Appeal to save Grimsby's Ice Factory hits a high note

“Don't you all have any vision of how several million quid could transform this place?

The chance to climb up a plastic wall whilst hung from a rope, look at a few cheap pictures, then a nice alfresco Cappuccino overlooking an industrial estate - all downwind of Riby Street with that authentic 'Heritage' aroma. Is this type of facility something Grimsby should be pouring countless millions of pounds into? Would it be something people would travel from miles away to experience?

Just paint the whole exterior white, re-form one of those dilapidated conveyor belts into a big trunk and re-name it The GGIFT Pachyderm Centre.”

“grimsby girl how blinkerd are you , we already have those things planned for the old ice house in grimsby already and hardly any one uses them now , so what makes you think people will go to the smelly docks ( hardly any one uses the heritage centre now ) , i agree with keeping old victorian buildings , but this one is way past past that now and its on private land of abp ,( no access to it ) i say take your lovely idea and put them in the abc cinema down freemo which would be more viable( for a cinema , a resturant on street level, a climbing activity cntre , and showing the doughty collection , arts place ) and is the last art deco building of its kind , would be very sad to see that go , will we have the same appeal then ,,,i think not ,x”

“Grimsbysgirl:

Er, hello - we already have a cinema?! People haven't got the money to visit the one we have except on Orange Wednesday, so what makes you think another one will be a success?

We need to stop trying to go "upmarket" and "trendy" and do the basics better, which means affordable housing (not what they think is affordable in Humberston to keep the NIMBYs happy) and places to work.”

“Good going and good luck! It is not at the heart of the docks it is actually at the edge of the docks and easily accessible from Riby square. The area it occupies is not large enough for the wind turbine industry. It is directly related to the fishing heritage of this time which brought wealth prosperity and growth to this town. It is worth saving and aught to have been considered instead of the current sight of the fishing heritage centre. It is a stones throw from Grimsby marina and with a little vision could become a working museum of fishing life amongst other things have vision.”

“historic buildings knock the lot down”

“It's in the middle of a still working dock which will expand (and hopefully) create more jobs. It's too late and too costly to save. It needs to be knocked down and the area redeveloped. We're hoping to attract business involved in the maintenance of the new offshore wind farms, and we need to give them a blank canvas to work with, not put up barriers such as protected and listed buildings. If this was in a different place I'd support it's redevelopment, but it isn't. The town knocked down plenty of buildings in the 1960s, and 70s which could and should have been saved and redeveloped, what a great gift hindsight is. Despite it's proud history, and the part it played in the town's past, it's time for it to go. We should have saved the old Hewitts brewery in town, which was in a much better position. That could have been redeveloped, but that had to go, to build a Crown Court (at least it gets plenty of use in a town like Grimsby). It would make more sense to do something with Hewitts old cooperage in East Street which is in a much more convenient spot.”

“Oh yeah grimsby girl a cinema in that location would go down a bomb why dont people smell the coffee and do the decent thing and send in the bulldozers.
It is a blot on the already depressing landscape.
This town missed the boat in the 80's when places like Liverpool Hull and Bristol developed their old docksides, built affordable housing and gave the area economy a boost.
What happened here? Victoria mill was developed and look at that.
No vision no development and tomorrow we are asked to vote for some other clowns to further ruin the town.”

“Grimsbygirl, how is it 'illiterate' to state the obvious, which is that this will not succeed. If you look at other locations where regeneration of old industrial buildings has taken place, you will note that they tend to be in City centres where there is a lot of affluence, and on the edge of the already existing shopping areas.

Look at Newcastle's Quayside, which was once littered with abandoned warehouses,etc, that has since been turned into a thriving area full of bars, restaurants, housing, etc. The major differences between there and here are a) money b) the whole area has been redeveloped, not just one or two buildings amongst a working industrial area, and c) the location. It is a stones throw from the main shopping areas and established night scene.

The Ice House is in the middle of a working fish docks and at the edge of the East Marsh. Fancy walking home after visiting the new cinema? Alright for some, but not everybody.”

“FAr from being blinkered and illiterate, (although there are a few of those), I cant really see the attraction of the Ice House. Its derelict, its fast becoming an eyesore and eventually it will become dangerous. Who is going to put up the money for the massive investment needed to renovate such a place? Its all well and good having a vision and some of the ideas given are good ones. If we were in a better economic position as a nation then maybe (and its a small maybe) someone might invest but not now and not for the foreseeable future. There are many museums, and such closing their doors due to lack of attendance.
There are restaurants all over town closing down, there is no call for another cinema in the area, activity centre?? what activity? #
The only real thing I can see being succesfull in that location is either industrial use or high end residential buildings with moorings for boats.
Sadly we cannot save every historical building in pristine condition, the future marches closer and if we didnt move with it we would all still be living in caves.
Lets concentrate on renovating buildings that can be renovated and maintained and those that cant...well sadly, let them go and move on.”

“What a bunch of blinkered, illiterate comments from narrow minded sector of our wonderful town! How many of you have travelled anywhere? Regeneration of the building would create jobs, cinema, restaurant and activities-a place to visit. Something historic and close to a seaside resort? I sincerely hope this project provides those with the foresight to do something with it all the success it deserves!”