North East Lincolnshire Council’s Cabinet are set to discuss a pre-let for the Sea Road building in Cleethorpes.

Sea Road, in the heart of the town, has been remodelled over the last few years, with the former “Waves” site being demolished for redevelopment. Interrupted by COVID, the scheme has picked up again in the last few months following the award of Government’s Levelling Up Fund monies for three projects in the heart of the town, with the main construction works starting later in 2024. The landmark Sea Road building has been marketed by local agents, PPH Commercial, generating serious interest in the site from interested parties. Discussions regarding a long-term pre-let agreement are in advanced stages, and proposed Heads of Terms have now been agreed, subject to Cabinet approval, for most of the ground floor and all of the first floor of the building, to a leading independent national hospitality company. The remainder of the building will continue to be marketed for use. The Cabinet meeting is on Wednesday 17 January at 5pm at Grimsby Town Hall.

Harworth Group plc, a regenerator of land and property for sustainable development and investment, completed 964 residential plot sales in December. A number of further land parcel sales are expected to complete in the coming months, reflecting continued housebuilder appetite. The December transactions comprised six land parcel sales in Yorkshire and the Midlands to four housebuilders, and the Group’s first forward funding agreement with a registered provider as part of Harworth’s affordable housing portfolio. The total headline sales price for these transactions was £41.2 million and all were completed at prices in line with, or ahead of, book values. The largest of the disposals was the whole of a site in Killamarsh, Derbyshire, which has been sold jointly to both Harron Homes and Homes by Honey. In the first half of 2023, an outline planning consent was secured to develop up to 397 family homes at the site. At its South East Coalville development in Leicestershire, Harworth has sold a land parcel to Strata for the construction of up to 184 homes. The wider development occupies a 250-acre site and has outline planning consent for more than 2,000 homes, with land now sold for over half of these, together with a new supermarket. A new 21-acre park was opened at the site in late 2023 and construction has begun on a new two-form entry primary school. At its Prince of Wales development in Pontefract, Harworth has sold a land parcel to Harron Homes for the development of 141 new homes. The regeneration of the former Prince of Wales colliery, which will see the creation of a new community of over 900 homes, began in 2013 and is now nearing completion. To date, over 400 homes have been built and occupied at the site, with almost half of these being delivered by Harron Homes, following its first land acquisition there in 2016. At Thoresby Vale in Nottinghamshire, a land parcel has been sold to Homes by Honey to deliver 114 family homes. The development lies on the site of the former Thoresby Colliery, which Harworth is transforming into a new community of around 800 homes, including a new primary school, retail and leisure facilities and a 350-acre country park. Land at the site has already been sold to two housebuilders – one parcel to Harron Homes, and three parcels to Barratt and David Wilson Homes – for the delivery of over 530 houses in total. The primary school received planning approval in 2023 and construction is expected to commence later this year. At Waverley in Rotherham, where Harworth is regenerating the former Orgreave Colliery & Coking Works into over 3,000 homes alongside the nationally-significant Advanced Manufacturing Park, extensive green space and amenities, land was sold to Homes by Honey to develop 54 family homes. At its Gedling site in Nottinghamshire, Harworth sold a remaining small land parcel to Keepmoat Homes, which has an outline planning consent to develop 24 houses. The land parcel is adjacent to a separate development being delivered by Keepmoat Homes and Homes England on the site of the former Gedling Colliery. Finally, Harworth signed its first forward-funding agreement for its affordable housing portfolio, at Riverdale Park in Doncaster. Harworth entered into an agreement with Great Places, which manages 24,000 homes across the North West and Yorkshire, to develop 50 new affordable housing properties at the development. Under the terms of the agreement, Harworth has sold a land parcel to Great Places and will oversee the construction of the homes in return for a development management fee. Lynda Shillaw, Chief Executive, Harworth Group plc, said: “Our large number of residential land sales at the end of 2023, all in line with or ahead of book values, demonstrates the continued strong demand for Harworth’s de-risked serviced residential land product from a wide range of housebuilders, and we are seeing strong sales momentum as we move into 2024. “We are also pleased to have completed our first forward-funding agreement for our affordable housing portfolio, proving the appeal of our mixed tenure model. We look forward to working with our partners to deliver much-needed new homes across these regions.”

Ambitious plans have been revealed to create Hull’s first purpose-built film production complex. The development features proposals for a 19,700 sq ft soundstage at a currently vacant site on the Priory Park industrial estate. Once operational the soundstage would be used to create indoor film sets. It aims to complement Hull’s growing appeal as an outdoor film location, particularly for period dramas using the Old Town’s historic streets and buildings. With a planning application due to be submitted soon, the development will also include dressing rooms, office space and temporary accommodation for visiting film crews as part of the main building as well as a standalone joinery and fabrication workshop. The project is being spearheaded by city-based independent film production company Northern Films. Subject to securing planning approval, the proposed soundstage would sit next to the company’s existing studio in Saltmarsh Court on Priory Park. Once built, visiting film companies will only be able to hire the facility on condition they agree to take on local people looking at starting a career in the industry. Ultimately, the idea is to involve local university and sixth-form students as well as young people on low incomes. Northern Films director Andrew Fenton said: “Television and film production is a major growth industry in the UK and, for a variety of reasons but mainly cost, companies are increasingly looking for production bases outside of London. “We believe we can offer top-quality facilities right here in Hull. We have the perfect location to meet the very specific requirements of the industry and a strong long-standing network of existing businesses in Hull with the sort of skills that are essential in set design and construction. “The soundstage will add to what we already have here and the two buildings will be physically linked by a footbridge between the upper floors.” In recent years Mr Fenton’s business has evolved from a commercial design studio mainly creating showrooms for clients in the automotive industry to a fully-fledged film studio. The company’s first feature film, a comedy drama set in Hull called The Last Trip, is due to be released in cinemas early next year. He added: “We already have post-production and grading facilities, sound mastering, visual effects and CGI here along with sets, rehearsal space and a hospitality area so adding a soundstage is the next logical step for us. “A big emphasis for us is providing opportunities for young people locally to get into the industry and learn new in-demand skills without having to leave home and go to London. Everything we have done so far, including making The Last Trip, has followed that ethos. It was fully produced using local skills and people with no experience in film production. “One of the building’s main functions will be addressing what we believe is a learning shortfall within schools and universities who seem to follow a theory-based approach with students being given very little or no real hands-on experience. “We feel the skills being taught are not the current expectations of the industry so this building and the concept behind it will provide those skills locally. “Most soundstage facilities are usually landlord-operated and are just spaces to hire out with very limited opportunities for local people. However, this building will not be allowed to be hired in full by an out-of-town production unless it agrees to include a certain percentage of local skills. “In addition, we will employ local freelancers to oversee the upkeep and management of the building while the ultimate aim is to establish a long-term programme of productions rather than living hand-to-mouth off one-off projects. In that way, it will create regular work for local freelancers.” Mr Fenton said he had already received positive interest from a number of UK film production companies. “It ticks a lot of boxes in terms of what the industry needs right now,” he added.