors”.
Mr Brown confirmed to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) the Victoria Gates plans have not been abandoned, but frozen due to macro and local economic conditions. “The scheme isn’t going ahead any time soon.” He explained continuing to have a well-used and maintained car park in Grimsby town centre made sense and may entice people into the town centre too.
The car park was the most “appropriate purpose in the intervening period” and the new permission did not preclude Victoria Gates in the future. After all, Victoria Street was mostly residential over a hundred years ago, before becoming mostly shop fronts, so uses changed over time.
Pure Gym commented on the application for the car park’s permanence, giving it its full support.
“Despite the well-publicised ongoing economic pressures placed on businesses, and not forgetting several significant periods of closure with zero revenue through the Covid pandemic, we have remained committed to maintaining the best facility possible in Grimsby. However, with new pressures from competition entering the town in very close proximity offering free parking we are no longer able to operate a sustainable business in this location without free parking next door at the application site.
“Pure Gym and Lincoln and Boston Ltd have come to an arrangement (subject to this application being successful) to offer members of Pure Gym free parking whilst visiting our facility.”
Pure Gym had operated in Grimsby for over eight years and the car park was “a perfect location” being next to it. It was “essential” and Pure Gym “would have no choice but to relocate away from the town centre” if the consent was not granted.
Lincoln and Boston Ltd own the car park site and Napier Parking Ltd operate it.
A break clause with Pure Gym’s landlord would have been exercised if the car park had not been given a permanent footing. Happily for Pure Gym and its estimated approximately 3,000 Grimsby area members, the car park’s permanence was granted.