The Grimsby Evening Telegraph are reporting today, that the “Countdown to A New Start” for the East Marsh as now commenced; it is a positive step forward which will result in the demolition of one hundred houses on Guildford Street.

The remaining houses will be radically revamped, and it is hoped that as soon as the Guildford Street site is cleared new low density housing will be built which will radically transform the area; giving a “Fresh Start to the “East Marsh”. It is a one in life-time opportunity, in these difficult time and we need to make the best of the situation. 

As reported in the Grimsby Evening Telegraph and on this website, the residents have been consulted on number proposals for the Guildford Street area, which would include a new street layout, home zone, and new low density housing to replace the existing housing; along with plans to revamp the housing that will not be part of the demolition. 

The latest move in the development has been met with joy from councillors and the East Marsh Community Group, which wants to see new “aspirational” housing on the site. 

Councillor Tony McCabe (Liberal Democrat, East Marsh) said the work is likely to begin in March, with work crews dismantling house interiors on half the closed off area. 

He said: “We identified with the public just how far things had gone in terms of dereliction and boarded up properties and decided something practical needed doing. We got external funding from the Homes and Communities Agency, and we added money to that – which totalled £7.9 million. We used this to buy up the properties, and to cover the costs of people moving to new accommodation.” 

Councillor Steve Beasant (Liberal Democrat, East Marsh) said: “It’s absolutely fantastic that we have moved a step closer to the demolition of Guildford Street. 

“We are over the moon” 

He said it would eliminate anti-social behaviour in the area. As reported, the boarded up homes had been a target of arsonist in recent months, which had been a cause of concern. 

He added the next step would be the development of the site, full details of which have not yet been revealed. 

“It’s a great opportunity to see what can then be developed on that area,” he added. 

“This will be determined by what residents want to see put into place. 

“But it will based on low density housing, aspirational housing – and build up people’s life chances – rather than a mish mash.” 

John Harrison, Chair of East Marsh Involve said: “Everybody I have spoken to has seen the demolition as a way forward. It’s a start of a wider development of the East Marsh, which is definitely overdue. 

“I have lived here since 1979, and back then it was quiet nice, respectable street, made up of families from the fishing industry. “In the last in the last twenty years it has been in decline – although this will see the area climb back. 

“I would like to see good affordable housing here; be it for the first-time buyer or the elderly.” 

Alan Burley is the community development worker in the East Marsh. He said: “At the beginning of the process the residents didn’t trust anyone. They had heard it all before, and been consulted before, and had lost faith. 

“Now residents are seeing things happen, they are happy to be part of the process.”

  On 26th January this year I posted an article written by Humberside Fire and Rescue Service, titled “Food for Thought? A Stark Warning!” The aim of the article was to alert people of North East Lincolnshire to the fact that 50% of fires starting in the home, and many people do not have a smoke alarm fitted. 

  Unfortunately last night there was a tragic accident in Durban Road in the East Marsh, and the consequences were devastating therefore I reproducing the article again for your benefit. 

Humberside Fire and Rescue Service are today out and about in the area fitting smoke alarms, but this is a tragic accident which cannot happen again. 

A stark warning from Humberside Fire and Rescue Service

Cookery programmes and celebrity chefs seem to be on TV in ever-increasing numbers. They tell us how to create a gastronomic delight in cordon bleau cookery. Unfortunately, they do not tell us the more practical but less glamorous side of cooking – the cleaning bit!  Nor do we see them having a pan on their shiny stainless steel hobs and leaving it to answer the phone, or popping down to the shops to get more ingredients. 

Unfortunately, there has been a significant rise in fires involving ovens, hobs and grills, including the portable ones that sit on top of the worktop. I am not talking about chip pans but a basic oven, or stove as my mother often called it. In North East Lincolnshire 50% of fires starting accidentally in a home are due to cooking. Just recently, in New Holland, there has been a serious house fire that occurred whilst cooking. It has left two people seriously injured and five people without homes.  

I have been to many fires where people have been distracted whilst cooking – it doesn’t take much for us all to forget the cooking and answer the door, or make a ‘quick’ phone call…. but then again it doesn’t take much for a pan of food to catch fire either!  Over 40% of cooking fires are caused by people being distracted or falling asleep – possibly due to medication or drinking alcohol. 

Our fire crews have found that the people most at risk tend to be elderly, people living alone or single parents. If you feel that you are a safe cook, think about it next time you visit a friend, neighbour or relative and check on them – it only takes a minute and you could save them an awful lot of mess and an expensive repair bill…. you may even save their life!  

Reminders:

Ø     Do not leave pans of food or liquids on the hob – it may be turned on by accident.

Ø     Do not cook if you have been drinking alcohol or taken prescription drugs - you may get drowsy or lose concentration.

Ø     Turn saucepans so the handles don’t stick out over the edge of the hob or over another ring.

Ø     Double check that the cooker is off when you have finished cooking.

Ø     Make sure tea-towels aren’t hanging over the cooker and don’t put oven gloves on top of a hot cooker.

Ø     Keep the oven, hob and grill clean - built-up fat and bits of food can start a fire.

Ø     Check that the toaster is clean and well away from curtains and empty the crumb tray regularly.

Ø     Take pans off the heat or turn the heat down if you’re called away from the cooker, e.g. by a phone call.

Work is now continuing at a pace on the new Grant Thorold Library; and it now beginning to look like a building. Contractors are now working over the weekends, the walls are now all built up finished height, the steelwork is now complete, the internal walls have been finished, and the roof joists have been fixed in place.

Today, the contractors have been working on the roof, laying the roof decking - it is nice to see the new library rapidly taking shape (see the photograph below which was taken today; looking towards Humberstone Road which was taken on Durban Road).   

In the meantime, the plants for the green wall are already being cultivated in their greenhouses, so should be ready for planting into the wall at the right time. 

East Marsh Involve is held on the last Tuesday of each month, and the next meeting will be held this   Tuesday, 26th January 2010 – this will be the first meeting of the New Year – a ‘Fresh Start for the East Marsh, and a new beginning! 

The meeting as usual will be the Grimsby Neighbourhood Centre at 6pm - all local residents are welcome to attend and influence the agenda. 

East Marsh Involve is a local community group that is run by local residents; with the aim of making East Marsh a better place to live. We aim to, engage, inform and empower local residents in order that they can take decisions about their local community. 

The Grimsby Neighbourhood Centre is on the corner of Weelsby Street and Wellington Street, and the meetings are always held on the last Tuesday of each month.   

“Vehicle crime can occur in two forms: theft of a motor vehicle (stealing a car/van etc) or theft from a motor vehicle i.e. breaking into a car to steal a radio or sat nav.” 

Anyone who attends the East Marsh Involve will know that there’s been an increase in crimes relating to theft from a motor vehicle recently; due to people leaving their valuable in the car unattended. It is important that you follow the advice from Safer and Stronger Communities Partnership if you are not going to be victim of this type of crime. 

Most vehicle crime is opportunistic and therefore preventable. By following some straightforward advice, and working together, we can ensure that this type of crime once again returns to a downward trend in the East Marsh. 

Vehicle safety advice: 

Ø     Don’t leave anything on view in your car. Thieves are opportunists and it only takes them moments to break into your car.

Ø     Lock all doors and windows, not forgetting the sunroof, when leaving your car.

Ø     Never leave the keys in the ignition when the car is unattended, even while you’re paying for petrol.

Ø     Mark your satellite navigation equipment system with your postcode and house number or your vehicle registration number or another unique number, using special security markers.

Ø     Making a note of make, model and serial number of the equipment and keeping the note somewhere safe – not in the car. Consider recording this information on one of the commercially available asset registers.

Ø     Visit: www.parkmark.co.uk/ to see if there is a police approved car park in your town. Approved car parks display the official Park Mark plaque.

The latest reported crime figures for the East Marsh Ward where released today by Humberside Police, and were posted on their website. The latest figures are again a week or so later than normal; owing to the fact that all police force data is now fed into the national police website.

The crime figures show that the average number of crimes in the ward has decreased (note: the figure are taken over a 3 month period and compared with the same 3 months last year).

In the same period crime across the whole of North East Lincolnshire has decreased by 18.2%.

Ø      Overall level of crime in the ward has decreased by 13.4% (Over the last 12 months)

Ø      Burglary has decreased by 41.3%

Ø      Robbery has decreased by 40%

Ø      Vehicle crime has increased by 60.4% (Residents who attend East Marsh Involve, will be well aware that we had expected this figure to rise; due to residents leaving Sat Navs and other valuables in their vehicles unattended in period prior to Christmas. It is important to make sure that you remove all valuables when you leave your vehicle unattended)

Ø      Violence has decreased by 20.9%

Ø      Anti-social behaviour has increased by 2% 

To view latest crime statistics for the North East Lincolnshire area >>>>CLICK HERE (as well as finding details of overall crime you can find crime level per ward, i.e.: East Marsh, Heneage, Yarborough, Croft Baker, etc.)

Once again, work is continuing at a pace on the new Grant Thorold Library; following the Christmas period and recent wintry weather. Understandably there is some concern that the contractors may have fallen behind the proposed schedule; but it appears that things are still well on track.   

The Polar walls have now been built up to their finished height and they should be completed, along with the steel work is more or less finished (see the photograph below, which was taken today) – and this should be complete by the end of the week. The next couple of weeks will see work on the internal walls, the roof joists and decking being erected, so it will soon begin to look like a building!   

In the meantime, the plants for the green wall are already being cultivated in their greenhouses, so should be ready for planting into the wall at the right time. 

  I have decided to take little bit of advice from my colleague Councillor Jon-Paul Howarth in writing this post. Earlier this morning I telephoned Jon-Paul, to wish him all the best for the New Year and we got talking about my blog, amongst other things. He suggested that I should “chill out”, and write a few interesting posts about my smashing grandchildren.  

  Well, I switched on my CD player and put on my new CD by Susan Boyle, “I Dreamed A Dream” and I dreamed of a day without politics; just as Jon-Paul suggested. And, now I have returned back to “Shock Horror - Councillor Plays Games on CBeebies Website“. 

I suppose it all started yesterday afternoon when my wife Carol went to pick up the two grandchildren, somehow I knew we would finishing up looking after them, but I love it. It gives me the chance to dream that dream, and finish up fantasy land for just a few hours - of course they were full of it! 

It’s surprising how much they have changed in the last year Nathan is now 6 and James who is the youngest at 4; they both the best of friends but on the other hand love to tease each other – like most siblings.

Last night they assured me that they wanted to see the New Year in, but naturally they were in bed well before 2010 arrived and not even the fireworks could wake them up from their little world of make believe.

They’ve been great all day, and Nathan loves playing games on the computer and looking at video clips on YouTube. Normally, he says to me in a quiet voice: “Grandad can I go on CBeebies, please?” And, if I don’t respond he then becomes a little more aggressive: “Grandad, you have been on the computer a long time, it’s now time for my go, please let me on?”

And, of course I have allowed him to have a number of goes today; well after all it’s the 1st January, and we might as well start as we mean to go on – be friendly, be good and nice.

Nathan is naturally a whizz on the web and if I don’t watch out he is exploring the World Wide Web; before I know where he is, he will have found a new website that he learnt about at school. He can now even find my website; at least he gives me a few more hits. I just might catch-up Iain Dale, that Tory Blogger before 2011 arrives.

Today, he’s been playing on Bob the Builder, Balamory, Boogy Beebies, Doodle Do, Little Red Tractor, Postman Pat, Tommy Zoom, and then we’ve spent some time looking at Thomas the Tank Engine on YouTube, but I am just now wondering if the Home Secretary had his spies out looking down from up on high? If the surveillance equipment was logged onto my computer, it may be a question of “Shock horror as Councillor is caught playing games on CBeebies Website, again!”

Well at least we had some fun, and all that remains is for me to wish you all Happy New Year from Carol, Nathan, James and myself and let’s hope that it’s is a prosperous year for everyone but in particularly the residents of the East Marsh.

At the last Council Meeting of held at Grimsby Town Hall, North East Lincolnshire Council elected members voted in favour calling for a report that could pave the way for a borough-wide alcohol ban in public places. 

The notice of motion, which was moved by two Labour councillors after members of the public had raised concerns about the issue in their respective wards. 

Within North East Lincolnshire, there are already two booze-free zones operating and they have operated for a number of years; there is one in Grimsby Top Town which as been in place since 2004, particular enforced around St James Square, and a second area which came into being in 2006 is along Cleethorpes Seafront. 

The Grimsby Telegraph has today reported that there are concerns those two booze-free zones are simply not working, they have been ignored by individuals or they have just moved outside the zones to carry on drinking. 

Councillor Steve Beasant, portfolio holder for community safety and public protection told the Telegraph: “People need to feel confident when they are walking the street and not have to deal with people drinking in public places, but any potential borough wide ban would not stop them drinking in public places. And, crucially this ban would be very difficult to enforce; it would be unworkable unless we had a police officer on every single street corner. 

“Yes, members of the public are telling us drinking in public places is a priority but they are also telling us that anti-social behaviour, burglary, car parking issues, cycling on footpaths, speeding, and many more issues are priorities for our local police. 

“If we are not careful we could end up with dozens of calls from the public and the police are unable to respond, which would create a backlash. The police cannot be everywhere and the problems is those that shout the loudest would receive all of the resources to enforce this particular ban” 

Steve was backed by Humberside Police Alcohol Reduction Champion, Inspector Tom Shaw, who said he believed any ban would be impossible to effectively police. 

“If officers were to concentrate on tackling people drinking in public, nothing else would get done. 

“It would be down to police officers because they are the only ones with the power to confiscate alcohol. 

“Police Community Support Officers can confiscate alcohol but if they refuse it is up to police officers to go through the arrest procedure. 

“If we are dealing with people drinking in the street, our focus is taken away from everyday policing. 

“If we could get street wardens in to do it, that is well and good, but only police can make the arrest if they refuse when the alcohol is confiscated.” 

He said the partnership between North East Lincolnshire Council and Humberside Police has been successful in curbing the sales of alcohol to people who regularly drink in the street and public places. 

During the debate at the December Council meeting, Councillor Jon-Paul Howarth said: “We all know there is a problem but is it not just time wasting and a resource wasting exercise getting someone to write a report just to tell us that?” 

Councillor Howarth’s views were echoed by Steve Beasant fellow East Marsh Ward Councillor who said: “This is a pointless exercise asking our officers to prepare a report it would be by far better to ask Humberside Police to carry out this piece of work rather than giving our officers extra work – the police could then say straight away if this is feasible. 

“To bring in a blanket borough wide ban would be dangerous; it would be unenforceable and all that would happen is that the heavy drinkers would go elsewhere – they would go onto private land, into empty properties and cause further mayhem – like other proposals this simply has not been thought through. 

“This ban will not tackle the problem; we need address the issue head on. Many of these street drinkers have been on the streets for years, they need help, and they need counseling and support. It is a proven fact that every pound invested in support services will save ten pounds on the NHS and other agencies – we need to tackle this head on, and get these individuals off alcohol, once and for all. 

“It is also worth considering a minimum pricing policy for alcohol; I know the Government overturned the Chief Medical Officer’s advice on this issue, because it would be politically sensitive. This ban will not address the root cause of the problem.”

New plans to regenerate of Freeman Street – in a scheme to rival the Grimsby Top town Masterplan – will be revealed within days.

The 15 year plan for Freeman Street will include housing and commercial opportunities which will bring investment into the East Marsh, which will complement the existing projects that are already beginning to develop in the area.

As reported on this website, the Salvation Army has already been given the go-ahead for their £4-million new hostel on Eleanor Street which will provide accommodation for up to 35 residents.

There are also plans to revamp the Freeman Street Market in 2010.North East Lincolnshire Council portfolio holder for regeneration, Councillor Geoff Lowis said the report by development consultants EC Harris would be released in January.

Councillor Lowis said: “It is a partnership with Shoreline and we have already set aside money in our capital budget.“It is a question of site assembly, so we can get on with the 15-year plan.”

He said the first steps had been taken with designation of conservation area status for parts of the area, Approval of the Salvation Army Hostel, which will contain training workshops, was given by North East Lincolnshire Council Planning Committee in November.

Freeman Street Market traders are designing new areas of the market for craft stalls.

East Marsh Ward Councillor and portfolio holder for community safety and public protection, Steve Beasant told the Grimsby Telegraph that: “The report will be out early in the New Year, and it’s been eagerly awaited by all three Ward Councillors who will hopefully welcome the report once we have seen it. It should not only good news for the residents of the East Marsh, but the whole of North East Lincolnshire who really want to see something done with the street.

“The Council is now showing commitment to this scheme by including a considerable amount of money from the Capital Progamme, we have applied to other funders but so far no money is forthcoming – we are fully committed to this scheme. Now, hopefully Yorkshire Forward and the Homes and Communities Agency will come on board.”

East Marsh Involve is held on the last Tuesday of each month, and the next meeting will be held Tuesday 26th January 2010 – this will be the first meeting of the New Year – a ‘Fresh Start for the East Marsh, and a new beginning! 

The meeting as usual will be the Grimsby Neighbourhood Centre at 6pm - all local residents are welcome to attend and influence the agenda. 

East Marsh Involve is a local community group that is run by local residents; with the aim of making East Marsh a better place to live. We aim to, engage, inform and empower local residents in order that they can take decisions about their local community. 

The Grimsby Neighbourhood Centre is on the corner of Weelsby Street and Wellington Street, and the meetings are always held on the last Tuesday of each month. 

One of the main agenda items at the meeting is the priority setting process, and at last month’s meeting residents determined four priorities of which Humberside Police are reporting the follwing progress: 

Priority One: Anti Social Behaviour – Stanley Street/Weelsby Street and Duke Street

Residents have reported that youths are congregating in the area causing criminal damage and anti social behaviour. 

This priority was set by East Marsh Involve for the forth month. Patrols have been carried out in this area; the problem has also been discussed with local residents together with landlords who have responsibility for premises which has attracted anti social behaviour. Two families have been referred to Support Agencies and support has commenced. The activities undertaken have already resulted in fewer problems. Patrols will continue to focus on the area to maintain this improvement. 

Priority Two: Castle Street/Harold Street - Anti Social Behaviour and Criminal Damage

This priority was set by East Marsh Involve for the second month. 

Patrols have been deployed to this area to try and identify youths or families that are causing anti social behaviour and criminal damage. 

A street briefing was held down Castle Street (low number’s end) on 9th December 2009 5pm till 7pm to give residents a chance to come and speak with local officers. 

Priority Three: Guildford Street – Arson

This priority has been raised by East Marsh Involve after having some large fires down the street in the empty properties.

Patrols will be carried out in the area and checks are to be made on the properties together with Shoreline to make sure that they are secure. This is aimed at reducing the risk of arson attacks. 

Priority Four: Parking Issues – Oxford Street

This has been raised by East Marsh Involve and is a new priority. 

Oxford Street is a major carriageway which is heavily used by local traffic meaning that parking issues impact on road safety when cars are parking on double yellows. Cars are also parking on the footpaths which can result in people not been able to walk on the footpaths and having to go onto the road. 

Patrols will be deployed in the area and will provide road safety advice to motorists and pedestrians and deal with offences appropriately. 

The priority setting process is not the only way of making your views known about Crime and Disorder within the East Marsh; the Neighbourhood Beat Team have drop in surgery at Your Place on the corner of Wellington Street and Weelsby Street on the first Wednesday of each month. The next surgery will take place on Wednesday 6th January between 2pm and 4pm and also present will be a number of other agencies along with one of your local Ward Councillors – come along for chat, and cup of tea or coffee.

East Marsh Involve is also keen to hear from local residents about local issues and priorities that are affecting you and local neighbours, we recognise that not everyone can attend local community meetings; therefore if you want to find out more about the process please view here: a4-east-marsh-poster.pdf.

Unsung heroes of the East Marsh have been granted a well-deserved pat on the back for keeping their local communities alive. The East Marsh may have problems like many areas; however this event proved that there is great deal going on in the local community – it was all about bringing pride and community spirit back into local area – we were told it could not happen, and next year the event will be back again bigger and better.

The East Marsh Award’s Ceremony was held at the Casablanca Club, on Grimsby’s Oxford Street, saw scores of residents from the local area come together for this the first annual celebration.

The event was organised by East Marsh Involve, with Councillor Jon-Paul Howarth taking the lead who had originally thought of the idea – as away of brining the local community together.

A number of funding streams were used to fund the event, including: East Marsh Involve, Shoreline Housing Partnership, and Community Chest amongst others.

Councillor Howarth was keen to make sure that this was a celebration of achievement, and to recognise the positive aspects of the area.

He said: “The idea was for the East Marsh to celebrate its successes and for the people to receive recognition for their achievements.

“This area gets a lot of stick and bad press and I thought it was time for us to all get together as a community and show everyone why, in my opinion, this is the best ward going.

“We might not have the best crime stats, but no one can beat us for community spirit.”

Pauline Hollies won the Working With Young People Award in recognition of her contribution to the Shalom Project.

She said: “I’m so honoured to have won this award as it’s really a team effort from my all my colleagues.

“I lived on the East Marsh for 24 years and believe in the young people I work with and in the work I’m doing.

“I think it’s important to recognise those young people because they get so little praise.”

Community Police Officer PC Ian Shuttleworth Ian was presented with Lifetime Achievement Award by the Leader of North East Lincolnshire Council, Andrew De Freitas for his work on the East Marsh during 15 years on the beat.

He said: “In total, I’ve worked on the East Marsh for about 25 years.

“Having worked here for a while, I soon realised there was a real sense of community spirit and a lot of the people I came across were honest, salt-of-the-earth folk. It’s important to feel you’re making a difference and this is one area where I feel I can.”

Highly commended in this category, was Muriel Barker, former East Marsh Councillor and when this was announced everyone in the room stood up and clapped for at least several minutes.

Councillor Andrew De Freitas said: “I have known Muriel for many years as friend, and a political opponent but we have never fallen out with her – I have always held her in the highest regard.

“She as been a great servant to the local people of the East Marsh and the whole Borough even though she is no longer actively involved on the local council, Muriel is still an active school governor and serves on many local committees.”

Saturday 23rd January – 30th January 

A KISS ON THE BOTTOM: The Caxton Theatre, Cleethorpe Road, Grimsby. 7.30pm, doors open 6.45pm. £7.50 (Saturdays), £7.00 (Monday – Friday) £6.00 (Concessions Monday). Telephone 01472 346251. All ages. Website: www.caxtontheatre.com

A comedy by Frank Vickery, directed by Derek Hodges. 

According to the Caxton Players this is a great comedy to get their season of to a good start. 

An all female cast from all walks of life find themselves sharing a hospital ward. 

The central character Marlene somehow manages to bring them altogether and seems to get herself involved in all their private lives, including one of the nurses. None of them are sure that they really wanted her involvement in their lives, but the results are at times hilarious.

Saturday 20th March – 27th March 

WILD BOYZ: The Caxton Theatre, Cleethorpe Road, Grimsby. 7.30pm, doors open 6.45pm. £7.50 (Saturdays), £7.00 (Monday – Friday) £6.00 (Concessions Monday). Telephone 01472 346251. All ages. Website: www.caxtontheatre.com  Written by Gordon Steele, directed by Pam Reynolds. The X Factor meets the Full Monty. 

Wild Boyz, by popular writer Gordon Steele, famous for A Kick in the Baubles and Like a Virgin, is hilarious, modern, adult comedy, with superb characters and some great musical numbers. 

This is a story of three unemployed brothers who decide to form a boy band, X Factor style, in the effort to become rich and famous. However, they keep their plan a secret from their girlfriends, which inevitably leads to trouble! 

Further problems arise from the sibling rivalry caused by their attempts to enter the heady world of show business.

Saturday, January 23 and Sunday, January 24 

THE LIKES OF US: Grimsby Central Hall, Duncombe Street, Grimsby.

Saturday: 2.30pm matinee & 7.45pm evening performance. Doors open 45 mins before perfomance. Tickets: Matinee - Circle £10, Stalls £6: Evening - Circle £11, Stalls £8

Sunday: 7.45pm Evening performance. Doors open 45 mins before performance. Tickets: Circle £11 Stalls £8 

Tickets available from: Caxton Ticket Office at Grimsby Central Library, Telephone: 01472 346251 or on the door. All ages. Car parking security on Duncombe Street car park. Website: www.grimsbycentralhall.org 

The life and times of legendary philanthropist Dr Barnardo is the subject of a vibrant musical coming to Grimsby.

Written by master of musical theatre Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber with his long-term creative partner Tim Rice, Central Hall is preparing to host The Likes Of Us, which tells the tale of the Irish doctor who rescued tens of thousands of children from poverty. The Silhouettes, under their new title of Silhouettes’ Musical Theatre, are staging the show as one of a limited number of amateur companies across the country to be granted a license to perform it.

The Likes Of Us was written in 1965, as the first collaboration by the award-winning Lloyd-Webber and Rice partnership, but was not performed until 2005.

Set in Victorian London, The Likes Of Us is a musical based on the life of the medic, Dr Barnardo – a fiery young medical student who gave up his plans to become a missionary in China, when he realised the extent of child homelessness in his own city.

This led to the foundation of the famous Barnardo’s children’s homes and the organisation that bears his name today.

As part of The Likes Of Us launch, Barnardo’s will receive a contribution from box office sales.

Friday, January 29 until Sunday, February 28

FORESIGHT EXHIBITION: Will be held in Monkey Pig and Pie Gallery at Fishing Heritage Centre, Alexandra Dock, Grimsby. Mon-Fri 10am-4pm. Sat, Sun and Bank Hols 11am-4pm. Free entry. Telephone: 01472 323345. (All ages) www.nelincs.gov.uk/leisure/museums 

Discover the story behind Grimsby’s famous Freeman Street, through artworks, photographs and historical displays.  

All the work has been created by the users of Foresight North East Lincolnshire Ltd. 

For the past nine months the East Marsh Charity, Foresight has been working in partnership with the Fishing Heritage Centre and North East Lincolnshire Council; running a project based around the history of Freeman Street called ‘Freemo is Right up my Street’.  

This project, funded by the Heritage Lottery fund, has seen our sensory impaired and physically disabled students attend various courses and activities taking place inside the centre and at locations connected with the heritage. 

The finale of the project is an exhibition of work to be held at the Fishing Heritage Centre and will include a video production of Freeman Street performed and recorded by drama students who volunteer at Foresight. Artwork, photography and ceramic interpretation of the heritage will also be on display. This will provide an excellent example of the personal development and progression of individuals accessing services through Foresight. 

‘Freemo is Right up my Street’; follows on from the success of two short movies which have been made with Foresight. The local charity which is situated in Newmarket Street and just off Freeman Street provides activities for people who have visual and physical disabilities. 

The East Marsh Charity, Foresight celebrated its first annual awards ceremony on Friday 18th December at the Grimsby the Grimsby Central Hall – the event was held to recognise members who have overcome great obstacles on the road to achievement.

The event acknowledged the learning, sporting and social achievements of volunteers and disabled people, in what the charity hopes will become a yearly occasion.

Sue Bell, projects manager for the charity, based on Grimsby’s Newmarket Street, said the ceremony was a chance to praise the people with various disabilities who make use of the organisation’s educational services and activities.

She said: “The people who were nominated were all chosen for going that little bit further and for doing that little bit more.

“The awards are also a way of showing what can be achieved by helping people overcome the barriers of their disability, as for some people just walking through our door for the first time is a barrier they have to overcome.”

Chair of Foresight John Cremen added: “The awards mean a lot because it shows these individuals they can come to Foresight and be appreciated and it also gives them something to aim for in the future.”

Twenty-four-year-old Stacey Eunson, of Grimsby Road, Cleethorpes, took home the award for most improved learner.

She said: “When they called my name out I was so nervous I didn’t want to go on the stage at first, but I feel so happy to win something.

“Foresight have taught me and helped me to get a job and I’m really grateful to them for everything they have done for me.”

Travis Browning, 22, of Westfield Grove, Cleethorpes, was crowned learner of the year after gaining a number of qualifications and securing part-time work earlier this year.

He said: “I joined Foresight as part of the Stepping Forward to Work scheme and took a variety of courses like confidence classes and courses in assertiveness which helped me to gain employment.

“I’ve managed to get a job working with North East Lincolnshire Care Trust Plus and the help I’ve received from Foresight has been tremendous – without them, I wouldn’t be where I am today.”

In total there were 21 awards all of which were sponsored by individuals, statutory agencies, and local businesses; sponsors included: Austin Mitchell MP, North East Lincolnshire Care Trust Plus, North East Lincolnshire Council, and Humberside Police amongst others.

And, the Supporting Children Award was sponsored by the East Marsh Ward Councillors; it was a pleasure to attend event along with Councillor Jon-Paul Howarth to present the award to Graham Clark. Well done, Graham and everyone else who won an award but on the day everyone was a winner – even those people who were not nominated. Foresight is an excellent charity, and they work tirelessly for people with disabilities.

  On behalf of myself, my family, the local Liberal Democrat team, and my Lib Dem colleagues on the Council I would like to wish you all a merry Christmas and a happy New Year.

  For many people who live in East Marsh like people all across the UK 2009 has been an extremely difficult year. East Marsh faces many unique challenges but we have ground to be optimistic; we must now put the past behind us.

We can look forward to what will hopefully be a more healthy and successful 2010. There already cranes beginning to appear in the East Marsh, new homes are being built in Roberts Street and Oxford Street; the new library is well under way and is planned to be open in the Spring; work will soon start on the Havelock Academy and the New Salvation Army Hostel; Guildford Street Development Brief; wider housing improvements; the upgrade of Sutherland Park will start early in the New Year; and work is progressing well on the old Birds Eye site which could make way for 177 new home in the near future. This is all potentially good news.  

Whatever you have planned over the festive season, I hope that all of you can enjoy spending time with family and friends and that your seasonal celebrations are happy and relaxing.

I know I am looking forward to spending time “chilling out”, visiting the grandchildren and I will be hoping that all the dreams and wishes of the children of the East Marsh come true at this particular time of the year.

This is a time of the year that Councillors would like to be quiet, BUT don’t hesitate to get in touch if I can help with any problems, address any issues or answer any questions, I’m always happy to hear from you directly.

Anyway, if you are unable to contact me, you’re bound to see me out and about in the ward delivering the rest of my 2010 Calendars and all my contact details are on there as well as this website.

Again, I wish you and all your family and friends a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

With very best wishes,

Councillor Steve Beasant

One of the major successes of the recent “Big Conversation” – Community Engagement Week was the East Marsh Awards an event run by East Marsh Involve and held at the Casablanca Club. The original idea for the night came from Councillor Jon-Paul Howarth, and event proved to be a tremendous success. There were a number of awards presented on the night; however the first to reported on this site is the ‘Team of the Year’. 

North East Lincolnshire Care Trust Plus Older Peoples Collaborative were named ‘Team of the Year’ on Friday 11th at the Casablanca Club and the award was presented by the Chair of East Marsh Involve, John Harrison. 

The awards evening which took place was all about rewarding the people that work hard to bring about changes in their community.  

The Older People’s Collaborative was one of five teams in total nominated for the award in their category.  

The team work avidly through out the year to benefit the older community in the East Marsh. They provide a number of services to local people including a social club on Wednesdays and a lunch club on Thursdays, which are both held at St. Andrews Church, Albion Street. 

Martin Wakefield, project manger for the older people’s  collaborative, said: “They are delighted to have been recognised for their achievements.

“Older people’s lives can be very difficult with various problems such as social isolation, fear of crime and lack of access to services. Our teams are made up of groups of older people in communities who want to bring positive changes to the lives of their peers.  

“We know from personal accounts how much the members value our clubs and strong friendships have been forged amongst many who attend. People who previously didn’t go out now look forward to at least two days a week being out with friends in their community”. 

If you’d like to create a team for your area or want to know more about the older people’s collaborative, contact Martin Wakefield on (01472) 232267.  

Yesterday, the real Father Christmas visited the East Marsh Ward; yes, it was Councillor Steve Beasant.

It was a great afternoon and Santa visited the East Marsh Children’s Centre Christmas Panto; and when I arrived the show was in full flow. It was great to see all the parents, children, and little tots who were all enthralled by what was truly a great show.

But for me and I will never forget this event, the handing out all of the presents to the young children – and many of whom were literally over moon. And, there is one thing for definite; from those little innocent eyes you can see they really do “believe in Father Christmas”. I just hope all their Christmas wishes and dreams come true.

Once again, it was a great show and special thanks should go to the Central Hall, the Staff at Children’s Centre, the parents and especially the young children for giving me such wonderful smile – they have definitely made my Christmas extra special.

I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a Very Merry Christmas, and hope to see you all at next year’s panto.

The latest reported crime figures for the East Marsh Ward where released today by Humberside Police, and were posted on their website. The latest figures are unfortunately a week or so later than normal; owing to the fact that all police force data is now fed into the national police website.

The crime figures show that the average number of crimes in the ward has decreased (note: the figure are taken over a 3 month period and compared with the same 3 months last year).

In the same period crime across the whole of North East Lincolnshire has decreased by 17.3%.

Ø      Overall level of crime in the ward has decreased by 17.8% (Over the last 12 months)

Ø      Burglary has decreased by 48.3%

Ø      Robbery has increased by 28.6%

Ø      Vehicle crime has increased by 35.7% (Residents who attend East Marsh Involve, will be well aware that we had expected this figure to rise; due to residents leaving Sat Navs and other valuables in their vehicles unattended. It is important to make sure that you remove all valuables when you leave your vehicle unattended)

Ø      Violence has decreased by 23.9%

Ø      Anti-social behaviour has decreased by 17% 

To view latest crime statistics for the North East Lincolnshire area >>>>CLICK HERE (as well as finding details of overall crime you can find crime level per ward, i.e.: East Marsh, Heneage, Yarborough, Croft Baker, etc.)

  Yesterday, I spent the morning handing out a little Christmas cheer to the local residents of the East Marsh; I was out and about delivering our annual New Year calendars. Like many other parts of the UK it was white all over, but in many respects it was the ideal weather for leafleting and hopefully when I have finished posting these early morning posts I will be out again. 

  On Saturday afternoon, I went up to the Junior Wardens Christmas Party; along with my two grandchildren (Nathan and James) and Councillor Les Bonner.  

It was a great opportunity to meet our local wardens prior to Christmas, and thank them for all their hard work over the last year. They carry out some great work across the whole of North East Lincolnshire, and they really work hard to engage with the local young people of our area.  

The Junior Wardens is a marvelous success story. Young people are committed to the scheme, and in many local areas young people are taking a real interest in their local environment. 

It was a great afternoon at the party, and I am pleased to say that there were a number of youngsters from the East Marsh area; as well as, the Yarbrough, the Nunsthorpe and other wards from across the borough.  

It was well organised party, with dancing, plenty of ‘yummy’ food, games and even Santa made a special appearance, but can guess who took time out to dress up as Santa?

Today the Grimsby Telegraph reported that twenty play areas across North East Lincolnshire are set for a major refurbishment.

It is a question of waiting until you “see-saw” what will be appearing in your local area, and on this occasion nearly all parts of the borough will benefit.

A £1-million pound Government grant will see 22 of the region’s outdoor areas upgraded, enhanced and improved over the next two years.

The grant is part of the Government’s Playbuilder scheme and will see the renovation and replacement of existing equipment or the building of completely new play areas.

Project manager for North East Lincolnshire Council Barbara Walker said: “The Government see good quality play as an essential way of enriching young people’s lives.

“To that end, we have come up with some fantastically innovative ideas for play and creativity in our local area.

“These play areas are well-used by children and parents and will provide an excellent social focus for the community.

“These sites will be placed at the heart of our communities and will fulfil the needs of residents and their children.”

Councillor Steve Hocknell, portfolio holder for culture, leisure and healthier communities said: “The contractors are currently on site to install the first new play facility in Grimsby.

“We have consulted with young people on what play equipment they would like to see in their parks and all of the designs have been developed with their ideas in mind.

“We are keen to ensure children, young people and their families understand these are their play areas and therefore it is important they have an input in what they will feature.”

One of the first open spaces to benefit from Playbuilder Scheme is Sutherland Park, which is due to receive a £50,000 makeover.

Above is an artist’s impression of the new pay equipment which will be installed at Sutherland Park.

  Yesterday at the Planning Committee, permission was granted for the new build Havelock Academy within the existing Academy grounds. The building will replace the existing Academy buildings, with exception of the existing sports building and swimming pool. Thereafter, the rest of the Academy will be demolished; following demolition the area occupied by the existing Academy buildings will be landscaped and used for sports activities. 

  The new Academy will provide 900 places for students aged 11-16, plus a further 200 places in a sixth form facility for students aged 16-18. The Academy will have eight forms of entry based on House Tutor Groups, with specialisms in Mathematics, Computing and Technology delivered through the International Baccalaureate programme. 

Following consultation with the authority and local resident’s access to the new building will be similar to the existing arrangements, with all pedestrian and vehicular access being from Holyoake Road. There will also be a dedicated access for cyclists from Unity Road.

The inherent flexibility and zoning of the design will allow use of the facilities by the Academy and the wider community, especially the sports building and swimming pool. At the centre of the new academy will be a new double height lecture theatre that will also available for community use. 

Several renewable technologies have been incorporated into the scheme, in order to satisfy current requirements for energy conservation. The most significant of these will be a biomass boiler. This will be the lead heat source, supplying heat for space heating and hot water provision. 

Within the grounds they is also incorporated an amphitheatre, a maze, play areas, a pond, and the school also intends to make use of the adjoining allotments. 

Speaking at the Planning Meeting, Councillor Steve Beasant said: “I have no hesitation moving this application. 

“For once I am really excited about a Planning application and the Every Child Matters Agenda; this planning application for the very first time since I left school makes me enthusiastic – I want to go back to school. I can now see the importance of schools design on the curriculum and the Every Child Matters Agenda. 

“This is why I am excited, because when you look at these plans; it is great to see the amount of detail gone into designing the sport’s facilities, the play area – this will hopefully help us begin to tackle the obesity agenda. Every single sport is taken into account. 

“It will be a total learning environment, the whole package is superb and our officers along with the school and developers need congratulating for this innovative design. 

“Hopefully, this new school will begin to raise aspiration within the local area, they now have a good leadership team and many good teachers; a new school is only building blocks but it should continue the schools improvement journey and attract further quality staff to the area. 

“I am very pleased that this new school will help to raise aspiration and educational standards of many of the children from the East Marsh.”    

  Last week in the Fiveways Neighbourhood, it was the ‘Big Conversation’ and running alongside the Community Engagement Week there was also a Week of Action which focused on a number of priorites highlighted by the local community.

  Today the Grimsby Telegraph has reported that five people were arrested after a series of drugs raids during the week.

Police swooped on properties in Eleanor Street and Comber Place in Grimsby and Grimsby Road, Cleethorpes, as part of a focus by officers in the Fiveways area.

Three men and two women were arrested during the raids, which took place between Monday, December 7 and Saturday, December 12 and included the Sidney Sussex, East Marsh and Heneage wards.

Officers were also focusing on road safety and offered advice to motorists and cyclists in the area.

John Willis, neighbourhood co-ordinator for Fiveways, said: “The aim of the scheme was to focus resources in a small area to tackle priorities that have been identified as community concerns.

“It is important these issues are brought to our attention.”

Two of the five people arrested in the raids have been charged with possessing of a controlled substance, one has received a caution and the remaining two are currently on bail pending further enquiries.

It is important to remember that each of the three Neighbourhood Forums have highlighted these issues as Community Priorities.

In the case of East Marsh Involve, the community members will be very pleased that Humberside have taken action against the properties in Eleanor Street and Comber Place, also the property outside the ward which could have been affecting the residents of the East Marsh.

Today’s Grimsby Telegraph reported that Humberside Fire and Rescue Service is working hard to stamp attacks on derelict buildings, after two properties on a Grimsby Street were set alight within minutes of each – the first incident occurred at 7.37pm and the second a few minutes later at 7.48pm.

Firefighters from five stations, in seven appliances, put out the fires that ripped through the properties on Guildford Street.

It took fire crews from Cleethorpes, Immingham, Waltham and Grimsby’s Cromwell Road and Peaks Lane stations over an hour to get the blazes under control.

The worrying concern is that these incidents, really overstretched the Brigade and if there was a major incident in some other area of the Borough things could have been serious.

This is not the first time that there as been a fire on the street; it is due for demolition earlier next year. And children and young people alike should not be playing in this area – you should asking ‘Where are Your Kids Tonight?’

On October 13, I wrote an article about fire on Guildford Street and onJune 4, this year Humberside Fire and Rescue Service wrote an article for this website, titled: ‘Where are Your Kids Tonight?’

The article had the desired outcome, because arson attacks in the Guildford Street area decreased dramatically for a while.

It is important that you know where your children are playing tonight, tomorrow, and everyday. Guildford Street is not area for young people and children to be playing – it will soon be a demolition site.

Please take time to read the article below which was written by Humberside Fire Service on June 4:

  In the past weeks (late May) there has been a massive increase in the number of fire calls to properties in and around the East Marsh area, which not only pose a danger to local residents and attending fire crews, but also to the perpetrators of this anti – social behaviour. Humberside Fire & Rescue Service are working with agencies throughout North East Lincolnshire in an effort to reduce the number of calls to arson attacks on derelict properties within East Marsh by engaging with youth groups, youth offending teams, police, Shoreline Housing and local ward councillors to reduce this anti social behaviour. 

  We need to do this before somebody is killed in an arson attack. 

  This area is without doubt one of the worse areas in the town.

  The question I am asking you is: 

  Where are your kids tonight? 

  Are they out playing with matches and lighters?

  Having a laugh with their mates?

The question we need to ask is when does having a laugh with your mates become anti-social behaviour? 

When your children arrive home in the evening do they smell of petrol, or do they have scorch marks on their clothes, do they smell of smoke?

These are tell tale signs that you can spot. You can help us to bring down these figures and help make your community safer for all. 

Your local fire station is on call 24 hours a day 365 days a year, they are ready to respond to any emergency call, and will arrive within minutes ready to put their lives in danger to save others. You can save a life quite easily by being aware of what your children are doing, and putting a stop to this.  

You can contact us confidentially by calling or texting 07940 737141 and leaving us information relating to deliberately lit fires in your area.

Normally, East Marsh Involve is held on the last Tuesday of each month; however we all recognised that most people want to spend time at home over the Christmas and New Year. At our last meeting we decided to meet on Tuesday, 15th December at 6pm, and the venue as usual will be the Grimsby Neighbourhood – all local residents are welcome to attend. 

On this occasion, the agenda will be shorter than usual; however following the meeting their will be buffet which will give you a chance to meet other residents from the local area.

East Marsh Involve is a local community group that is run by local residents; with the aim of making East Marsh a better place to live. We aim to, engage, inform and empower local residents in order that they can take decisions about their local community. 

The Grimsby Neighbourhood Centre is on the corner of Weelsby Street and Wellington Street, and the meetings are always held on the last Tuesday of each month. 

AGENDA FOR EAST MARSH INVOLVE – Tuesday 15th November, 6pm:  

Ø     East Marsh Priority Setting (John Willis)

Ø     Minutes of Last Meeting

Ø     Councillor’s Ward Funding and Other Funding Requests

Ø      Any Other Business

East Marsh Involve is keen to hear from local residents about local issues and priorities that are affecting you and local neighbours, we recognise that not everyone can attend local community meetings; therefore if you want to find out more about the process please view here: a4-east-marsh-poster.pdf.

A local East Marsh teenager is representing youngsters from the UK at the Copenhagen climate conference. Leon Ward, 17, is training as a reporter at the landmark conference on climate change after being chosen by the children’s charity Plan. 

Leon received £500 of Fairshare Youth funding from local community group East Marsh Involve to assist him to attend the conference and said “that he was grateful to them for assisting him to be able to attend the conference.”

Leon on his return will be giving a talk on the conference to East Marsh Involve and is also playing his part in improving the area environment by being an active member of East Marsh Involves’ Environmental Sub-Group.

The Franklin College student said: “I am passionate about climate change. I want to do all I can to make sure the opinions of young people are heard at this conference.

“We are the generation which is going to inherit this problem and we should have a say in what happens.  

“As a reporter out there I will be able to ask the questions that young people want to know the answers to.” 

The climate conference began on Monday and is scheduled to last 12 days, with US president Barack Obama due to attend in the final days. 

More than 15,000 delegates and 45,000 green activists are due to descend on the Danish capital during the meeting, which has been described by British economist Lord Stern as “the most important since the Second World War”. 

They will be joined by at least 5,000 journalists and 100 world leaders.

  In yesterday’s Grimsby Telegraph, there was letter written by the “so called” Conservative Candidate for the East Marsh Ward; it appears he is against this area receiving a grant from the Homes and Communities Agency to build the new Hostel.

  He makes a number of points, and I will answer them in turn:

  Firstly, he says “the new Salvation Army building on Eleanor Street, Grimsby, and wonder, has the management team and the North East Lincolnshire Council thought this through? No, they haven’t.”

It is not up to the Council to dictate to the Salvation Army were the Hostel should go, but the choice of location is a good choice; it is at the heart of many of the services that will be needed by some of the residents. Locally, there is: Open Door, Harbour Place the Salvation Army HQ, the Care Trust Plus, local shops, housing services, and it will close to GP surgeries. The location is ideal, and the Tory Candidate must remember that the Planning Committee voted by NINE votes to NONE against for the reasons that I have mentioned; that means the Tory Chairman, Philip Jackson voted in favour and application was moved by the Mayor, Councillor John Colebrook and Seconded by Councillor P. Mills (both Conservative).

He then went onto ask why: “they have made an extra consultation with the residents of the East Marsh first?”

As usual with any Planning Application immediate neighbours and properties that are affected by the development are notified and consulted; however any other residents is given the chance to either write in object or support any planning application. Also residents, who regularly attend East Marsh Involve, will know that I reported on this development prior to it going to planning and no resident objected.

The Tory Candidate appears to indicate that he would prefer to see the new hostel being built on a different site, he suggests: “One possibility is the former Birds Eye factory site on Ladysmith Road.”

If you have read my previous post, you will realise that this is earmarked for 177 new houses; therefore not only is against the regeneration of a derelict site but he also wants to put on hold the development of the Birds Eye site.

I am totally committed, to this new development; it will regenerate a waste piece of land that as stood derelict for many years (as can be seen above). The site will be transformed by a landmark building, that will hopefully be the catalyst to further regeneration in Eleanor Street and could kick-start the regeneration of Freeman Street.

For many years the Birds Eye Factory on Ladysmith Road employed hundreds of local people from the surrounding area, the factory was synonymous with the Fish Finger. Within the Fish Finger alone, which was the heart of the factory over 200 local people were employed at any one time in the production of the famous Birds Eye Fish Fingers.

Most local people have fond memories their working days at the site, and production finally ceased at the Grimsby site in 2005. But disaster struck in September, 2007 when there was a major fire on the site; which left the largest building on the site burnt out to the ground.

Following the fire, the demolition started within days but it was beset by difficulties.

The latest news is reported in today’s Grimsby Telegraph and the situation is looking more and more positive – possibly we are looking at the light at the end of the tunnel!

It is now expected that the site of the former Bird’s Eye factory could be transformed by the end of next year.

Residents are celebrating today following the news that new developer Melbourne Holdings Ltd, of Sleaford, has now bought the site – and plans rid locals of the long-standing eyesore as quickly as possible.

Ladysmith Road resident Sue Hobbins, 54, said: “It will be nice when it is finished – and by that I mean with some homes on there.”

As reported, planning permission for 177 homes had been granted to the site’s former owners – Sheffield-based Capricorn Homes – in June 2007, but the firm went into liquidation in July last year.

Jane Thomas, a property manager with Melbourne holdings, said the firm was still unsure whether it would continue to develop the site according to the existing plans, or submit a new application.

However, she added that it was hoped the site would be fully cleared by February and that building work would begin at some stage in 2010. 

She said: “We have bought the site with planning permission that it already has (the planning application can be viewed HERE). 

“We will be demolishing the remaining building on the site and then looking at the possibility of developing on it ourselves, or – if anybody is interested in building on it – we will consider that as well. 

“At this moment we are not sure which way we are going to go, but I think the site has got good potential and I know that the housing that Stamford Homes built next to it has sold very well.” 

BJ Patchett and Sons, formerly BJ Plant, plant is the company who has been given the task of clearing the site and work is continuing at a pace. 

Managing Director, Barry Patchett said: “We completed phase one of the clear-up and we have now been asked to do phase two.

“There is some asbestos in the building at the back of the site so we are removing that and then demolishing the remaining buildings including the chimney, We hope to have it all clear by the middle of February next year, but we are rather dependent on the weather.” 

Councillor Geoff Lowis, portfolio holder for regeneration and housing at North East Lincolnshire Council, said: “With the original planning permission we managed to get 30 per cent of them for affordable units of which there is a real shortage in this area. 

“I just hope that, given the current climate, the new developer does something with it, and if it can join up with somebody like Shoreline that would be great.” 

Councillor Steve Beasant (East Marsh, Liberal Democrat) said: ”This is great news for the local area, If there are going to be new homes, the area’s residents will be really, really pleased to see the builders move onto the site and the demolition workers move off – once and for all. 

“The is the news the residents have been waiting for, they want to see new home not another blight on the community – they had many year living close to factory, but that as now gone. I welcome the news that the new developer is committed to the original planning application.”

Normally, East Marsh Involve is held on the last Tuesday of each month; however we all recognised that most people want to spend time at home over the Christmas and New Year. At our last meeting we decided to meet on Tuesday, 15th December at 6pm (which is next week), and the venue as usual will be the Grimsby Neighbourhood – all local residents are welcome to attend. 

On this occasion, the agenda will be shorter than usual; however following the meeting their will be buffet which will give you a chance to meet other residents from the local area.

East Marsh Involve is a local community group that is run by local residents; with the aim of making East Marsh a better place to live. We aim to, engage, inform and empower local residents in order that they can take decisions about their local community. 

The Grimsby Neighbourhood Centre is on the corner of Weelsby Street and Wellington Street, and the meetings are always held on the last Tuesday of each month. 

AGENDA FOR EAST MARSH INVOLVE – Tuesday 15th November, 6pm:  

Ø     East Marsh Priority Setting (John Willis)

Ø     Minutes of Last Meeting

Ø     Councillor’s Ward Funding and Other Funding Requests

Ø      Any Other Business

East Marsh Involve is keen to hear from local residents about local issues and priorities that are affecting you and local neighbours, we recognise that not everyone can attend local community meetings; therefore if you want to find out more about the process please view here: a4-east-marsh-poster.pdf.

Yesterday, as part of the ‘Big Conversation’ local residents were able to visit Grant Thorold to view plans of the new Library; and to talk to the Library staff about the building which is presently progressing on site. 

The construction work on the new library is now well under way. The foundations have been laid and the walls are currently being constructed. They are a special construction, which will improve the energy efficiency of the new building.   

They look like polystyrene, but are in fact filled with concrete. Additional steelwork will make these walls strong enough to support the roof structure and the special ‘living wall’ – more news about that later. 

The contractors are doing all they can to minimise disruption to local residents whilst the build progresses, and the library services are writing regular update letters to all the residents whose property faces the Park. The latest letter includes an activity sheet for young children, which is a fun way to warn them of the dangers which can occur on building sites. 

Residents were to today given the chance to shape of a multi-million pound regeneration of an area of Grimsby’s East Marsh; a consultation event was held at the Grimsby Neighbourhood Centre as part of the Community Engagement Week.

Local residents were asked to express their views on three options which have now been put forward for the future of Guildford Street.

As reported, 100 homes will be demolished as part of the £7.9-million revamp of one of Grimsby’s most deprived areas.

The redevelopment of Guildford Street is part of a 10-year plan to regenerate the area.

Members of North East Lincolnshire Council’s cabinet have now supported a draft development plan for the council-owned site, listing the three options.

Councillor Geoff Lowis, portfolio holder for regeneration and strategic housing, said: “We want our residents to be involved throughout each stage of the Guildford Street development and we are pleased that they have been giving feedback on this latest phase.”

All three options for Guildford Street propose demolition of 100 homes to be replaced with between 70 to 80 new ones.

Option One: Maintains the existing alignment of the street and includes a pedestrian access from Castle Street and amenity areas.

Option Two: Would see four and a half blocks of houses divided by pedestrian zones.

Option Three: Is similar and provides space to expand the SureStart community facility on the western side of Guildford Street.

Councillor Steve Beasant. (East Marsh Ward) who attended the event, said: “It is great that we are moving forward with this project; early in the New Year things should really begin to develop. However, there is still a long way to go, but hopefully in a few years time this area will be radically transformed.”

FIVEWAYS in Grimsby will host North East Lincolnshire’s latest Community Engagement Week from Monday, December 7, giving residents from East Marsh, Heneage and Sidney Sussex wards the opportunity to get involved in a host of activities and events. 

The week highlights the services provided by the council and its partners and gives everyone the chance to have their say on the decisions that affect their neighbourhood. 

Brought together by North East Lincolnshire’s Strategic Partnership, the week promises to offer something for everyone. Paula Grant, Chair of the LSP, said: “This week of events brings together a host of agencies that will be highlighting the range of services and activities that are on offer in the Fiveways area.  

“The event will start on Monday with workers from Fiveways taking to the streets. This will give local residents the opportunity to voice their opinions about living in the Fiveways area. We hope to meet lots of people during the week who will like to find out about how to get more involved in their local community.”  

Highlights include Question Time which returns on Tuesday, December 8, allowing residents to put their questions to officers about local development work.  

A drop-in session will be held at Grant Thorold Library where plans for the new library will be on display alongside a selection of local history photographs. A Christmas Fayre and awards night will take place on Friday and everyone is invited to take a stroll through Weelsby Woods and chat to officers about local issues.  

Young people will also have an opportunity to take part and the library will be running their after-school club and Little Readers Group. Families are also invited to participate in making Christmas decorations at Your Place, Weelsby Street. 

The week will draw to a close on Saturday, December 12 with an international market at Freeman Street Market where officers will be on hand to chat to residents. 

For a complete schedule of events please visit the council’s website, www.nelincs.gov.uk

Fiveways will play host to the latest Community Engagement Week from Monday 7 December to Saturday 12 December. Residents from East Marsh, Heneage and Sidney Sussex will get the chance to participate in various activities throughout the week.

Community Engagement Week allows residents to express their opinion and influence the decisions the council and its local partners make in the borough. It also shows what the council and its partners do and what activities residents can participate in.

The week will involve lots of activities prepared by the Local Strategic Partnership (LSP). The LSP brings together the chairs of partnerships and the senior decision makers of organisations working in the key areas of employment, education, crime, health, housing and general well-being. It was founded on the belief that more can be achieved by working together and with the community, than any one single organisation could working on its own.

Cllr Andrew De Freitas, leader of the council, said: “There will be lots of events for the whole community to get involved with. Community Engagement Week is an excellent opportunity for residents to have their say.”

Should you require any further information regarding the Big Conversation, please contact North East Lincolnshire Council on 01472 313131.

See below for the events schedule.

Monday December 7 – Promotional Day

9.30am-7.30pm Ward walk: a promotional day to gather intelligence from the Community on the issues in the area.

11.30am Tennants’ workshop at Freeman Street Resource Centre

1pm-4pm St Christopher’s Welcome Club chocolate demonstration, Heneage Hainton

3pm-5pm Feelgood Health Trainers, Stirling Street

4pm-5pm After-school club at Grant Thorold Library

5.30pm-7.30pm Under-13s football academy at Shalom Youth Centre

6pm Carol and Cookies at Trinity Church of the Nazarene

Am & Pm Adult Learning at Freeman Street Resource Centre

TBC Class visit, including visit by cast of Panto, at Grant Thorold library

Tuesday December 8 – Green Day

9am-11.30am Health Trainers - drop-in session, at East Marsh Community Centre

10am-11am Health Trainers - Fun and Fitness, at St Hughes

10am-noon Winter Warmer - Make Christmas decorations followed by mince pies and coffee. At Your Place, Weelsby Street

10am-noon Health Trainers - drop-in session, Reynold Street School

10am-2pm The Environment Trailer will be at Grant Thorold Park entrance opposite Rutland Street. It will include leaflets on other neighbourhood services as well as trading standards initiative in reducing the amount of excess packaging used by businesses.

1pm-3pm Drop-in Mother and Toddler Group, Health Trainers, at Grant Thorold Library

4pm-5pm After School Club at Grant Thorold Library

6pm Question Time - ask local officers about local developments. At the Pavillion, Sussex Recreation Group

Wednesday December 9 – New Opportunities Day

10am Walk Well – Led by Barry Everett and Bill Dolphin. Chat to officers about local issues while strolling around Weelsby Woods. Meet at Weelsby Woods Café (Newby Centre)

11am-noon Luncheon Club, St Christopher’s, Heneage Hainton

1.30pm–3.30pm Social Club (Older People’s Collaborative) at St Andrew’s Church Hall

1.30pm–3.30pm Health Trainers - drop-in session at the Rainbow Centre

4pm-5pm After School Club at Grant Thorold Library

6pm-9pm Youth Bank Re-Launch at Central Hall

6pm Havelock Academy Christmas Concert, featuring the Academy Choir, Orchestra, Rock Band and a selection of solos and ensembles. Followed by the annual Christmas market.

Thursday December 10 – Culture Day

9.45am Beaconthorpe Christmas Party, Friendship at Home, Sydney Sussex

10am-noon DJ workshop for young people who are clients of the Space Project. At the Space Project, Rutland Street.

10am–2pm Informal drop-in session to view local history photographs of Grimsby and Cleethorpes and find out about family history research. At Grant Thorold Library

10am-7pm Display of plans and photos of the progress of the new library. Staff on hand to discuss with customers. Grant Thorold Library

11am-1pm Men’s Group, Open Door

noon–1.30pm Luncheon Club at St Andrew’s Church, Albion Street

1.30pm-3pm Little Readers story time for under-fives. Drop-in session at Grant Thorold Library

4pm–5pm After-school club at Grant Thorold Library

5pm-6pm Football academy for under-13s at Havelock Academy

6pm-7pm Football academy for over-13s at Havelock Academy

6.45pm for 7.30pm start Caxton Youth Theatre presents Terry Pratchett’s Mort. Tickets £5 from Caxton Theatre box office, Grimsby Central Library, on (01472) 346521. At Caxton Theatre, 128 Cleethorpe Road.

Friday December 11 – Community Day

12.30pm–3pm Christmas Fayre at Grimsby Neighbourhood Centre, Weelsby Street

7pm East Marsh Awards Night at the Casablanca Club

6.45pm for 7.30pm start Caxton Youth Theatre presents Terry Pratchett’s Mort. Tickets £5 from Caxton Theatre box office at Grimsby central Library on (01472) 346521. At Caxton Theatre, 128 Cleethorpe Road

10am–3pm Then and now event, featuring photos and stories of times past and the present day. Including a raffle and tea and coffee.

Saturday December 12 – Community Day (continued)

All day International Christmas Market, Freeman Street Market

6pm-9pm Football academy for 10- to 19-year-olds, at Weelsby

6.45pm for 7.30pm start Caxton Youth Theatre presents Terry Pratchett’s Mort. Tickets £5 from Caxton Theatre box office, Grimsby central Library, on (01472) 346521. At Caxton Theatre, 128 Cleethorpe Road

A draft Development Brief has been prepared that considers the potential to redevelop the section of Guildford Street between Wellington Street and Cope Street. Following this consultation exercise, the Council intends to adopt the Brief as a Supplementary Planning Document that will form part of the North East Lincolnshire Local Development Framework. The Adopted Brief will then provide a basis for assessing future planning applications for the Guildford Street site. The Brief will not provide a prescriptive solution for the site’s redevelopment; it will set out a series of design principles which should be followed when more detailed proposals are being prepared. 

This consultation invites comments on the content of the draft Brief. The preparation of the draft Brief has been informed by consultation, but the design principles and potential options have not been subject to public ocnsultation previously. This is your opportunity to shape the future development of the site by commenting on the draft Brief. 

Consultation

Copies of the draft Brief are available for inspection at the following locations, during their normal opening hours: 

Ø       The Customer Access Reception, Civic Offices, Knoll Street, Cleethorpes

Ø       The Customer Access Reception, Municipal Offices, Town Hall Square, Grimsby

Ø       Grant Thorold Library, Durban Road, Grimsby

Ø       Renaissance Shop, 33 Victoria Street, Grimsby 

The Council will be holding a drop-in event where you can come along and see the draft Brief  

The event will take place at:

The Grimsby Neighbourhood Centre, Weelsby Street, Grimsby on Thursday 10th December 2009 from 12 Noon to 7pm 

The draft Brief can also be downloaded by clicking on the following link: Guildford Street Draft Development Brief (5820KB PDF file) (You will need Adobe Acrobat Viewer to view this document; this can be downloaded from the Downloads page.) You can also comment on the document via the online Consultation Portal. To find out more about the Consultation Portal click on the following link:  Getting Involved To go directly to the Consultation Portal click on the following link: 

Online Consultation Portal 

Comments can also be sent to:

Donna Riley, Project Manager, Fresh Start East Marsh, St James House, St James Square, Grimsby, DN31 1EP, or via email to donna.riley@nelincs.gov.uk 

All comments should be received by the Council by 5pm on Monday 18th January 2010.

As part of the Fiveways week of community engagement, North East Lincolnshire Care Trust Plus (CTP) and the LINK (Local Involvement Network) will have a stall at Freeman Street market on Friday, December 11 offering free blood pressure checks and lots of information about how people can get involved in local health services. 

Members of the public are being encouraged to come along and see how health and social care has evolved over the years with local pictures and stories depicting how things have changed. There will also be free tea, coffee and mince pies, a raffle and giveaways.  

The community engagement team will be available to answer questions about how people can get involved by joining Accord, a new community membership body for North East Lincolnshire that lets members have a say in how NHS money is spent. Accord was launched in June by the CTP to offer members the chance to shape health and social care services now and in the future. It now has over 2000 members.  

Jeremy Baskett, assistant director for community involvement and engagement at the CTP, said: “We’re holding this stall to encourage local people to get involved in being at the forefront of current changes in the way health and social care is provided locally.”  

  East Marsh Ward is one of three electoral wards which are included in the Fiveways Neighbourhood of North East Lincolnshire. The Partnership Agencies that work within the area need to have an understanding of the issues that are important to the people who live here, in order to target activity.   

East Marsh Involve is the local Forum for residents within the area, and identifies priorities within the East Marsh; it meets on the last Tuesday of every month 6.00pm at the Grimsby Neighbourhood Centre. We do however recognise that not everybody is able to or indeed wants to attend such meetings.

To ensure that as many residents have the opportunity to influence the priority setting for the area that directs the work of North East Lincolnshire organisations in the area. East Marsh is launching a Priorities Referral Form.  

This form (see below) is available from any of the community venues listed on it and can be returned to any of them from where they will be collected and the views contained will then be brought to the attention of the East Marsh Involve meetings where the local priorities are set in order to help shape those priorities.  

East Marsh Involve are also giving residents the opportunity to text in their concerns to us on 07855112474. Your views and concerns are vital to us so please get in touch. 

To view the East Marsh Priories Referral Form, view HERE. 

Community Engagement Week is back in the East Marsh next week with a bang, and East Marsh Children’s Centre will be working flat between now and Monday to make sure that the Big Conversation will be a massive success. 

On each of the six days the Children’s Centre will be playing a vital part in the community events, and they include: 

Monday 7 – Consultation – This is an opportunity to gather information on issues in the area. The meeting will be held at 9.30am at the Children’s Centre and tea and toast will be provided. 

Tuesday 8 – Green Day – An event to be held at ‘Your Place’ on Wellington Street and will include outside activities, recycling and making links with parks and green spaces. 

Wednesday 9 – New Opportunities Day – Promotion of opportunities available including training, volunteering and jobs. 

Thursday 10 – Cultural Day – A Celebration of different cultures. 

Friday 11 – Community Day – A Christmas Fayre will be held at Grimsby Neighbourhood Centre, Weelsby Street (1.00pm). 

Saturday 12 – Community Day – An event has been organised on Freeman Street Market – it will be great day out. A good opportunity to talk to officers, look around the market and also buy some fresh fruit and vegetables.

Next Week in the Fiveways Neighbourhood is Community Engagement Week; the neighbourhood incorporates the three wards of Heneage, Sidney Sussex and the East Marsh.

There are a number of events which are planned to take place across the whole of the Neighbourhood, and some of them have already been advertised on this website. One event that deserves star billing; is a showcase event which is the East Marsh Involve (EMI) “Awards Night” – Reaching for the Stars!

Yes, it’s true the OSCARS are coming to the East Marsh, and we’ll be giving out five well deserving “gongs”. It will be a great night, and the event will be held at the Casablanca Club on Oxford Street of Friday 11th December starting at 7.00pm. Admission for this event is FREE but I am assured that if you don’t turn up; you will be charged £5 just to “stay away”.

Surely, this is an offer you cannot refuse! Why not come down and enjoy the Big Conversation which is part of Community Engagement Week; and find out about all the good work that’s going on in the East Marsh.

Lisa Cox is the employability champion for the East Marsh. 

The 34-year-old mother of two has been given the task of spreading the word about training and job opportunities to fellow parents at the East Marsh Children’s Centre. 

Her main role will be to refer unemployed parents to the North East Lincolnshire Care Trust Plus (CTP) Employability Scheme, which offers work placements for up to 26 weeks. 

The role of employability champion is the result of a new partnership between the East Marsh Children’s Centre and the CTP. 

The partnership was forged during a meeting of the ward’s Worklessness Collaborative – a group of organisations and individuals aiming to improve employability within the area. 

Lisa said: “I speak to parents and ask them if they want to get back into work, and if so I refer them to the CTP. 

“A lot of people have been out of work for such a long time that they have got stuck in a rut. They have low self-esteem and are unsure about getting back into work. 

“But I have referred four people already and one has got a job. I’ve really enjoyed it.” 

Lisa is hoping to use her experience in her new role as a springboard to a career as a care worker. 

She is currently taking her maths and English GCSEs at the children’s centre. The centre offers a range of learning opportunities, from courses such as aromatherapy and cooking, to GCSE maths and English and computer skills. 

Another part of Lisa’s role will be to make parents aware of these opportunities. 

Lisa Gregory, the co-ordinator of the East Marsh Children’s centre, said: “We have approached parents at the centre who have shown an interest in getting some education or getting back into work. 

“What Lisa has really picked up on since she started her role is that there is already a lot of help and information out there – we just need to make people aware of it.” 

For more information, call into the East Marsh Children’s Centre on Victor Street, Grimsby, or call (01472) 326860.

During Community Engagement in the Fiveways Neighbourhood, East Marsh is staging a local history event on Thursday 12th December at the Grant Thorold Library.

Residents will be able to view historical images of Grant Thorold Park, Grimsby and Cleethorpes as they used be in “years gone by” – they will be available to view at a drop-in session between 12 noon and 2 pm, at the Grant Thorold Library.

There will be an opportunity to see the plans for the new Library, and if it is a nice day, it will be great opportunity to have a look at the progress that is already being made on the new building.

Jennie Mooney, learning and information services librarian will also be on hand to offer advice to people to help them get started researching their family history.

Jennie will be able to provide people with information and guidance such as signposting to useful websites.

IT is up to residents to decide the shape of a multi-million pound regeneration of an area of Grimsby’s East Marsh.

Three options have now been put forward for the future of Guildford Street, and residents are being invited to have their say.

As reported, 100 homes will be demolished as part of the £7.9-million revamp of one of Grimsby’s most deprived areas.

Earlier this year, a report revealed that parts of the East Marsh ward were the worst in the country for crime and deprivation.

The redevelopment of Guildford Street is part of a 10-year plan to regenerate the area.

Members of North East Lincolnshire Council’s cabinet have now supported a draft development plan for the council-owned site, listing the three options.

Councillor Geoff Lowis, portfolio holder for regeneration and strategic housing, said: “We want our residents to be involved throughout each stage of the Guildford Street development and we will be once again inviting feedback on this latest phase.”

All three options for Guildford Street propose demolition of 100 homes to be replaced with between 70 to 80 new ones.

Option One: Maintains the existing alignment of the street and includes a pedestrian access from Castle Street and amenity areas.

Option Two: Would see four and a half blocks of houses divided by pedestrian zones.

Option Three: Is similar and provides space to expand the SureStart community facility on the western side of Guildford Street.

Madeleine Bell, NELC’s deputy director of strategic housing, said: “This stage of the development is a major milestone as it helps us to visualise the impacts this development will have on everyone’s future.”

At a meeting of NELC planners, she said there was a demand for new affordable housing, in addition to proposals to develop the former Birds’ Eye factory site on Ladysmith Road into new houses.

The choice of which design for Guildford Street will be turned into reality will be made by April next year.

A consultation event will take place at the Grimsby Neighbourhood Centre, Weelsby Street during Community Engagement Week, on Thursday, December 10 from noon to 7pm.

Next week is Community Engagement Week; it is a six day event, and will begin on Monday 7th December and will finish on Saturday 12th December.  

Last year, Community Engagement week was held across the whole of North East Lincolnshire  with events taking place in each ward; this year the Local Strategic Partnership have taken a more ambitious approach by organising five separate Community Engagement Weeks – across each of the Neighbourhoods. 

This particular week will be held Fiveways Neighbourhood, which is made up of the Heneage, Sidney Sussex and East Marsh Wards, and all partners will be involved, including: North East Lincolnshire Council, Shoreline, Ward Councillors, Humberside Police, Humberside Fire and Rescue Service, the Care Plus Trust, Voluntary Action North East Lincolnshire and other Third Sector Organisations.

There are many events planned to place throughout the week, and it will be a great week – “The Big Conversation” – is back! On the Monday 7th December, all partners will be out on the streets; door knocking and listening to residents about their concerns about the local area. 

On Thursday 10th December at Grant Thorold Library residents will have the chance between 10.00am and 2.00pm to drop-in and view the plans for the new library plus there will also be display of local history photographs. 

There will be two important events on Friday 11th December and they include a Christmas Fayre at the Grimsby Neighbourhood Centre, 289a Weelsby Street and East Marsh Awards Night at the Casablanca Club in Oxford Street. The Christmas Fayre will be a great place to pick up a fantastic bargain for either your children or granchildren at the “good-as-new” toy sale – they will be great for stocking fillers! There will also be a Christmas Plant Sale as well as carols sung by local school children; this event will start at 12.30pm and finish at 3.30pm. 

The East Marsh Awards Evening promises to be a great night, and will commence at 7.30pm at the Casablanca Club; admission is FREE, but I have been told by the organising committee that if you don’t turn up you will charged £5 per person.

There are many more events happening throughout the week, and I will keep you up to date on this website, so don’t forget to listen for the “Big Conversation.”

The latest reported crime figures for the East Marsh Ward where released today by Humberside Police, and were posted on their website. The latest figures are unfortunately a week or so later than normal; owing to the fact that all police force data is now fed into the national police website.

The crime figures show that the average number of crimes in the ward has decreased (note: the figure are taken over a 3 month period and compared with the same 3 months last year).

In the same period crime across the whole of North East Lincolnshire has decreased by 9.6%.

Ø      Overall level of crime in the ward has decreased by 9.4% (Over the last 12 months)

Ø      Burglary has decreased by 29%

Ø      Robbery has increased by 57.1%

Ø      Vehicle crime has decreased by 1.4%

Ø      Violence has decreased by 17.7%

Ø      Anti-social behaviour has decreased by 13% 

To view latest crime statistics for the North East Lincolnshire area >>>>CLICK HERE (as well as finding details of overall crime you can find crime level per ward, i.e.: East Marsh, Heneage, Yarborough, Croft Baker, etc.)

  This Tuesday, November 24th East Marsh Involve will hold its usual monthly meeting at the Grimsby Neighbourhood Centre at 6pm – all local residents are welcome to attend. 

  East Marsh Involve is a local community group that is run by local residents; with the aim of making East Marsh a better place to live. We aim to, engage, inform and empower local residents in order that they can take decisions about their local community. 

Meetings of East Marsh Involve are very focused with generally a main agenda item such as for example recently the regeneration of the area especially at the moment Guildford Street and the Anti Social Behaviour around Rutland Street have been discussed.  

This enables full and frank discussion of the issues and paves the way for Action Plans to be created, acted upon by agencies and individuals working in the area and the results of those actions are reported back to future meetings of the group.  

The Grimsby Neighbourhood Centre is on the corner of Weelsby Street and Wellington Street, and the meetings are always held on the last Tuesday of each month. 

AGENDA FOR EAST MARSH INVOLVE – Tuesday 24 November, 6pm:  

Ø     East Marsh Priority Setting (John Willis)

Ø     Minutes of Last Meeting

Ø     Councillor’s Ward Funding and Other Funding Requests

Ø      Councillor’s Report

Ø      Environmental Sub-Group Report

Ø      Neighbourhood Worker’s Report

Ø      Any Other Business

Please be aware that all local residents are eligible to attend this meeting, and have their say about local services - it’s your chance to have your views taken on board and make a difference to the East Marsh. 

Work commenced on the building of the new Grant Thorold Library after Planning Permission was finally granted in late July; contractors moved onto the site in the middle of September and work is beginning to progress well – even taking account of the bad weather.

The piling was completed by using a huge auger and then piping the concrete in, rather than using pile drivers, as this way there was no noise or reverberation for the local residents. 

Recently residents, will have started to have noticed a great deal of work being carried out on the site; which involved erecting timber shuttering ready for the foundations, and at the same time some the initial steelwork was erected (see the photograph above). Therefore, it is now possible to visualise roughly the overall dimensions both in height and floor layout of the new library – once it as been built. Hopefully ready for the opening of the Library to local residents in the early spring next year.

On Wednesday November 18th, the Planning Committee approved plans for a new hostel for the homeless is being built on a key site in Grimsby.

 The principal objective of the plans are to replace the existing Salvation Army hostel on Brighowgate which is no longer fit for purpose with a new high quality purpose built facility housing 35 homeless men & women in Grimsby. The facility aims to provide on-site training programmes and education equipping them with life skills providing opportunities for future employment. All residents are to be provided with ongoing support and mentoring in order to reintegrate them back into society. 

The requirement for a new hostel has been firmly established following a full review of the existing facilities at Brighowgate, which are unable to cope with rising standards of accommodation requirements, disabled access issues and directives from central government towards increasing the level of care and services provided by Local Authority Supporting People services. 

The four-storey development from the Salvation Army will be constructed on derelict land on Eleanor Street, near to the corner with Freeman Street which is prominent corner in the East Marsh Ward - as remained unused for many years - and is consequently an eyesore.  

The site will now be given a new lease of life and will soon cater for residents. There will be bedrooms will be en-suite, with communal kitchens and dining facilities, and the hostel will also have training facilities and a quiet room. 

North East Lincolnshire Council’s Planning Committee unanimously approved The Salvation Army Trustee Company’s plan, which received no objections. 

Principal planning officer Phil Wallis said the hostel, costing between £4-million and £5-million, was a “quality building” with solar panels on the roof. Access will be from Eleanor Street. 

At the meeting of the Planning Committee, Councillor Peter Barker said: “it is a prestigious building and in an important location. 

“Those that reside there will be close to shops and bus routes and the Salvation Army Headquarters in Duncombe Street.” 

Shortly after the meeting, East Marsh Ward Councillor Steve Beasant (Liberal Democrat) welcomed the news that Planning Committee had approved the application unanimously, he told the Grimsby Evening Telegraph that: “This is great news for the whole of the East Marsh; things are now beginning to happen here – we have a new Library being built; building works taking place in our local schools; new houses being built across the ward; this development could be a catalyst for further regeneration in the Eleanor Street area and could kick start some of the work along Freeman Street. 

Steve also added: “I am delighted for the Salvation Army. This will provide accommodation for vulnerable people who will be looked after and there will be therapeutic benefits for them on-site and hopefully this new building could give them new aspirations. 

“It is going to become a landmark building on a key junction. Brighowgate is an old and very tired-looking site which has served Salvation Army very well but it no longer meets the needs of this century, and importantly the residents of the hostel have created no problems for the surrounding community – this new location will improve a derelict site and will provide world class facilities.”

Three local primary schools are enjoying newly refurbished family room facilities following capital works undertaken over the summer holidays.  Stallingborough Primary, Weelsby Primary and Scartho Infants schools are the first three schools to have benefited from the investment through extended schools capital funding.

The new multi-purpose spaces will allow schools to expand the range of extended schools activities and services they can offer on site.  Whilst each space is unique, the types of facilities on offer include comfortable seating areas in which to engage with parents, kitchen facilities for making drinks and delivering one-to-one tuition and support for parents, and play areas for younger children. The space at Weelsby Primary school has an interactive whiteboard for delivery of training and PC’s for use by children and their families. 
 
The facilities have been developed with input from the schools, extended schools cluster coordinators, the family resource service and also school nurses, who can use the new facilities for health checks, drop-ins, health promotion and one-to-one appointments with parents.

Works commenced over October half term to create similar facilities at Western Primary and Queen Mary Avenue Infants schools.

Joanne Hewson, deputy director - children’s healthy and family services, said: “The benefits of providing extended services in schools are numerous, including higher levels of pupil achievement, increased pupil motivation and self-esteem. The benefits not only stretch to pupils, but also families and local communities who can access learning and support. These new facilities will enable schools to enhance the services they offer to all local people”.

Want to get away from your surroundings and develop confidence, capacity and capability in both yourself and others? 

Are you:

Proactive?

Able to work as part of a team?  

If you have answered yes to any of the above…..

Why not join our collabroative?

The collabroative will centre on the development of community teams who will progress through a capacity building programme then use their new skills to help people to reduce benefits and enter employment or self-employment. Work, in the pilot phase, begins in the South and East Wards of North East Lincolnshire but all are welcome. 

These workshops will take place in the coming months. In between the workshops there will be phases known as ‘action periods’. These stages enable actions to be tried and tested in the South and East Marsh areas. The programme will run in the pilot phase until 2010. 

Contact: Telephone (01472) 326142

Website: www.nelincs.gov.uk/community/economicwellbeing

North East Lincolnshire Care Trust Plus’ (CTP) Open Door service has been shortlisted for the award of Best New Social Enterprise in the Social Enterprise Awards. Eight other organisations from across England are on the shortlist for the awards that are run by the Social Enterprise Coalition.

In 2003 it was identified that 1,000 people in North East Lincolnshire were not registered with a GP. The East Marsh area in Grimsby, which is the main focus of Open Door, is among the top 10 per cent of most deprived areas in England.  

Operating from two sites – social care at Hainton Avenue and health care at Freeman Street – Open Door offers a drop-in service to homeless people and those not registered with a GP around the East Marsh area. 

Jane Lewington, chief executive, CTP said: “The nomination is more evidence of the ground-breaking work done by Open Door and the dedication of their hard working staff. Open Door has done this area proud and we all wish them luck in the national finals.”

Lance Gardner, director of care, CTP, said: “I am really pleased to see the national recognition that Open Door is receiving with this nomination. It is the result of an enormous amount of hard work by the fantastic team and, more importantly, continues to highlight how difficult it is for vulnerable people to secure care from mainstream services.” 

Anne Taylor, assistant director of care at the CTP, said: “Open Door was developed as a Social Enterprise in 2006, one of the first in the country.  

“In the past year, 40 service users have been supported into either employment or education. Those registered with a GP have increased from 320 to 930 ensuring that they receive the health care that they require. The number of volunteers has increased and we now have 11 volunteers, many of whom are ex-service users.  

“This is a massive encouragement and future plans include providing services for those on probation, more employability projects and services to meet the needs identified by our service users.” 

Open Door provides a nurse led medical service, shower facilities, refreshments, internet café, free telephone use, drop in sessions by the homeless team, Citizens Advice benefits, immigration services, health trainers, psychologist, dental hygienist and holistic therapist. There are also language classes for non-English speakers, groups for men, women and the gay/lesbian population as well as fitness activities and a photographic group. 

A new service has also been launched to work with people on the autistic spectrum who are over 18.

Social enterprises are businesses run for social and environmental purposes. There are approximately 62,000 social enterprises in the UK with a combined turnover of at least £27 billion, and they contribute £8.4 billion per year to the UK economy.

The winners will be announced at a special reception held at 10 Downing Street on Social Enterprise Day, November 19. They will then go on to compete alongside winners from Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland for the overall UK prizes, which will be decided by online public voting and announced December 3.

Last week, I posted an article about the former Bird’s Eye Factory on Ladysmith Road, Grimsby titled: “Local Company fined £30K for dumping waste on former Bird’s Eye site”.

In their heyday Bird’s Eye employed well over 1,000 local employers both manual, engineering, and management – it was good company to work for and everyone new each other. It was like a family firm, and many of the workers lived in the surrounding ward of Heneage or East Marsh; however the demise of this famous brand in the in the late 1990’s as left a gaping hole in the local economy.

For many years the factory and building remained idle until the former factory was gutted by a major fire in September, 2007; which could be seen from miles around.

On 26 June, 2007 just before the fire a planning application was approved the development of the site into a residential development for 177 mixed dwellings. Shortly after the fire the company which owned the site; Capricorn Homes went into liquidation.

Naturally, some residents have expressed concern about the future of the site, and until now I have not had a definite answer but at long last the outcome is looking ‘rosy’.

A few weeks we had heard rumours that a developer was considering purchasing the site, but today there are signs on the site notifying residents of the owners, which states: “Site acquired with planning permission for 177 homes by MELBOURNE HOLDINGS LTD”. This is naturally great news for the residents of the East Marsh and Heneage Wards; and it looks as though they are going use the original planning application, which was widely accepted as being beneficial for the area.

Work is now gathering pace, on clearing up the final element of the site and hopefully we should building equipment moving onto the site rather than demolition equipment; which will be absolutely fantastic.

This new proposed development, will almost completely transform Ladysmith Road; it is the fourth major planning application on the road. There have been two new housing estates built recently, one on derelict land owned by the former Yorkshire Electricity Board and the second which is nearly finished on the old Berkeley old Store (which belonged to Bird’s Eye), and a large Health Centre (Weelsby View).

To view the existing planning click HERE.

  A number of council teams today joined forces to bring pride back to Humberstone Road in the East Marsh Ward.

  The council’s street cleansing, highways and environmental enforcement teams were in East Marsh today for Operation Street Pride, cleansing gullies and rain water channels, de-weeding, highway and footpath repairs as well as giving Humberstone Road a deep sweep.

The first intensive operations began in Cleethorpes in the summer and there have been number of similar schemes since; other parts of the borough will benefit as well as streets in the East Marsh.

There is a great deal of residents parking on Humberstone Road and with it being adjacent to grant Thorold Park, it is at times very difficult to keep the road clean. Gulleys have become clogged up from debris from the park, which poses a risk to flooding and because of the numbers of cars it’s proved very difficult for council staff to achieve their desired outcomes.

Councillor Peter Burgess, the council’s portfolio holder for environment, said: “This was a highly disciplined and successful blitz on two streets that needed something of a tidy-up.

“By working in partnership we were able to achieve speedy results that will be of immense benefit to people living in the area.”

With a parking prohibition brought by environmental enforcement and a recovery vehicle on-site to tow away any offending vehicles, the entire street was cleansed within two hours.

Councillor Steve Beasant, portfolio holder for community safety and public protection; who visited Humberstone Road a number of times throughout the course of the day, said: “Humberstone Road was beginning to look very tired; however what I have seen today it’s beginning to sparkle once again. 

“It was remarkable, that yesterday this road looked like many others but today it is looking spotless; all of the road repairs are now complete; road markings have been refreshed; gulleys have been cleaned; and some of the pavements have been repaired. 

  “One or two residents were concerned at first that they would have to move there car onto a side-street, but now they can see the benefit – the outcome is superb. 

  “I have spoken to a number of local residents, and they are highly delighted. They have thanked me, and asked me to pass on their thanks to all of the council staff who have worked really hard – on this tremendous scheme – well done!”

Throughout November and into December, the Cleethorpes Neighbourhood Teams are carrying out a number of crime reduction road shows at a variety of venues in order to speak to members of public and offer useful help and advice in order to reduce the risk of becoming a victim of crime.

Constable Anthony Barker said: “We are currently seeing reductions across crime types such as burglary however it is important that we continue to speak to residents and communities in order to offer advice on the best ways to help us keep on reducing crime by making life harder for criminals looking for an easy target.

“We will be on hand at a number of venues to give out crime reduction information, answer any questions or concerns or simply help to put a name to a face for anyone who wants to come and meet us so please come and have a chat if you are in the area on one of the days.”

The events are planned as follows:

12th November - Reynolds Street School between 3pm and 4 pm
19th November - Elliston Street School (Infants) between 3pm and 4 pm
20th November - Elliston Street School (Juniors) between 3pm and 4 pm
26th November - Saint Aidens Church between 10am and 1pm
2nd December - Queen Mary Avenue (near to Barcroft street school & Queen Mary School) between 3pm and 4 pm
11th December - Park Street (near to 5 ways round-a-bout) between 2pm and 5pm
23rd December - Tesco Express car park (Grimsby road, Cleethorpes) between 12 (noon) and 6 pm

This morning Grimsby’s Big Tidy Up hit the streets of the East Marsh, and “gleam team” got to work with a tremendous blitz on grime, and fly tipping around the area Albion Street of the East Marsh Ward - the team removed of willing volunteers removed 20 large sacks of waste in just two hours.

East Marsh was the first ward to benefit from Grimsby In Bloom’s “Big Tidy Up”, and later in the day they were visiting the West Marsh Ward - the “tidy team” tackled the streets, parks, open spaces and alleyways of both areas.

The aim of event is to turn Grot Spots into Great Spots, and to bring back civic pride into the local communities, engage with communities, and to enhance the local environment.

Councillor Steve Beasant, who today went with local volunteers including, community members, young offenders and members of the Britain In Bloom Committee, said: “It was great to see so many people turn out; everywhere you looked there was a hi-visibility jacket.

“The volunteers have worked very hard, and they’ve made so much difference; local residents have already stopped me to say how much better the area looks, and considering we were only out for a couple of hours – we must have done a good job!

“I am really pleased with the outcome; I will welcome Jacquie and Ernie Brown back into the ward anytime they want to attend. They’ve been a great help, and hopefully we can do this again earlier next year.

“We need to make sure that East Marsh is a thriving community, were people want live, and make sure that we see a return of civic pride.

“Once again, thanks to everyone who helped – the “Big Tidy Up” – will be back!”

Earlier this week, I spent sometime down on Grimsby Docks filming with East Coast Media who are making a documentary about the Grimsby Ice Factory.

The Grimsby Ice Company was founded in the 19th century. Its purpose was to bring back natural ice from Norway in order to keep the catch of fish fresh.

The Ice House was built in 1900 and closed in 1990. The red brick building consisted of two factories separated by a passage. At its prime it produced 1,270 metric tons of ice every 24 hours. Water was taken from local bore holes and placed in moulds containing brine. When the ice was required conveyer belts took the three-hundred weight blocks to a crusher. The crushed ice was then taken by another conveyer belt to the quay side where it was dropped into the fish room of the trawlers via a chute. At a later stage cement mixers were converted to deliver the ice.

The Ice factory was a complete unit employing up to seventy people. The unit was manned 24 hours a day, every day of the year. Very seldom did any outside worker come into the factory.

The Ice Factory is a Grade II* listed building and was placed on English Heritage’s At Risk register – the list of the UK’s most endangered sites, which features everything from battlefields to monuments to shipwrecks.

However, while I was down on the site it made me wonder if the building is actually really worth saving; during the interview, I was asked a number of questions and in summary I gave the following responses:

“As an East Marsh Ward Councillor it would be marvelous to save this building it would be tribute to all the fishermen who were lost in the North Sea and other waters, over the years we have lost too much of our heritage and we need to preserve what we have left.

“However, on the other hand we are stood on the dockside and as we look out onto the water; this area should be a prime site for regeneration. If, we were in London or some other major city there would already be luxury flats; it would be a vibrant sustainable community – there would be people living, working, and shopping.

“We have to await the report on what the building can be used for what condition the building is in – but in truth, can it really be saved? We need to then make a decision, and move forward because it important that any redevelopment of the Ice Factory should not halt the wider regeneration of the whole area.”

The countdown is on to Grimsby’s Big Tidy Up – tomorrow it will hit the streets of the East Marsh.

The first two area to benefit from Grimsby In Bloom’s “Big Tidy Up are both East and West Marsh Wards and the “tidy team” will be taking to the streets, parks, open spaces and alleyways of both – and you are invited to come along and help.

The event is the first of four clean-up operations – being run in conjunction with the Keep Britain Tidy’s national campaign – which will be held in different areas of Grimsby every Saturday this month and comes on the back of our Grot Spots campaign.

Turning Grot Spots into Great Spots, tomorrow, the morning session will target Victor Street, Oxford Street, Albion Street, Garibaldi Street and also includes various streets between Freeman Street and Albion Street.

In the afternoon, the team will be tackling the area surrounding Bovill House and Bovill Close.

Among those raring to go is Councillor Steve Beasant, who will be joining the volunteers in putting the Great back into Grimsby.

The East Marsh Ward Councillor – and life-long Grimsby resident – said he had been involved in clean-up operations in the past, and was more than happy to lend a hand again.

Steve said: “It shows that Grimsby is taking ownership with the community; it’s about local residents caring for their area; and it’s about bringing back a sense of community spirit.

“The community themselves are the ones who sometimes cause the mess, yet the people who are the culprits won’t be the ones clearing it away, but I am happy to play a part and help the community of the East Marsh. I’m happy to help.“

To get involved in this Saturday’s event meet at the Kent Street Resource Centre car park at 10am or Haven Avenue, near the footbridge at 1pm.

Ø     Who are we?

A group of local community members from the East Marsh, Hainton, Heneage, Nunsthorpe Bradley wards – who are supported by professionals from across North East Lincolnshire & beyond. 

Ø     What do we do?

Looking to raise awareness of the importance of living a Healthy lifestyle & giving our Children thebest start in life.

Ø     What can you do?

The groups require more community members to get the messages out to the whole community.The role you could play can vary depending on your interests and availability, from helping out atcommunity road show events, attending group training sessions, working with professionals to localise services, designing posters there’s a job for you!

The Podiatry service review is progressing well and is being led by HOPE Commissioning Group (which covers the East Marsh Ward). 

The review was initiated when North East Lincolnshire Care Trust Plus (NELCTP) was made aware by members of the older people community group, Eng-age, that there were significant issues with delays and access to Podiatry Services. 

Objectives of Review:

The main objective of the review is to look at the current services with a view to developing a Podiatry and Footcare Service that meets the long term needs of people in North East Lincolnshire. 

Progress of Review:

Six full stakeholder meetings have been held, as well as a number of sub group meetings; the stakeholder group is made up of user and community groups representing the local population, clinicians and commissioners. The review includes the development of both the Podiatry and Footcare Service. 

Progress to date 

Podiatry Service:

The CTP bought additional appointments in the podiatry service to resolve the delays in waiting times. This has resulted in a significant reducation in waiting times and more accessible clinics and has provided the Service Review group time to look at recommendations which will avoid the performance returning to the unacceptable levels previously experienced. 

The Podiatry service review group is currently looking at the possibility of transferring the more minor podiatric conditions into the community in order to offer a high quality, cost effective and more convenient service closer to service users’ homes. An informal audit is being carried out to determine what Podiatry services are currently available within the community including minor operations such as toenail excision. 

Footcare Service:

The trial Footcare Service began registering clients on Thursday 3 September at West Marsh Community Centre and Friday 4 September at Foresight, Newmarket Street, Grimsby. Toenail cutting services commenced on 15 & 16 October at the respective sites. Sessions are currently running fortnightly, although the service is prepared to increase this to weekly sessions dependent upon public demand. 

Anyone wishing to register for the service is advised to contact their preferred location for further information and to book an appointment. 

West Marsh Community Centre: Armstrong Street, Grimsby, 01472 251295 

Foresight: 60 Newmarket Street, Grimsby, 01472 269666 

Should you require any further information about the Podiatry Service Review please contact the Administrator in the first instance: Hayley Tiplady, Hayley.Tiplady@nelctp.nhs.uk 01472 720184.

COMPUTER novices can learn some essential internet skills at Grant Thorold Library, in a six week beginner’s course starting on Wednesday, November 4.

The free sessions are being run through the Thrunscoe Learning Centre and covers an introduction to using browsers, how to add web favourites, steps on how to explore the web, successful web searching and an introduction to e-mail.

It runs every Wednesday from 10am to 12.30pm, concluding on Wednesday, December 9.

To register your interest or find out more, contact the Thrunscoe Learning Centre on (01472) 323540 between 9am and noon Monday to Friday.

Today, I attended the East Marsh Children’s Centre to give a brief overview of my work to the local Parent’s Forum and to be grilled about issues relating to the local council and Liberal Democrat Policy. 

I was surprised at the number of questions, and I hope that I was able to give truthful and frank answers to most questions. Indeed, there are some actions which I am already following up on behalf of the local residents, others I have told them how we can process the issue through the council scrutiny process. 

Naturally being in a Children’s Centre, I had anticipated at least one question about Liberal Democrat policy relating to Children’s Centre’s. The parents wanted to know: “Following the General Election next year and if there was a change of government what would a Liberal Democrat Government do about Children’s Centres if they were elected?” Luckily, I had an article an article with me from the magazine Children and Young People Now in which the Liberal Democrat Shadow Children’s Minister, Annette Brooke said: Sure Start centre would be the “last point of cutting under a Liberal Democrat Government. 

I also said that Annette Brooke had told a Liberal Democrat delegates at this year’s conference that: “We are 100 per cent behind the concept of children’s centres and the fact they should be offering a whole range of services on one site.” 

Annette also said: the Liberal Democrats would pledge to offer 20 hours of free childcare each week for children over the age of 18 months and this could act as a “lever” to get parents to use Sure Start centres. 

The Liberal Democrats have now launched an online petition for free childcare for every child over 18 months; if you would like to sign that petition please click: Free Childcare for Every Family

  On September 5, this year Harbour Place Day centre won the National Lottery Award for Best/Charity project 2009 in Association with Woman magazine an as an East Marsh Ward Councillor I was literally “over the moon”. 

  There are many worthwhile organisations within the East Marsh, but Harbour Place work with some of most vulnerable individuals within our society – they are a great credit to East Marsh and the whole Borough. 

  Today, along with Councillor Jon-Paul Howarth we called in to see Allen Young and Dave Carlisle who work tirelessly on behalf of East Marsh and the individuals who attend the Day Centre – they both deserve a great deal of credit for their hard work. 

  Accepting the award on September 5, at a star studded show which was broadcast live to millions of people, Project Director, Allen Young said: “It is an absolute honour to have won this ward. Our Lottery funding has enabled us to make a real difference to the lives of the most disadvantaged people in North East Lincolnshire, and being part of this year’s Awards has enabled our centre to be recognised on the national platform.” 

In his acceptance on the show Allen also thanked the people of Grimsby, Cleethorpes and across Lincolnshire for their votes and support. 

The competition began early in the year when all entries/case studies were reviewed independently by the Christian Aid Foundation. The entries were then assessed by an independent judging panel, which selected 10 semi-finalists in each category. 

Allen also said: “We have received tremendous support throughout all stages of the competition from our local staff and volunteers, and on behalf of everyone involved in Harbour Place Day Centre we wish to say a very big thank you”.

Next Tuesday, October 27 East Marsh Involve will hold its monthly meeting at the Grimsby Neighbourhood Centre at 6pm – all residents are welcome to attend.

North East Lincolnshire Council’s, Barbara Sampson will be present to speak about the work of the Family Intervention Project, there will also be a short presentation on the Smoke Free Homes Project as well as others which will be discussed.

The Grimsby Neighbourhood Centre is on the corner of Weelsby Street and Wellington Street, and the meetings are always held on the last Tuesday of each month.

AGENDA FOR EAST MARSH INVOLVE – Tuesday 27 October, 6pm:  

Ø      East Marsh Priority Setting (Crime Issues)

Ø      Minutes of Last Meeting

Ø      Family Intervention Project – Barbara Samson

Ø     Smoke Free Homes Project  

Ø      Councillor’s Ward Funding and Other Funding Requests

Ø      Councillor’s Report

Ø      Any Other Business (Donna Riley the Project Manager a Fresh Start for the East Marsh will be present to answer questions about the project)

Please be aware that all local residents are eligible to attend this meeting, and have their say about local services - it’s your chance to be listened too. 

Film focuses on Freeman Street 

Freeman Street has become the FOCUS of a new project for a filmmaking group and the East Marsh Charity, Foresight. 

The film – called ‘Freemo Is Right Up My Street’; follows on from the success of two short movies which have been made with Foresight. The local charity which is situated in Newmarket Street and just off Freeman Street provides activities for people who have visual and physical disabilities. 

It will be the third time Sean Atkinson’s company, Focus 7, has worked with them. Filming has been taking place in recent weeks – including in the Grimsby Telegraph newsroom – and now the final scenes are ready to be put together, showing the Freeman Street of yesteryear. 

The film will be given an exclusive screening at Freeman Street Market in January and will be available for sale following the screening.

Communites in North East Lincolnshire are celebrating after the area was awarded £85,000 seized from criminals.

Four projects have been awarded money under the new community cashback scheme, which dishes out seized assets or confiscated cash to community projects.

The money will be divided up between the following schemes:

£40,000 will be spent gating off 36 alleyways in the East Marsh, creating footpaths and communal gardens accessible only to residents.

£32,000 will go to the Sports Lincs project, which will help create more football academies in North East Lincolnshire.

£7,000 will be spent extending the work of the Grimsby-based Roundabout drug and alcohol user group.

£6,000 will go towards a project involving young offenders working with Grimsby in Bloom to improve Town Hall Square in Grimsby.

East Marsh Ward Councillor Steve Beasant, who is also the portfolio holder for community safety, said the award is “marvellous news” for the borough, for once people are benefiting from the proceeds of crime.

“It is a superb idea and this will be putting back into the community what criminals have taken away.

“Each of the four schemes will benefit local people, but the East Marsh gating scheme is something what the residents wanted to see and now that the proceeds of crime are paying some of the costs – the more the better.

“The scheme for the very first time will give local residents the chance to create their own gardens and defensible space – in the past the area was total open plan, and because of this the local residents felt very vulnerable in their own properties”.

Chair of East Marsh Involve, John Harrison also welcomed the news saying that: “The area is now much improved, and the work is only partly complete. When the full scheme is finished, residents will be able to sit out and enjoy themselves without getting annoyed people walking across their lawn or garden”.

In Humberside, 47 projects were nominated for community cashback, with 15 then shortlisted and going to a public vote.

More than 1,000 people voted for the four North East Lincolnshire schemes and one project in Hull to scoop the cash.

The community cashback programme is the latest scheme to be launched in North East Lincolnshire as part of the Home Office’s Justice Seen, campaign.

Insp Mel Christie, who oversees policing in the East Marsh, said: “This has been shown to work very well in other areas and it is what the residents want to stop people from outside the estate using it as a through way.”

Neighbourhood crime and justice coordinator Marcus Czarnecki said: “A lot of criminal assets normally go towards funding court services and the police so this is a new way of ploughing it back into the community.

“It is a massive coup for justice in North East Lincolnshire.”

On June 4, this year Humberside Fire and Rescue Service wrote an article for this website, titled: ‘Where are Your Kids Tonight?’

The article had the desired outcome, because arson attacks in the Guildford Street area decreased dramatically; unfortunately there was an unfortunate incidence last Friday night which engulfed five derelict properties. The consequences could have been tragic, if anyone had been living next door.

It is important that you know where your children are playing tonight, tomorrow, and everyday. Guildford Street is not area for young people and children to be playing – it will soon be a demolition site.

Please take time to read the article below which was written by Humberside Fire Service on June 4, and look at the photographs to see the damage caused to the properties concerned.  

In the past weeks (late May) there has been a massive increase in the number of fire calls to properties in and around the East Marsh area, which not only pose a danger to local residents and attending fire crews, but also to the perpetrators of this anti – social behaviour. Humberside Fire & Rescue Service are working with agencies throughout North East Lincolnshire in an effort to reduce the number of calls to arson attacks on derelict properties within East Marsh by engaging with youth groups, youth offending teams, police, Shoreline Housing and local ward councillors to reduce this anti social behaviour. 

We need to do this before somebody is killed in an arson attack. 

This area is without doubt one of the worse areas in the town.

The question I am asking you is: 

Where are your kids tonight? 

Are they out playing with matches and lighters? Having a laugh with their mates?

The question we need to ask is when does having a laugh with your mates become anti-social behaviour? 

When your children arrive home in the evening do they smell of petrol, or do they have scorch marks on their clothes, do they smell of smoke? These are tell tale signs that you can spot. You can help us to bring down these figures and help make your community safer for all. 

Your local fire station is on call 24 hours a day 365 days a year, they are ready to respond to any emergency call, and will arrive within minutes ready to put their lives in danger to save others. You can save a life quite easily by being aware of what your children are doing, and putting a stop to this.  

You can contact us confidentially by calling or texting 07940 737141 and leaving us information relating to deliberately lit fires in your area.

VISITORS to a recent consultation meeting in the East Marsh have seen detailed plans for the area’s immediate future.

Residents who attended a meeting at Grimsby Neighbourhood Centre saw a range of information about the area, which is subject to a £7.9m transformational project.

Plans on show included:

Ø      Details on North East Lincolnshire Council’s purchasing of 100 properties on Guildford Street - 45 properties have now been acquired by the council ahead of site clearance and negotiations are well under way in all other cases.

Ø      Whole Street Improvements to Guildford Street - a programme for houses between Cope Street and Oxford Street will see rendering to external walls, the replacement of uPVC windows and doors and new boundary walls.

Ø      Environmental improvements - floral schemes, a garden tidy and boundary wall repair will take place throughout the East Marsh

Ø      Victor Street Facelift - homes on the street will have external rendering, and replacement uPVC to doors and windows.

Ø     Homezone plans - Ideas of how streets can be turned into valued public spaces for pedestrians, motorists and cyclists alike with new trees, street furniture and public art.

Councillor Geoff Lowis, portfolio holder for regeneration and strategic housing, said: “Residents are at the absolute forefront of our regeneration plans for the East Marsh and have helped shaped these proposals.

“These projects will breathe new life into the community. They have been introduced in other towns where the results have seen a remarkable improvement in the esteem in which areas are held.”

More information on these projects is available from Guildford House, the council’s one-stop shop for East Marsh: Fresh Start.

Every Friday afternoon between 2-4pm your Liberal Democrat Councillor, Steve Beasant is present to meet local residents and hear your concerns.

The latest reported crime figures for the East Marsh Ward where released today by Humberside Police, and were posted on their website. The figures show that the average number of crimes in the ward has decreased (note: the figure are taken over a 3 month period and compared with the same 3 months last year).

It is worth noting that the figures over the last year have consistently improved month by month, and this month they have showed another impressive fall on the previous period – this shows that our partnership working is beginning to pay dividends. Well done everyone!

Even taking all of the above into account; there still a great deal to be done. The work of East Marsh Involve is having a huge impact, and residents are now beginning to notice a different locally.

Ø      Overall level of crime in the ward has decreased by 10.3% (Over the last 12 months)

Ø      Burglary has decreased by 11.9%

Ø      Robbery has increased by 44.4% (note: robbery is a low volume crime within the East Marsh, and the figures for robbery fluctuate from month to month).

Ø      Vehicle crime has decreased by 27.1%

Ø      Violence has decreased by 12.8%

Ø      Anti-social behaviour has decreased by 19.3% 

To view latest crime statistics for the North East Lincolnshire area >>>>CLICK HERE (as well as finding details of overall crime you can find crime level per ward, i.e.: East Marsh, Heneage, Yarborough, Croft Baker, etc.)

VISITORS to a recent consultation meeting in the East Marsh have seen detailed plans for the area’s immediate future.

Residents who attended Wednesday’s meeting at Grimsby Neighbourhood Centre saw a range of information about the area, which is subject to a £7.9m transformational project.

Plans on show included:

Details on North East Lincolnshire Council’s purchasing of 100 properties on Guildford Street - 45 properties have now been acquired by the council ahead of site clearance and negotiations are well under way in all other cases.

Whole Street Improvements to Guildford Street - a programme for houses between Cope Street and Oxford Street will see rendering to external walls, the replacement of uPVC windows and doors and new boundary walls.

Environmental improvements - floral schemes, a garden tidy and boundary wall repair will take place throughout the East Marsh

Victor Street Facelift - homes on the street will have external rendering, and replacement uPVC to doors and windows.

Homezone plans - Ideas of how streets can be turned into valued public spaces for pedestrians, motorists and cyclists alike with new trees, street furniture and public art.

Councillor Geoff Lowis, portfolio holder for regeneration and strategic housing, said: “Residents are at the absolute forefront of our regeneration plans for the East Marsh and have helped shaped these proposals.

“These projects will breathe new life into the community. They have been introduced in other towns where the results have seen a remarkable improvement in the esteem in which areas are held.”

More information on these projects is available from Guildford House, the council’s one-stop shop for East Marsh: Fresh Start.

Every Friday afternoon between 2-4pm your Liberal Democrat Councillor, Steve Beasant is present to meet local residents and hear your concerns.

  Today the Grimsby Telegraph has reported that a new chapter has begun for the residents of Grimsby’s East Marsh as work starts on the new Grant Thorold Library.

  Clark Construction has moved onto the Durban Road site, which will also house a car park surrounded by landscaping.

  As I have already reported, the move sparked a protest by customers when plans to transform the building were initially turned down in April.

A small number of residents had claimed the site would attract anti-social behaviour, but the decision was later overturned in July.

The new building – which is expected to be ready by April next year – will include a ‘living wall’, housing various species of plants. It is designed to blend the library into its surroundings and is the first of its kind in the area.

Councillor Steve Hocknell portfolio holder for culture, leisure and healthier communities said: the development would provide a new modern community hub for residents.

He said: “The library will provide a facility for the whole community.

“It’s not just about using it to borrow a book – this will the home to many community events and will be an information centre for everyone.”

East Marsh Ward Councillor, Steve Beasant said: “This is the start of regeneration for this area. A new library will help to raise education standards, combat anti-social behaviour and engage families in positive activities.

“The facility will be more stimulating and provide a friendlier environment.”

Unfortunately there have already been some negative comments on the telegraph website; however they have been counteracted by some positive feedback – particularly from East Marsh Ward Councillor, Jon-Paul Howarth, he said today: “Yawn Yawn Yawn, Are you people ever happy with anything?

“A brand new state of the art Library in the middle of Fiveways neighbourhood, and all you get is the same usual rubbish, it is very easy to be negative and critical sat behind a disguise on a PC, but if you are really that disgruntled then get up and do something about it, stand for CLLR, go to your forward meeting.

“I have no time for people who moan for the sake of moaning, I can not wait for this new Library, and am glad that work has started.

“NELC does not get everything right by a long shot, but when it does do something good, why do the same minority feel the need to criticise, what would be the alternative, we provide no services within the East Marsh through fear of vandalism?”

Next Tuesday, September 29 East Marsh Involve will again meet at the Grimsby Neighbourhood Centre at 6pm – all residents are welcome to attend.

North East Lincolnshire Council’s, Executive Director of Regeneration, Marc Cole along with colleagues from the Council’s Trading Standards will be present.

Marc will talk about the proposals for the regeneration of the East Marsh, and how residents will be consulted on the next steps; while Trading Standards will be talking about issues such as: underage sales; rogue traders; and doorstep crime.

The Grimsby Neighbourhood centre is on the corner of Weelsby Street and Wellington Street, and the meeting are always held on the last Tuesday of each month.

AGENDA FOR EAST MARSH INVOLVE – Tuesday 29 September, 6pm:  

Ø     Executive Director of Regeneration, Marc Cole

Ø      Minutes of Last Meeting

Ø      Councillor’s Ward Funding

Ø     Other Funding Requests  

Ø      Trading Standards

Ø      East Marsh Priority Setting (Crime Issues)

Ø      Neighbourhood Development Worker’s Update

Ø      Councillor’s Report

Ø      Any Other Business

Please be aware that all local residents are eligible to attend this meeting, and have their say about local services - it’s your chance to be listened too.

This afternoon I visited the Blue Cross animal hospital is located in the East Marsh Ward, Grimsby before going to my Ward Surgery at Guildford House; the Grimsby animal hospital is celebrating fifty years of caring for local pets whose owners cannot afford private vet fees. Veterinary staff past and present were be joined by the Mayor of Grimsby, Earl and Lady Yarborough, and invited guests to celebrate this major milestone with a special birthday cake and ‘behind-the-scenes’ tours.

I was pleased to be taken around new hospital which opened only a few years ago, and the facilities are absolutely first class. The staff and volunteers are superb, and we even had the chance to have a look around the operating theatres – as you can see. But, is ROVER the genuine article or just a prop?

The Blue Cross opened its first animal hospital in Grimsby on 25 September 1949 on Cleethorpes Road. The current site on Nelson Street was opened by HRH The Princess Royal in 2005. Blue Cross veterinary services have become a lifeline to thousands of sick and injured animals in Grimsby, who may otherwise go untreated. 12,244 consultations were undertaken last year alone, from routine procedures to complex operations and emergency treatments.

Wendy Adams, Blue Cross chief veterinary surgeon at the animal hospital in Grimsby said: “We are delighted to be celebrating 50 years of Blue Cross animal hospitals caring for local needy animals. It’s so rewarding for all the vets and nurses to help poorly pets who may otherwise go untreated, and to see how much it means to their owners. Many of our clients pensioners or may have fallen on hard times and their pets are so important to them. We’re also very thankful to the local community for supporting our fundraising efforts which allow us to continue our vital work.”

The Blue Cross receives no government funding and relies on public support. To be eligible for the charity’s services owners must be on a means tested benefit or state pension with no other income. Clients are asked to pay whatever they can afford towards their pet’s treatment, but sadly they can often only afford a fraction of the real cost.

To make a donation towards the work of The Blue Cross please contact 0300 7909903. For more information about the Grimsby animal hospital call 01472 343278.

To find out more about the Blue Cross animal Hospital in Grimsby click here.

Earlier today, I reported on the news about a new planning application in the East Marsh Ward (New Salvation Army Hostel for North East Lincolnshire); this morning I have been out to see work commence on the new Library in Grant Thorold Park which regular reader’s of this blog will realise recently received planning approval. 

Unfortunately, the start date for the new library was delayed because the first application was turned down by the Planning Committee; however the new library is still expected to open in the spring of 2010. 

This is great new for the East Marsh and the whole of the Borough. 

Today, at the opening; I said: “In some respects the planning process took a long time; however the wait was worthwhile. 

“Now the work is underway we look forward to the opening, we know aspiration are low in the East Marsh Community but this new build will help to raise people’s aspirations – it give them something to look forward too. 

“Grant Thorold Library helps to raise young people’s educational attainment – it is community learning hub. But not only that it helps to keep people occupied particularly young people, and the staff assists the wider partnership in reducing anti-social behaviour within the area”. 

I am now naturally very pleased that people of the area will soon be able to enjoy the new facilities. The old building is looking extremely dilapidated; and one wonders just longer how long it would be before it totally collapses – due to the subsidence (which can be clearly seen on the photo, and it clearly is not a trick photograph, and before you say anything Cllr Howarth no I had not been drinking before I took the photo).

Over the weekend we’ve been looking after our two grandsons, Nathan and James; and by convention I usually take time out to them to Grant Thorold Park but this Saturday morning I had already committed to help some East Marsh residents with an alleyway clearance.

Each week within the ward and a number of the surrounding wards, regularly alleyway clearances take place to remove tonnes upon tonnes of fly-tipped waste – it can be anything from: 3-piece suites; fridges or even food waste.

Fortunately, yesterday there was good team of willing volunteers involved, and I was presently surprised on how many people actually turned out to help. As usual there was the Council’s Community Wardens; a number of individuals who were fulfilling there hours on the Community Payback Scheme; a team of local residents; myself along with my eldest grandson Nathan came along to give a willing hand – and on this occasion he worked like a “little trooper”.

  Everyone worked really hard and within two hours we had removed well over four tonne of household and food waste from an alleyway; which is now looking “spick and span”. Hopefully, it will now remain that way for some years to come but our Community Wardens along with Environmental Enforcement will now be monitoring the situation.

  The two photographs are the before and after shots along with our new expert on alleyway clearances, Nathan my eldest grandson.

The latest reported crime figures for the East Marsh Ward where released today by Humberside Police, and were posted on their website. The figures show that the average number of crimes in the ward has decreased (note: the figure are taken over a 3 month period and compared with the same 3 months last year).

It is worth noting that the figures over the last year have consistently improved, but this month they have showed a massive improvement on the previous period – this show that our partnership working is beginning to pay dividends. Well done everyone!

Ø      Overall level of crime in the ward has decreased by 22.2% (Over the last 12 months)

Ø      Burglary has decreased by 7.6%

Ø      Robbery has decreased by 16.7%

Ø      Vehicle crime has decreased by 20%

Ø      Violence has decreased by 6%

Ø      Anti-social behaviour has decreased by 22.2% 

To view latest crime statistics for the North East Lincolnshire area >>>>CLICK HERE (as well as finding details of overall crime you can find crime level per ward, i.e.: East Marsh, Heneage, Yarborough, Croft Baker, etc.)

Last night the winners and runners-up in this year’s National Lottery Awards were revealed live on BBC1, on The National Lottery: Big 7, the show was presented by Nick Knowles and Myleene Klass. 

The 21 Lottery-funded finalists from around the UK were all celebrated on the live BBC1 show, and the winners were presented with their Awards by a host of celebrities and special guests, including actress Fay Ripley, Lottery-funded diving sensation Tom Daley, model and presenter Lisa Snowdon and broadcaster John Sergeant.  

Even though there were some fantastic organisation there; I like many other Grimbarians was “rooting” for just one organisation and that was Harbour Place which is based in the East Marsh – I have had my fingers crossed for weeks. 

Harbour Place was last night announced the Best Voluntary/Charity Project, the award was in association with Woman magazine. And, on the night Alan Young, the Project Director proved to be a great ambassador for our area when he went up to collect the award on behalf of the organisation – well done Alan and Harbour Place.  

All of the seven winners received a National Lottery Award trophy as well a £2000 cash prize to spend on their project. 

Harbour Place Day Centre (HPDC) is a specialist day care centre, supporting the needs of some of the hardest to reach and socially excluded individuals in our community. The client group comprises of the homeless, the lonely, substance misusers, those with mental health/dual diagnosis illness, young people/care leavers (16 plus), older people, single parents, ex-offenders, the unemployed, the disabled and those who have long-term health conditions.  

HPDC was founded by Sister Hilda Baxter (who was present last night) in 1996 and is the only day centre of its kind in North East Lincolnshire. Since that day some 95,000 people have walked through the door this equates to an average of up to 50 clients per day. The centre is open Monday to Friday, 10am to 3pm. 

To see a short video about Harbour Place that was filmed by the National Lottery, please >>>>CLICK HERE

As reported, in the Grimsby Telegraph and on this website the charity, which provides support for homeless, unemployed and other vulnerable people in North East Lincolnshire, has reached the final in the voluntary/charity awards category, ahead of hundreds of other projects across the country.

We asked readers to vote for Harbour Place, and I understand that many of you pledged your support.

Now, staff and volunteers at the centre are keeping their fingers crossed in the hope they have secured enough public votes to claim the £2,000 first prize.

Four representatives from Harbour Place will travel down to London to appear on The National Lottery: Big 7, presented by Nick Knowles and Myleene Klass.

They will share the red carpet with a host of celebrity guests, including Strictly Come Dancing favourites, model and presenter Lisa Snowdon and broadcaster John Sergeant, actress Fay Ripley and teenage diving sensation Tom Daley.

They will also see special live performances from The Noisettes and David Gray.

A short film about Harbour Place will be broadcast to the nation before the winners are announced.

Allen Young, project director of the centre, said: “We’re absolutely delighted to have reached the finals of The National Lottery Awards and I would really like to thank everyone who has supported us so far by voting.

“Harbour Place has benefited greatly from Lottery funding and the awards are a fantastic way to celebrate all the hard work of our staff and volunteers who work so tirelessly to make the centre a success.

“We can’t wait for the show, everyone’s so excited. If we win, it will be fantastic – the icing on the cake.”

The National Lottery: Big 7 will be on BBC One at 7.15pm, on Saturday.

Residents are being encouraged to get involved in many clubs, groups and activities within the East Marsh that specifically laid on with the aim of cutting down anti-social behaviour and improve community spirit. 

One local hotspot is Grant Thorold Library, which regularly hosts events to keep people coming through the doors and when the new library is complete next year it is hoped that these events will expand. 

Lendy Ottley, of Rutland Street, can often be found at the library with her children Shaun Robinson (15) and Jamie and Amy Ottley both 10. 

While she said she was concerned that the area had been branded the worst in England, she said there were plenty of activities for people in the area, saying there being “nothing to do” was no excuse for getting involved in crime and anti-social behaviour. 

She said: “The crime does worry me… However, there are thing for people to do, if they choose to. My three kids love coming to the library, as there is always something to do and it is important that they enjoy education, which they can here.” 

Her comments were echoed by Sue wink, North East Lincolnshire Council’s young people and children’s services development officer, who said she believes that although the area is deprived. It is not as bad as the statistics make out. 

She said: “The area is one of the most deprived in the country, so obviously there are problems associated with it, but we do many things to help engage the community here. 

“At the library for example, we try to get children, teenagers and parents alike to come along and get involved in any number of events they have here – both after school and during the school holidays. 

“We have events for people of all ages and encourage people to come here and re-evaluate their lives, to see how they benefit from what is on offer here and at the numerous other centres across the East Marsh.” 

Councillor Steve Beasant added: “There are so many people in ward working tirelessly for the good of this community, and to make it better place were people can live safe and comfortable in their surroundings – we are bringing back the pride into our local community. 

“There is the Freeman Street Resource Centre, the Children’s Centre on Victor Street, the Grimsby Neighbourhood Centre, Shalom Youth Club, the library, many other voluntary groups, organisations, and individuals who all deserve medals they are working day in and day out for the good of the East Marsh.”  

I have reported on this website on a number of occasions about the old Art College, which is a large derelict building situated in Eleanor Street on the perimeter of the East Marsh Ward. Today, the Grimsby Telegraph has run a story about the building which a GRADE two listed building and has been derelict for about 15 years.

The Telegraph report that: “After an intensive and prolonged investigation, councillors have their fingers crossed that the future of the former art college on Eleanor Street will soon be in their hands.”

Councillor Steve Beasant (Lib Dem, East Marsh) said the building has a “checkered” history and there were significant problems tracking down the owner.

He said: “We are now closer than we have ever been in taking over the property.

“People think it has just been left there all these years and the council are not doing anything about it, but we are.”

As I previously reported the property, was originally the Wintringham Higher Grade School, and later became known as the Grimsby Technical School and latterly it was known as the Art College.

Councillor Beasant said: “This is a massive grot-spot with hundreds of rooms.

“If it was in London, it would already have been turned into flats and they would be fully occupied.

“It would be great to see it fully restored to its former glory.

“I think we could save the front of the building not the back. Hopefully we could get the grade-two listing removed for the back because it is unsafe, and then rebuild it.

“It would be good for the area to turn it into social housing or a similar development.

“We are hoping to come up with a plan of action within the next 12 months.

“We have put aside money into our capital programme; however we will need to work with external funders in order to regenerate to whole area.

“We currently keep residents up to date at monthly meetings of East Marsh Involve because it was originally raised as an issue by the young people of the area.”He also warned people not to go near the building, as there have been incidents in the past where people have been injured from climbing into it.

He said: “My worry is if people climb in it and there is a fire, all the windows are boarded up and there are so many rooms, I don’t know how the fire-fighters would get them out.“

John Waite, environmental enforcement manager, said: “There have been unlawful occupants in the building in the past but the issue has now been sorted.

“Council and environmental officers are also checking the area on a daily basis and a survey will be carried out on the property by ourselves and the Environmental Agency.”

Late last night I wrote the “East Marsh Community is pulling together and fighting back against crime”; the article was in response to some mischief making by the Tories – they had released some outdated information that showed East Marsh was the UK’s number one area in UK for crime.

However a key weapon according to the Grimsby Telegraph in the community’s battle against crime has been information of the East Marsh Involve Community Neighbourhood Forum.

The Neighbourhood Forum is made up of local residents, North East Lincolnshire Council officers, ward councillors, Humberside Police, Registered Social Landlords and other agencies who are all pulling together to make East Marsh great place to live – they are aiming to bring back a real community spirit and pride into the local area.

East Marsh Involve which is Championed by Councillors Steve Beasant, Jon-Paul Howarth, and Tony McCabe was formed nearly two years back and is already making in-roads to cut crime and anti-social behaviour, create a stronger community and to give East Marsh a sense of identity.

Among there greatest achievements so far has been the empowerment of residents to take control of the future of their own neighbourhood.

Now, not only do they have a say on how their area is policed, but they can also decide how cash allocated to their ward councillors is spent.

At the AGM on Tuesday, residents said the areas top priorities on their hit lists were:

Ø     Reducing anti-social behaviour further (which as reduced dramatically over the last 12 months)

Ø     Improving the appearance of derelict properties and alleyways

Ø     Stamping out crime

Ø     Reducing alcohol and drug related problems

One resident who lives in Tunnard Street, said: “East Marsh Involve has helped, but it is not as simple as just fixing things overnight.

“It takes time, but we have started off on the right foot and we have to keep working with the police, youth groups and the council to make the area a better place.”

Councillor Beasant said: “The residents and community groups, partners and NELC – such as those here at East Marsh Involve meetings – are all working tirelessly to make sure we are making this community a better place to live and over the last the crime statistics have continued to drop in the East Marsh.“One of the biggest problems is due to behaviour – not so much taking place from pubs, but now stemming from households due to the cheap availability of supermarket alcohol.

“However the vast majority of young people in the East Marsh you can engage with, I talk with them on a daily basis, and although they hang around on corners with their hoods up, it does not mean they are being anti social and committing offences. And don’t forget many of us, of my generation use to stand around on street corners with our duffle coat on, and at times playing football in the streets.”

This Tuesday the Shadow Home Secretary Chris Grayling claimed that parts of Britain are becoming like the American crime haven of Baltimore, as portrayed in “The Wire”.

On the same day, I received an email from the Andy Edgeworth a reporter at Grimsby Telegraph asking me to comment on some statistics apparently compiled by the Conservative Party; interestingly when I look at the figures there was nothing really newsworthy about them – in some respects they were “recycled statistics”.

In some respects, I feared the article would paint East Marsh in a bad light; however unfortunately for the Tories the Telegraph have published a story about a community “pulling together and fighting back against crime”.

We were all aware of the situation on the East Marsh and we have taken “positive action”. The Telegraph today revealed that East Marsh residents are fighting back, after the area was branded the worst for crime and deprivation in England by the Tories.

The statistics – compiled as part of the Crime And The Poor Report for England – were released in Parliament this week by the Conservative party, who described the area as being “at the bottom of the pile.”

They revealed that the area centred around Albion Street, is the worst for crime – including burglary, theft, criminal damage and violence – out of more than 32,000 areas in the country.

East Marsh is also close to the top of the national league table for deprivation, which is calculated using factors such as income, employment and education.

Other factors measured are health deprivation and disability, skills and training, barriers to housing and services and living environment.

However, the community is determined not to go out without a fight.

Among the action being taken is:

Ø     A community led action group has been formed.

Ø     A whole host of activities and projects for people of all ages have been developed.

Ø     The area has become the focus of a North East Lincolnshire Council led regeneration project.

Ø     Residents have been invited to take the lead in deciding how the area is policed.

Ø     Those living in the area can decide how cash allocated to the ward is spent.

The young Grimsby actor Tommy Turgoose who was brought up on the East Marsh is reviving the role that made him famous as hit film This Is England is being turned into a TV drama.

Acclaimed director Shane Meadows is to make a four-part sequel to the film.

The award-winning movie followed the experiences of 12-year-old Shaun, played by Turgoose, who falls in with a gang of skinheads in the summer of 1983.

The new drama, We Were Faces, picks up their lives four years later.

Channel 4 commissioned the new show as part of a £20-million revamp of the channel’s drama output following the decision to axe Big Brother.

Tommy, who won a British Independent Film Award for his performance in the film, returns to play Shaun as he leaves school and begins to make his way in the world.

Tuesday is the monthly meeting of East Marsh Involve, and will be held as usual on the last Tuesday of the month at the Grimsby Neighbourhood Centre - the meeting will start at 6pm on 25 August.

On this occasion the first part of the meeting will be the Annual General Meeting and the Officers and Committee Members will be elected for the forthcoming year.

I am pleased say that at this meeting Ward Councillor’s will be able to report on some very good news on the following issues: empty properties within the East Marsh; some important news on planning issues and the old Art College in Eleanor Street (see my previous post for further details).

The meeting as usual is open to all members of the East Marsh Community and the aim of this community meeting is to discuss community issues; with the purpose of overcoming ongoing problems, improve service and report regularly on all issues raised at previous meetings.

AGENDA FOR EAST MARSH INVOLVE – Tuesday 25 August, 6pm:  

Ø     Annual General Meeting and Election of officers