Going, going….. Osborne Street units demolition starts

The first “nibble” has been taken at the Osborne Street units this week marking the start of the demolition works.

The old units in Grimsby Town Centre are being taken down piece by piece, in a similar way to the work at Freshney Place. The plan is ultimately to use this 1.6 acre site to deliver a transport hub which connects with the railway station, encouraging public transport use and supporting the wider Grimsby Town Centre regeneration ambitions.

North East Lincolnshire Council wants to be clear that this demolition is stage one of the whole project with funding currently available to support flattening the units between Rejuvadent and Racks, alongside ground clearance and the development of spaces for town centre buses to stop and pick up.

The businesses on Osborne Street (Sage, Rejuvadent and Racks) will all be open as usual during the works, which  involves full recycling of all demolished materials including green waste, wood and metal.

After demolition and phase one, the project will then move into the design stage, which will include consultation with stakeholders and the wider public with an ambition to seek funding for further development. As part of this process, an initial public survey has been launched to gather views on the importance of various facilities that could be included in the proposed transport hub.

Cllr Stewart Swinburn, Portfolio Holder for Housing, Infrastructure and Transport, said: “It’s great to see this project start on the ground, and the view around here will really be opened up once these buildings go.

“We really want people to give their views on the importance of the various things that could be included in a potential transport hub, and that survey is open at the moment. That will help us to design something that fits both within the budget, and reflecting what local people want.”

Council Leader, Cllr Philip Jackson, added: “As we see the progress now being made on the transformation of our town centre, for example our Freshney Place Leisure Scheme, the new Alexandra Dock housing and the OnSide Horizon Youth Zone, it is important that we make peoples’ travel to and from here easy and safe.

“Having bus stops dispersed around the town centre, as they have been for many years now, does not work well and makes life more difficult for public transport users – proving a barrier for people visiting our town centre. From the comments I hear, there is no doubt that local people want a proper bus station in Grimsby Town Centre. About three years ago, we were far-sighted and purchased this site which is ideally located for a new transport hub. Now we have some funding to make a start on the project, we are able to demolish the ugly, empty retail premised on Osbourne Street and kick off this exciting development.”

If you’d like to give your views, visit https://tell-us.questionpro.eu/PublicTravel2025.