Pier Gardens
Latest updates
The “Stage 3” concept designs have been approved by Cabinet.
You can view the latest designs for Pier Gardens on this webpage.
Find out about other exciting projects in Cleethorpes…
The two popular areas (Pier Gardens and Market Place) are set to be rejuvenated, supported by the Government’s Levelling Up Fund. North East Lincolnshire Council was awarded £18.4m for the resort last year, following the development of the 2022 Cleethorpes Masterplan, which was spearheaded by Hemingway Design.
The Cleethorpes Levelling Up Fund projects are progressing, with the latest set of designs for Pier Gardens available to view below.
Introduction to the Pier Gardens Project
WSP UK Limited supported by HemingwayDesign has been appointed by North East Lincolnshire Council to provide Landscape Architecture and Engagement services in relation to the Pier Gardens improvement project.
The consultancy team are appointed to provide RIBA Stages 1-4 (Preparation and Brief to Technical Design) and Community and Stakeholder engagement.
This commission follows from the previous Town Centre Masterplan and subsequent successful Levelling Up Fund application, both delivered by HemingwayDesign and WSP (formally GL Hearn). North East Lincolnshire Council were successful in their £18.4m application, with £4.8m allocated for the Pier Gardens improvements.
These boards present the concept design proposals which have been informed by feedback shared during previous public and stakeholder engagement events, workshops and one-to-one meetings held throughout February – April 2024.
The second stage of consultation closed on Friday 24th June. The feedback shared shaped the Stage 3 concept designs, which are will be scrutinised by panel members on 15 July before going before Cabinet members.
2021
HemingwayDesign & GL Hearn Masterplan commission.
2022
Levelling Up Award Application & Masterplan Issue.
2023
Levelling Up Award.
2024
WSP UK Limited with Hemingway Design appointed
Design and Planking
Contractor Procurement.
2025
Contractor starts on site.
2026
Completion.
On Thursday 29th February 2024, residents and visitors were invited to a drop-in engagement event in Cleethorpes Town Hall, to speak with the design team and share their thoughts and desires for the future of Pier Gardens. The event was attended by over 100 local residents and business owners.
Supplementing the in-person consultation, an online public survey was launched via the North East Lincolnshire Council’s Have Your Say Page, and closed on the 15th March 2024 receiving 378 responses from residents and businesses.
Feedback was overall very positive and key messages included:
• Support for modern, naturalistic, wildlife-friendly planting schemes.
• Support for natural look & feel of children’s play elements particularly the use of timber and inclusion of natural planting schemes within the designs.
• Support for social seating areas and the inclusion of long bench seating and games (chess) tables, as well as sheltered seating areas.
• Support for areas that enable pop-up events, performances, and group (exercise) classes.
• Support for wayfinding and signage that informs visitors of the natural environment and history of the gardens and wider resort, particularly the importance of the SSSI.
• Ensure the play offer extends to older children -teenagers and young adults, with a focus on ‘making space for girls’.
• Preference for softer landscaping throughout the gardens and for hard landscape/paved areas is kept to a minimum.
• Ensure all spaces within the gardens are well-lit.
Since the consultation ended on 24 June 2024, there have been detailed discussions with local businesses, drop-in sessions and online engagement for anyone to give their views, as well as group sessions with creative people, young people and other potential users of the spaces.
Healthy & Sustainable
• A place that prioritises the mental and physical wellbeing of its community, and actively seeks to address the climate emergency.
• A place that protects and enhances its natural assets whilst embracing sustainable development.
• A place that encourages varied physical activity for all ages and abilities.
Inclusive & Welcoming
• A place with a varied social, leisure, and entertainment offer with broad appeal.
• A place where all residents and visitors, regardless of age and ability feel safe and comfortable visiting.
• A place that encourages social interactions, providing opportunities to meet, relax and have fun.
Creative & Distinct
• A place that celebrates and strengthens the characteristics that make it unique.
• A flexible place that supports entrepreneurial and independent trading providing space for an evolving array of events, exhibitions & attractions.
• A place that promotes and supports imaginative play.
• A place that promotes high quality artwork and enhances the heritage setting of the Cleethorpes Sea Front Conservation Area.
Deliverable
• A design that complies with both the external funding requirements whilst remaining true to the original masterplan vision.
• A scheme that is build-able within the project constraints.
• A place that becomes an asset for the area providing ongoing support for the local economy.
• The possibility to generate revenue for the maintenance of Pier Gardens.
Pier Gardens provides a range of activities for all age groups, ranging from passive to interactive. These activities are accessible for all abilities and at all times of the year and cater for the needs of the community in addition to attracting visitors.
The positioning of the zones have been influenced by the on site features; where are the points of arrival, where are there positive and negative views, the location of existing trees and structures and also the site’s topography.
A key aspect of the design approach involves the strategic overlapping of zones, serving as a guiding principle to inform the detailed layout of the gardens. Central to this concept is the concentration of play facilities in the heart of the site, creating
a focal point for recreational activities. However, the spirit of play will be seamlessly integrated throughout the entire space, ensuring that moments of enjoyment are scattered throughout Pier Gardens.
The central play zone will be bookended to the north and south by designated areas allocated for performances and events, offering a dynamic space for cultural activities and community gatherings. The north will focus on entertainment while the south will respond to the reflective character of remembrance and include memorial gardens, providing a tranquil setting for reflection and a setting to celebrate remembrance.
Latest designs
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The Site Layout
- Gateway Plaza
- Flexible Space
- Water Play
- Play Structures
- Terraced Play
- Education & Wellbeing
- Quiet Reflection
- Memorial Area
Arrival Zone and Performance Zone
The call out shown here for the zone is designed to show how the space can be used flexibly and is able to host a mix of events and uses including larger scale activities such as small music concerts or theatre performances.
The Northern arrival space will provide a high-quality new gateway into Pier Gardens, acting as transitional zones between the town centre and the gardens, as well as becoming a gateway to the new Sea Road Building. Materials, street furniture, wayfinding and planting schemes in this area will reflect the park’s new character and signal the users arrival at Pier Garden
The Events Zone will reflect Cleethorpes’ history of seaside shows and entertainment and provide the setting for a changing programme of events. This area will provide flexibility and will support all the other areas of the park. The proposed lawns will become areas of play, seating and community gathering. This space will provide dedicated facilities for the local skating community that are sensitively designed to sit within the wider landscape design.
Play & Recreation
Play is the core attraction for Pier Gardens and should be suitable for all age ranges and all abilities at all times of the year. Areas shown within this call-out include the proposed waterplay area to the left and the adjacent structural play area within the existing mature tree canopy.
Facilities should encourage creativity, risk taking, cooperation, exercise, and coordination.
Proposals are not be the traditional off-the-shelf generic slides, swings and roundabouts but will be of the scale, size and quality to make a statement while complementing the wider design language for the site. The equipment will be features in their own right and contribute the new character of the gardens and sense of place. Materials will be appropriate to the location and incorporate timber and natural stone alongside naturalistic and native planting schemes influenced by local habitat types and especially the natural character of South Beach.
Proposals divide the play zone into areas:
Water & Sand:
This area will provide a unique setting for children to play creatively together. Tiered rock formations will provide several opportunities for interactive water-play and include hand operated pumps for users to move water around the site, as well as interactive water jets. Surrounding sand pits respond to the gardens coastal setting and provide an interactive surface for play. The landscape of this area will be designed to playable landscape even in winter months.
Structural Play:
The existing trees will be incorporated into the design through raised play structures set within the canopies. The design and arrangement of these structures will exploit their raised nature to include viewing points. Timber is the preferred choice of material for all play elements to continue the sites natural aesthetic.
Terraced Seating & Play
The currently underutilised grass banks either side of the water garden can be made usable through the introduction of simple terracing and an exciting extension of the adjacent play zone.
Proposals are to introduce simple terracing within the underutilised grass bank between the water garden and Jade’s Ice Cream Parlour, to provide an accessible viewpoint offering 180-degree unbroken vistas of the beach and Humber Estuary. Small stone retaining walls will create a series of terraced lawn areas with wheelchair accessible areas at the lower level. The terraces will also incorporate planting schemes influenced by local habitat types and especially the natural character of South Beach. Perennial grasses will be used to create sand dune planting to link in with the context of the site and provide a playful, dynamic that move and changes with the season.
The topography provides exciting opportunities for play. Proposals are to utilise the adjacent grass bank to incorporate challenging slides
and climbing features without the need for high structures.
Education & Wellbeing
Year round facilities for the local community are a key part of our vision for the site. The inclusion of accessible gym equipment and flexible education areas provides a more local, community focus to this zone.
Health, sustainability and education are key priorities for our vision for Pier Gardens and our spaces must prioritise the mental and physical well being of the community.
This zone proposes uses that are focused towards local residents and supporting them to maintain an active and healthy lifestyle.
The ‘rooms’ within this zone provide the opportunity for outdoor gym and physical exercise equipment benefiting from a level of privacy and separation from the wider site.
These spaces also provide opportunities to promote education about the area and park itself. A key message from the consultation was providing a space for local schools, nurseries and community groups to use. This zone incorporates and area with terraced seating that could be used as an outdoor classroom.
Reflection & Memorial Zone
These zones provide an area for relaxation and contemplation – seating set within naturalistic planting schemes providing year round interest – colour and smells.
Memorial plaza is a flexible space that creates a suitable setting for medium sized gatherings during memorial events.
Acting as a bookend to the Northern Arrival Space and Performance Zone, the southern Reflection Zone is located next to the Cenotaph and the Armed Forces Memorial Gate.
The Reflection Zone consists of two sub areas:
The memorial plaza is a new flexible plaza with new improved access from Alexandra Road. This area will cater for large groups during remembrance events and provide an improved setting for the Striker Memorial and the new Naval memorial. The space will include natural stone paving and be fully Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) compliant to ensure there are no hazards for users of limited ability.
The adjacent Reflection Gardens will be separated from the memorial plaza through soft landscape and provide a series of more intimate spaces for contemplation and reflection within a quiet garden setting.
Considerations and strategies
Trees
The existing trees within Pier Gardens are of significant importance to the design ethos for the site. We are fortunate to have large, healthy mature specimens to incorporate within our design to offer scale, setting and excitement to larger proposed elements such as the play structures.
Our strategy for the site is to retain as many of these key larger specimens as possible and ensure that they are incorporated within the design ethos. Where trees have been removed this is to open up views in key areas, facilitate elements of our design or to benefit the wider health of other trees across the site.
Site Servicing
The servicing strategy for Pier Gardens will be a key part of ensuring that the space is flexible to accommodate events
and markets whilst also ensuring that the space feels safe and welcoming all year round in both the day and evening.
Lighting:
Adequate lighting and CCTV was a recurring message throughout our consultation process. Our design includes both functional and feature lighting throughout the scheme. Functional lighting will ensure all spaces are adequately lit to ensure they feel safe and welcoming even into the evening hours. Feature lighting will be used throughout the site to emphasise key design features, highlight entrances and artwork and provide more ambient lighting to areas such as the reflection seating zone. This lighting may be low level bollards, uplighters to trees and artwork or strip lighting within the paving or furniture.
Servicing for events and markets:
Another key element of the design is the flexibility for Pier Gardens to be able to accommodate a range of events or markets. To ensure this the site will have a network of power and water supplies throughout and the arrival zone and performance zone will have higher capacity power supplies to cater for the potential of larger events.
Another feature proposed is a network of drinking water fountains throughout the site that will be combined with foot wash facilities closer to the proposed sand play elements.
Plants
Pier Gardens planting schemes have been influenced by local habitat types, particularly the natural character of South Beach which hosts a variety of plant species adapted to the coastal environment. This includes hardy grasses, wildflowers, and shrubs that support numerous bird species and insects. Native grasses and low-maintenance perennials will feature through the gardens creating sand dune planting to link in with the context of the site and provide a playful, dynamic that moves and changes with the seasons.
Habitats for local wildlife such as insect hotels and bird boxes will be nestled within the proposed planting schemes, which include areas of wildflowers and plants that support pollinators.
Interpretative and educational signage informing visitors of the local environment, the importance of the SSSI, and its rich eco-system that supports numerous species of birds, insects and marine life, will feature throughout the gardens.
Public Art
The public art strategy involves transforming the distinguished CLEETHORPES typography, prominently featured on the existing Sea Road hoardings, into 3D installations dotted throughout the gardens.
The concept uses each letter of CLEETHORPES as a unique installation integrated into the park’s landscape.
These installations would serve and encourage various uses, providing photo, play, skate, learning, relaxing and socialising opportunities, while also promoting and informing visitors about the rich wildlife, history, and culture found within the park and the wider resort.
This approach seeks to encourages exploration, interaction, and engagement from visitors of all ages.
Images show precedents that will inspire future designs.
If there are any accessibility issues, please email [email protected] who can provide you with more details on the proposals.
Next steps
If there are only minor changes to the Pier Gardens scheme, or they are agreed in full, then the designs will progress to the next stage of work, the full technical design. This then forms the information to be used for the procurement of contractors.
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