THE first phase of Freeman Street's long-awaited regeneration is being eagerly anticipated by traders, who hope the changes will breathe new life into Grimsby's one-time premier shopping street.
The contract to carry out public realm improvements on the street between Nelson Street and Hainton Square was yesterday awarded to Balfour Beatty Civil Engineering Ltd.
Work is due to begin in June.
But although businesses believe the facelift will make the street much more attractive, some remain to be convinced that it will bring in the shoppers.
This first phase of the regeneration scheme, which should be completed by December, includes:
Enhancements to Garibaldi Street car park, including resurfacing and reinstating the second entrance.
Resurfacing of the road and pavements, including the reintroduction of the right turn into Wellington Street.
De-cluttering through the removal of some signs, barriers and lighting.
New street lighting with banners at key locations.
As part of the redevelopment, two on-street parking spaces opposite the market hall will be removed. However, on-street parking will be increased by eight spaces overall.
Josephine O'Brien, 19, owner of Pink, a retro secondhand shop, said: "Anything to bring this street up to a better standard than it is now has to be a good thing. There is a lot of character in Freeman Street and it needs to be kept alive.
Josephine, whose dad owns Convert Gold 4 Cash next door, added: "My dad has bought two shops in this street now as he believes they are worth investing in.
"I would encourage other traders to open shops here and create a more lively atmosphere – securing the bigger retailers would be good."
Sonja Morton, co-owner of Shelly & Sonja's Freeman Street Diner, said: "I hope the redevelopment will attract the larger retail businesses back onto the street. With them comes more shoppers, which is what we need.
"We have no doubt that this scheme will make the street look a lot more attractive, but looks alone will not bring in the shoppers."
Hawer Mohammed, of Arian News, Freeman Street, said: "If you look outside the shop it is dead. It is the same story each day, so something has to change.
"I hope the redevelopment will bring some life back to the street, but I am not getting my hopes up."
'IMPROVEMENTS CANNOT COME TOO SOON'Shoppers who frequent Freeman Street say the planned public realm improvements cannot come soon enough. Mark Sylvester, 50, walks down Freeman Street every day and is fed up of seeing empty shops. He said: "I don't think any more traders will open up here, especially not the larger chain stores. We need to bring people onto the street that will spend in the shops already here. It is positive news that work to redevelop the street will start soon. The state of the street cannot stay like this for much longer." However, Allan Betts, 61, of Comber Place, Grimsby, feels the redevelopment might attract more businesses to the area. He said: "It is a positive step that work will take place to make the street look better.An area must look appealing to attract people to it. "The way it stands now something needs to be done fast. All we have here at the moment are second hand or charity shops, we need more variation.I am all for the redevelopment, anything that will bring improvements to the area."