With the end of the year rapidly approaching, the Goole Town Deal Board has shared a progress update on its ambitious plans to regenerate the town centre and stimulate long-term economic growth.

Looking ahead to 2024, the Board has outlined details of the next steps for each of the eight strategic projects that will collectively transform the town’s future. It’s also reminding local people that there’s still time to view, and offer their feedback on, the latest proposals for the Station Hub and Public Realm projects, which will enhance transport connectivity and transform the way the town centre looks and feels. A public consultation survey is now live at www.eastridingcommunities.commonplace.is and will remain open over the Christmas and New Year holiday period to allow as many local people as possible to have their say.

In June 2021, Goole received confirmation that it had secured a £25 million slice of the Government’s Town Deal funding after submitting an ambitious Town Investment Plan. During the 18 months that followed, a huge amount of work took place behind the scenes to develop business cases for each of the projects identified in the plan to ensure that they were capable of delivering the Board’s agreed objectives for the town and would work well together, like individual pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. Each business case had to be approved by the Government before projects could proceed to the delivery phase and the funding could be released.

In January of this year, the delivery phase of the Goole Town Deal programme began and several projects are now in progress, with others in the final stages of the planning and consultation process.

Phil Jones, Chairman of the Goole Town Deal Board, said: “For almost two years after we received the fantastic news that Goole had been awarded a share of the Government’s Town Deal funding, there were no visible signs of progress in the town centre yet a phenomenal amount of work was happening behind the scenes to develop business cases for the eight strategic projects and secure the final stage of Government approval for them and release of the funding.

“It was exciting to see the delivery phase of the programme officially begin in January of this year and so much has happened since then, with each of the projects now at varying stages of progress and clear timescales in place for their delivery.

“2024 is the year when people will start to see work happening on the ground in Goole, with major schemes, such as the redevelopment of the Victoria Pleasure Ground, Goole Market Hall and East Riding Leisure Goole, all starting soon, in line with the necessary planning approvals. The Property Activation Fund grant application process is now live, and Opportunity Goole is already making a tangible difference offering an information service to local people and businesses.

“The other three projects are all progressing too and we’re very grateful to the local people who came along to our exhibition last month to view our latest proposals for the Station Hub and public spaces in the town centre. If you’ve not yet taken the opportunity to do so, there’s still time to view the proposals for these projects and offer your feedback on them via the website, so please do have a look and let us know what you think."

The eight projects are:

• A £4.175 million Property Activation Fund to help bring empty or under-used town centre buildings and sites back into use. Earlier this year, the Goole Town Deal Board began seeking expressions of interest from property owners, landlords and tenants keen to secure grant funding towards the cost of refurbishing and redeveloping empty or rundown sites and buildings in the town centre. To date, 16 expressions of interest have been received and it’s hoped that several of these will progress to the next stage of the process, which involves submitting a formal application for funding that will be considered by the Property Activation Investment Panel. For more information, email: goolepaf@eastriding.gov.uk.

• A £3.1 million Public Realm project to enhance the way the town centre looks and feels. Members of the public were given a first opportunity to see the proposals for the town centre at an exhibition hosted by the Goole Town Deal Board and its partners in November. They can be viewed via the public consultation survey link (as above), and members of the local community have until Monday 8 January, 2024 to offer their feedback.

• A £2.450 million package of improvements to the arrival/departure experience at Goole Station and the introduction of a new shuttle bus service to improve connectivity. There was also an opportunity for people to view the proposals for the Station Hub at the recent exhibition and they can also be viewed on the public consultation survey link (as above).

• A £4 million programme of work to transform Goole’s historic Market Hall into a vibrant food, drink and events venue. Subject to planning permission being granted, work is due to start on site in February 2024.

• Plans to invest £3.75 million in the regeneration of the town’s Victoria Pleasure Ground sports stadium were formally approved earlier this year. Work its due to start on site during the summer of 2024, although work to replace the football pitch won’t begin until the following spring, after the season ends.

• A £3.372 million contribution towards a £17 million project to transform East Riding Leisure Goole into a busy modern leisure hub at the heart of the community. Work is due to start on site in January, 2024.

• A £3.1 million investment in the reinforcement of flood defences and creation of a ‘greenway’ corridor for pedestrians and cyclists alongside the Dutch River. This project is still at an early stage but more information will be shared early in 2024, with a view to work starting on site by September of next year.

• Already up and running, the £1.050 million Opportunity Goole project was set up to help connect people and businesses in order to make the most of the opportunities in the town.

The delivery of all of these projects will be completed by March 2026, coinciding with Goole’s bicentenary celebrations. Keep up to date with progress at www.gooletowndeal.co.uk.

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