Retailers already interested in revamped Dolphin Hotel site in Cleethorpes

THE consortium of private investors behind the Dolphin Hotel regeneration plan, given a boost by this week's successful Central Cleethorpes Regeneration Programme grant funding, already have interest from new retailers to the resort.

Saxondale Properties is the development group behind the proposal, and the confidence it has brought is clear.

Andrew Butcher, of Saxondale, said: "We're delighted with the announcement. These funds will help to bring about a transformational development in the heart of Cleethorpes and we are proud to be part of it.

"Over recent weeks we have made significant progress in bringing forward our proposed scheme and the statement from Lord Newby helps us even further."

Lawrence Brown, managing partner at Scotts, is the professional adviser to the group, and has fronted the previous attempts to initiate the development, subsequently thwarted by the economic downturn. He has welcomed the gap funding that will be provided to accelerate a mixed-use proposal, as well as the near neighbour site of the former bingo hall in Grant Street, described as pivotal locations in the resort's "golden loop".

Complementary investment proposals by the Heritage Lottery Fund and the council to promote the restoration and reuse of historic buildings and improve the quality of public spaces could also be forthcoming, opening up the proposal to pedestrianise Sea View Street, a thriving hive of independent retail.

"We are now talking about the best way to move forward so it meets the requirements of Cleethorpes, in terms of aesthetic and social presence, and the regulatory framework with North East Lincolnshire Council, in terms of the type of development, and indeed what the developer requires, too," said Mr Brown.

"We are already in discussion with some new occupiers, retailers who would be new to Cleethorpes, seeking new buildings."

The Dolphin Hotel is a locally listed building, and part of a conservation area, something the team is acutely aware of.

The hotel itself could lend itself to a sympathetic conversion into flats, with much of the single-storey curved shops not thought fit for purpose in the long term.

While the big picture seems positive, existing traders on short-term leases have expressed concern, despite the apparent clarity. In July 2010 Business Telegraph reported how ten vacant units had been let on the proviso that the developers were awaiting a better climate to regenerate, initially to September 2012 and subsequently extended.

The site, excluding the licensed establishments to the front, was bought from Mitchells And Butlers by an element of the consortium as the economy boomed.

Best known as The Dolphin and The Carousel, and later Flares, then Reflex and Vibe, the last drinks were supped over Christmas before those premises, too, hit the market.

Addressing concerns voiced by traders, Mr Brown said: "The Dolphin Hotel site has always been identified as a redevelopment project and there has been extensive publicity around it, both before the recession and since.

"All the occupants of all the current shops are aware of the longer-term plan to redevelop the site, and that includes the shops themselves, and the car park area, and even looking at how the Dolphin Hotel fits in to any development as well."

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