January 22, 2021 11.09 am This story is over 38 months old

Work begins to transform Skegness Esplanade

After £750k grant from towns fund
Tower Esplanade in Skegness.

Work started on improvements to pedestrianise part of Tower Esplanade in Skegness this month thanks to a £750,000 government grant.

Significant progress has already been made on the pedestrianisation over the last few weeks and to improve the alternative car park entrance to Princes Parade.

This would improve connectivity in the town centre, as well as open up new areas for cycling and walking.

It will also boost passing trade for businesses. Work should be completed by Good Friday 2021.

Tower Esplanade’s recent lighting improvements.

The latest money will also be backed by additional funding from East Lindsey District Council.

As part of the Towns Deal, 100 towns across the UK were also identified and asked to bid for up to £25 million each.

Mablethorpe and Skegness combined their efforts under the banner of the Connected Coast Board and the plans were submitted for each town at the end of October.

Skegness bid for £24,941,885 (with match funding of £19,620,980). Mablethorpe bid for £25 million (with match funding of £13,544,507).

A decision will be announced in the first week of February where towns will find out the total amount of funding they will receive.

A successful bid could also see money go towards a replacement for the Colonnade at Sutton-on-Sea and a Campus for Future Living at Mablethorpe, which will see health, education and leisure all combined in a multi-use building.

Sarah Louise Fairburn, Chair of the Connected Coast Board, said: “We’re so pleased to see this project starting thanks to an Accelerated Fund Grant of £750,000 for Skegness, which has enabled us to fast-track one of Towns’ Fund projects.”

Steve Andrews, Centre Manager at Hildreds Shopping Centre in Skegness, said: “At Hildreds, we are also looking forward to the further planned investment through the Towns Fund.

“Skegness has performed slightly ahead of the national average for footfall in terms of retail, which was better than expected. We therefore hope that as the global pandemic abates, we will be able to welcome even more people to Skegness in a safe and secure way.”

As part of a wider programme of planned development of the Skegness Foreshore, a planning application was recently submitted to develop by East Lindsey District Council to develop a new high-quality holiday lodge scheme.

Meanwhile, Lincoln’s Town Deal Board joined similar organisations in Skegness, Mablethorpe, Boston and North East Lincolnshire in bidding for nearly £25 million each for projects.