People living and working in Grimsby believe change is on the way thanks to a major £20 million scheme designed to transform the town through the voice of the community.
Grimsby Together is shaping the town for the better – led by those who live here, work here and believe in listening to the community.
Aided by Our Future – an organisation that invests itself in supporting communities to effect long-term change – working in partnership with the Greater Grimsby Board and North East Lincolnshire Council, Grimsby Together will look at how to best invest the Plan for Neighbourhoods grant funding.
The Government’s Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG) last year changed the focus of the Long-Term Plan for Towns funding scheme.
Now called Plan for Neighbourhoods, 75 areas – one being Grimsby – were awarded a total funding pot of £1.5-billion (up to £20m for each area over 10 years) with a focus on involving communities in decision making of how and where the money should go.
Recently, the project concluded the latest round of working groups, focusing on key topics like business and housing.
With a range of opinions from 80 local leaders, teams can now feed these insights into the plan that will be submitted to Government, detailing what is to be done with some of the £20 million.
At a recent event at Central Hall in Grimsby, residents were invited to come and see what ideas and investment opportunities will feed into the plan. Joining them were members of the Council, Our Future and those who took part in the workshops.
Julie Walmsley, CEO of Doorstep and head of the Safe and Secure Housing Working Group, added: “This isn’t just people sat in a room deciding what money goes where without asking anyone, it’s open and transparent and really takes into account the views of the whole community.
Julie Walmsley, CEO of Doorstep
“Bringing those people together has ensured we’re getting what’s best for the town and I’m sure this is just the start of something much bigger for Grimsby.”
One Grimbarian, Ian Blakemore, has lived in Hull for 15 years, but made the trip back to his hometown to see what Grimsby Together was all about.
“This is my hometown and I want to see it get better over the next decade. This funding can really help people and the different groups around the area.
Ian Blakemore, Grimbarian
“I’ve no doubt that the future is a positive one for this town and with projects like this utilising the community we have, it can become a reality.”
Another local resident and founder of Clee W Fest, Jason Hare, believes, like Ian, that this project can mark the start of a new era for the town.
“There are so many people doing great stuff in this town and this funding can make sure they can continue to do so.
“If you look at it almost like seed money, it could really make Grimsby a better place for everyone.”
Jason Hare, founder of Clee W Fest
Now, the Grimsby Together team will be putting ideas from these events and the working groups into a formal plan to be put to Government in November, detailing how the community would like to spend the funding.
For more information on the project, please visit https://www.our-future.io/grimsby-together
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