Main build of RNLI’s £3m Cleethorpes lifeboat station to begin after Easter

The RNLI will start the main build of a new £3 million lifeboat station in Cleethorpes immediately after the Easter Bank Holiday.

Plans for the station were approved in 2018 and will provide the capability for a more powerful B Class Atlantic 85 lifeboat to join the existing D-Class lifeboat already based there. The new station will be built on the beach in front of the current station.

Preparatory works began last summer for the charity’s new lifeboat station and a start date of April 19 has now been agreed for the main build of the boathouse.

Construction will take around 12 months and the new station is due to be completed in mid-2023. There will also be a series of road closures and traffic restrictions during the works.

In addition, for approximately seven weeks from May 16, piling works will need to be carried out which will cause significant noise for the duration of the working day, but these are unavoidable and there is no alternative available for this site.

The RNLI’s new £3 million lifeboat station in Cleethorpes is scheduled to open in 2023. | Photo: RNLI

The new lifeboat station will allow the RNLI to respond quicker, in a wider range of weather conditions, to a larger variety of incidents while keeping its volunteers safe.

The new station will have its own slipway for launch and recovery of the boats. Currently, the lifeboat has to cross a public road near a blind bend.

Changing and training facilities will also be much improved, and the RNLI shop will move on site as well. This will give shop volunteers access to running water and a toilet, neither of which are available in the current shop.

Changing and training facilities will also be improved and the RNLI shop will move on site too. | Photo: RNLI

Mick Fowler, lifeboat operations manager at Cleethorpes, said: “The start of the build of our new station is an exciting moment for all our volunteers in Cleethorpes, both operational and fundraising, as it marks one step closer to being able to move into the new facility.”

Jamie King, area lifesaving manager for Humber and Lincolnshire, added: “This new station will represent a huge change, not only to the lifesaving service we provide to the local area, but also to the way our volunteers can train and operate, in a much safer and more efficient environment than is possible in the current building.”

Road closure and traffic restrictions

From April 19, 2022, until the completion of the works approximately 12 months later, Central Promenade will be closed to through traffic during the day while contractors are working, except for the operation of the lollipop train.

A temporary signed and barriered footway will also be provided through the closure for pedestrians.

There will be no access for vehicles from Brighton Street past the Coastguard station. Cyclists will be asked to dismount and walk with their bikes through the restricted area or use alternative routes.

Entry onto and exit from the Central Promenade will be from Sea Road only. Parking will still be available, and an area created and kept free of vehicles near the works site to allow for cars to turn around.

Traffic management personnel will be on site to help manage traffic while restrictions are in place. On occasions, once Central Prom is full of parked cars, they may close the Prom until car parking bays become available, reducing the level of congestion. Some disabled bays will be affected; however these will be moved and signed elsewhere on the Central Prom.

The Central Prom will be opened fully at night between 6pm and 7am to one way through traffic from the direction of the pier, allowing vehicles to leave via Brighton slip end. The temporary pedestrian footway will remain in place.

Additional signage regarding the traffic management in the area and on the approaches within Cleethorpes will be put out to divert traffic to other car parks and advise of the restrictions.

Access to Brighton Street slipway from Brighton Street for watersports users, the resort team and for the launch of the lifeboat will be preserved throughout.

Works and deliveries to the site will take place Monday to Friday, 8am-6pm. There will be no work on Bank Holidays or on weekends of major festivals and events. Occasionally because of the tidal nature of the site there may be the need to work on other Saturdays from 8am-1pm.