In 2022, working alongside GL Hearn, HemingwayDesign completed a masterplan for Cleethorpes. Commissioned by North East Lincolnshire Council, the masterplan sets out a clear vision for the future development and regeneration of the resort and town centre.
Our team worked with the community and stakeholders to produce a long-term strategy. The masterplan is set within the context of Cleethorpes’ ambition to develop the tourism offer including increasing footfall, creating sustainable jobs, encouraging more overnight stays, and extending the traditional tourism season. It supports the creation of a green economy and environment which maximises low carbon and healthy initiatives.
The second part of the commission provides a delivery strategy with economic evidence for priority projects included in the successful 2022 Levelling Up Fund (LUF) bid.
The masterplan creates three distinct seafront character areas, providing social, leisure, and entrepreneurial opportunities for a wide breadth of society.
Central to the three seafront character areas is Central Promenade, offering a reasonably well-preserved Victorian seaside experience – a wonderfully long promenade, sandy beach, pier, associated seafront cafés, shops and arcades, and the generous Pier Gardens public park. Proposals are to enhance Central Promenade’s Victorian character with public realm improvements, increasing opportunities to relax, play, and socialise along the seafront and improving opportunity for event activations. Our proposals transform Pier Gardens, a fantastic traffic free linear park running along the length of the town centre, into a series of ‘outdoor rooms’ that provide opportunity for events, play, exercise, relaxation and wellbeing, and improve biodiversity.
Every town needs an area that provides opportunity for a new generation to make its mark, and to leave a new positive legacy that adds to the wonderful built legacy left by the Victorians. From public engagement, and existing plans in place, it’s clear that North Promenade can provide a progressive, sustainable, youthful, alternative, yet complementary offer for the town that acts as a catalyst to retain younger generations and attract a new generation of entrepreneurs to put down roots in the town. Helping to build Cleethorpes’ ‘brand’ as a future facing, go-to destination for a new generation of visitors.
Masterplan proposals for North Promenade are to enable it to become a centre for wellbeing, culture and leisure. A place with a new unique character, where locals and visitors to Cleethorpes can expect to find exciting independent businesses, culture and animation throughout the day and into the evening, and opportunities for contemporary, zero-carbon overnight stays.
The third distinct seafront character area is South Beach, stretching from the leisure centre, south to the iconic ‘Fitties’, incorporating the Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) marshland, beautiful and somewhat secluded world class beaches, iconic historic assets such as the ‘Fitties’ seaside retreat and Cleethorpes Coast Light Railway, events spaces/ showgrounds, fringed by a beautifully maintained country park. Masterplan proposals are for this southern stretch of Cleethorpes seafront to benefit from unobtrusive public realm improvements, and infrastructure interventions that respect and enhance the natural beauty of the SSSI, helping the town become increasingly known as a place for health, wellbeing, and exploration.
The masterplan has strong ideas of how to make the town flow, encouraging exploration, creating the desire to linger, providing socialising opportunities, and the associated spend that comes with this. Proposals improve connectivity from the seafront to the town centre, encouraging a circular route for people to explore the town’s independent shops, eateries, bars.
The masterplan is supported by what we believe to be the largest public survey ever undertaken in the town with a representative demographic of over 2700 residents, businesses owners, and visitors explaining their understanding of the town’s assets and desires for its future. It’s clear there is an entrepreneurial and economic dynamism that can be further unleashed by this masterplan.
“I just wanted to thank you and the team for all the hard work. It has only been 5 months since the project started and just look at what has been achieved – truly amazing!
The overwhelming a message from my colleagues is that the Masterplan is ambitious and incredibly exciting and we can’t wait to start delivering it. It really has been a pleasure working with your team”
– Helen Thompson, North East Lincolnshire Council