Heritage Lincolnshire are leading the Town Deal projects to revitalise the town centres in Skegness and Mablethorpe. In this blog, Alice Ullathorne, Project Manager, Heritage Lincolnshire, talks about some of the work set to take place.
It’s an exciting year for the Town Centre Transformation Town Deal projects in Skegness and Mablethorpe, funded by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and being delivered by Heritage Lincolnshire, Lincolnshire’s foremost heritage-led regeneration charity.
For the past two years, Heritage Lincolnshire have been working with East Lindsey District Council and the Connected Coast Town Deal Board to develop a Town Deal project to transform the town centres of Skegness and Mablethorpe. We have developed a plan for renewing the high streets of both towns through reinstating historic details as well as addressing issues with the condition of buildings in the town centres.
Through these works, we can support local independent businesses to develop their offer and, in some cases, rebrand. This kind of heritage-led regeneration has been demonstrated to promote growth, increase footfall, combat vacancy, and revitalise towns throughout the country.
‘Town Centre Transformations: Skegness’ is the first grant scheme to enhance the heritage of Skegness and will result in a substantial pot of grant funding being made available to local businesses and property owners in Skegness Town Centre, specifically Lumley Road, the High Street and Tower Gardens.
This year will see the first projects delivered on-site. For a number of months, Heritage Lincolnshire have been working with local businesses and architects to gain planning permission for seven reinstated shopfronts. They have received planning permission and now have approval from the Grants Panel to proceed with the project soon.
At Tower Gardens, the historic pleasure garden will benefit from a renovation scheme of hard landscaping and planting, as well as making accessibility improvements so it can be enjoyed by a greater range and diversity of people. Currently, surveys are being undertaken in anticipation of commissioning works to the site. The works should be on site by the end of the year, with a master plan and design by the summer.
In addition, funding from the Town Centre Transformation scheme is enabling improvements to the highway between Skegness station and the Foreshore down Lumley Road, in partnership with Lincolnshire County Council and East Lindsey District Council. This will involve the replacement of all bins, planting street trees and providing improvements to the public realm.
In Mablethorpe, our work is now starting to gather pace, and we are currently developing designs for a block of shops on the High Street to demonstrate the difference this approach can have to transform the town centre.
In November, together with the University of Lincoln, we hosted a community event at the Coastal Centre, Mablethorpe. The event was an opportunity for people to find out more and help shape ‘Town Centre Transformations: Mablethorpe’, the first grant scheme focused on enhancing the heritage of Mablethorpe.
