Sky's the limit for Greater Grimsby

"IT is do or die."

That is the cry from North East Lincolnshire Council's portfolio holder for regeneration, Coun Geoff Lowis, in regard to embracing a new plan to rebrand the borough.

He said adopting the restyled name "Greater Grimsby, Lincolnshire" for marketing purposes was vital to attract investment into the area.

As reported on the front page of yesterday's Grimsby Telegraph, a blueprint written by consultants has been critical of the lack of vision and leadership in the area – which, they say, has so far failed to market North East Lincolnshire effectively.

It described the people of North East Lincolnshire as "downward looking" and urged residents to tilt their heads up and look forward.

Coun Lowis and Michelle Cusack with the rebranding report.

Coun Lowis said: "We have to get on and do it or else we will die. It is a matter of life or death.

"The council cannot lead on this alone. It will be a community exercise and it is all about selling ourselves."

In comparison to North East Lincolnshire, where £1 per person is spent on marketing, other more successful areas, such as Corby, Bolton and Kettering, spend about £3 per person.

Coun Lowis said the increased investment by the council and leading businesses was essential to put the area on the map.

The first step would be to create a Greater Grimsby website to promote the area.

Already, £60,000 has been spent on the report – about 33p per head of the approximate 180,000 population of North East Lincolnshire – and more will be earmarked towards setting up the website.

Michelle Cusack, the council's regeneration director, said: "We have to get over this image that we are a fading industrial town on its last legs and at the end of the line.

"We need to tackle the reasons why the area is not known about regionally and nationally, rather than people saying 'North East Lincolnshire, where?'

"We need to be appearing in regional and national publications and get our name known. I want to get onto Google and key in "greater" and see Greater Grimsby.

"The litmus test for me will be finding a taxi driver who doesn't give me a tirade of what is wrong with North East Lincolnshire but is positive about Greater Grimsby."

What do you think?

Join the debate online at www.thisisgrimsby.co.uk now or email viewpoint@grimsbytelegraph.co.uk with your thoughts.