£57m leisure scheme to regenerate derelict site

A Grimsby-based development group is expecting to seek planning permission within weeks for a £57m project after completing the purchase of the former Pleasure Island site in Cleethorpes.

YPG Fab 2 – owned by Adrian Smith and Ming Yeung – says the venture will regenerate the site and the wider area, attracting tourists from across the UK, creating hundreds of permanent jobs and triggering further inward investment in leisure and business activities.

Smith said: “The vision is for a spectacular development with all-weather facilities which will offer year-round appeal to attract thousands of visitors and bring hundreds of jobs.

“We estimate it will attract £13.2m of new visitor expenditure per annum.

“As people who have spent all our lives in Grimsby we are dedicated to improving the area. We have a strong track record of regenerating key local sites and we have already committed millions of pounds to this project even before submitting the planning application.”

Since closing in October 2016 Pleasure Island has become derelict with buildings neglected, walkways overgrown with weeds and the lake an eyesore.

The new project would deliver 250 holiday lodges, a 146-bed hotel, restaurants and leisure facilities including a family gaming centre.

The site will have direct links to the beach with the aim of using the lake and the sea for water sports which currently take people away from the local area.

A Lidl food store of around 1,900 sq m and a petrol station with electric vehicle charging facilities will serve the development and the local community, as will the restaurant and leisure facilities.

And the hotel, complete with conference facilities, is intended to add to the area’s business offer.

Smith has previously led the conversion of a former brewery into stylish apartments at The Cooperage and the renovation of The Imperial Hotel.

Yeung masterminded the redevelopment of the former Birds Eye Wall’s site in Ladysmith Road to provide 250 new homes and has delivered multi-million pound regeneration projects in Liverpool including the Hilton Garden Hotel, Russell Hotel and Magistrates Boutique Hotel as well as a series of stylish dockside residential developments.

The investors are partners in a specialist leisure sector business Seaside Getaways Limited, which is based in Liverpool.

Smith said: “This will be our most ambitious project yet and the sheer scale of it has prompted hugely positive feedback and a few questions.

“Our response is that Pleasure Island is a fantastic location and a transformation waiting to happen as we turn a run-down, brownfield site into a modern, high quality and relevant destination.

“It has been empty for too long, it is a poor advertisement for Grimsby and Cleethorpes and we now have a golden opportunity to change that.

“The landscaping aspects of the new development will improve access to the award-winning beach and sand dunes and the whole project will bring wider environmental benefits for visitors and the local community.

“The facilities which will feature in the project will provide the sort of rain-or-shine attractions which people currently have to go elsewhere to enjoy.

“By incorporating a Lidl store, patrol station and restaurants we will ensure the site can appeal to visitors year-round, which means as many as possible of the new jobs will be permanent rather than seasonal.

“We’re looking forward to submitting a detailed planning application in September at the latest.”