Pedestrianisation of Tower Esplanade in Skegness underway

Major works to part-predestrianise an historic esplanade in Skegness have begun.
Works in progress along Tower Esplanade in Skegness.Works in progress along Tower Esplanade in Skegness.
Works in progress along Tower Esplanade in Skegness.

The pedestrianisation of the street is a project that was first identified within East Lindsey District Council’s Foreshore Masterplan; published in 2018.

Since then, the District Council have delivered a number of Masterplan projects, including £400,000 improvement works to Tower Esplanade which saw the installation of new street furniture and unique curved lighting structures. The current work will be the final phase of these improvements and help accelerate the development of the wider Foreshore area.

This project will also see traffic re-routing work done to direct vehicles along Princes and South Parade into the Festival Car Park.

It is one of two projects for the coast announced by East Lindsey District Council in August 2020, after Government awarded the Mablethorpe Town Deal Area and the Skegness Town Deal Area £500,000 and £750,000 accelerated funding respectively, through the Towns Fund programme.

The funding will also allow the 1950’s Colonnade in Sutton on Sea, which has a number of structural issues, to be removed; further works will also be undertaken to ensure that the area is ready for redevelopment which will see a replacement structure built.

Further projects for both towns have also been identified in Town Investment Plans (TIPs), which serve as each area’s bid for up to £25m of funding.

Projects identified in the TIPs include: a new modern Learning Campus in Skegness, a renovated leisure centre in Mablethorpe, and the replacement Colonnade Structure in Sutton on Sea. After being signed off by the District Council and the Connected Coast Board in October last year, the plans were submitted to Government for consideration.

Coun Steve Kirk, Portfolio Holder for Coastal Economy, said: “It’s great to see these projects get underway. We’ve been looking at both these projects for a little while now and it’s fantastic to see real progress being made. In Sutton on Sea we will be preparing the area for the transformative redevelopment, which we will hopefully attract further funding for through the Towns Fund bid, and in Skegness we are adding the finishing touches to the recent redevelopments we’ve undertaken on Tower Esplanade which once complete will provide a fantastic, modern welcome for our visitors.”