IN ITS heyday, Gainsborough was a busy, bustling market
town built on the foundations of a flourishing engineering industry.
Fifty years ago, half of Lincolnshire's population worked in
manufacturing and with factories such as Marshall's and Rose's, Gainsborough
was right at the cutting edge of production.
But the past three decades have seen the demise of the blue collar
engineering industry and as the factories sunk, so too did the town's
identity.
While other locations across Lincolnshire found their niche – Horncastle
has become the county's antiques centre and Sleaford has turned itself into
a hub for art and culture – Gainsborough flailed.
It was, arguably, drifting towards irrelevance. Many people from outside
the town saw it as little more than a gritty, depressing throw-back
haunted by the ghost of its industrial past.
Now, it seems, all that
is changing and a new Gainsborough is emerging.
In the mid-90s the Environment Agency began £14m of vital repair work
to the town's flood defences along the River Trent.
This work led to a new footpath being built along the riverside
which, in turn, kick-started a number of publicly-funded development
projects along the water – including the £4m transformation of the
former Whittons Mill into flats and the construction of a cafe and
gallery in old industrial buildings.
In the early 2000s, a study by the local authorities and Lincolnshire
Enterprise looked at how this investment could be continued into the
town.
From then, slowly but surely, Gainsborough began to come back to
life.
While the well-paid engineering jobs which had been passed down the
generations will never be replaced, the old buildings which once housed
factories have played a key role in regeneration.
From the metaphorical ashes of the Britannia Works site has risen the
£33m Marshall's Yard shopping complex.
It opened in 2007 and is now a vibrant, modern retail centre, which
is home to the local council's HQ, an up-market Marks nd Spencer Simply
Food outlet and a Costa Coffee shop.
More recently, the development has begun attracting office tenants.
In March, the refurbishment of the site's Pattern Store and Engine House
was completed.
Since then five new firms have taken space, including ColepCCL – the
largest European contract manufacturer of aerosol and liquid products in
personal care, beauty, healthcare and homecare.
ColepCCL is also a leading supplier of tinplate and plastic packaging
solutions and has relocated its UK sales and marketing team to the
development.
Meanwhile, KAL Design, Nurture for Growth and Keypoint UK have also
joined the line-up.
Will Downing, of Pygott and Crone, said high quality office space and
a fantastic location with all the shops and services at Marshall's Yard
on the doorstep have helped to attract many new companies.
He said: "Gainsborough has never really had such high quality offices
before and the space which is available at Marshall's Yard means it can
compete with other towns and cities nearby for the quality of space
which is available here.
"When people see the quality of the office accommodation here and the
excellent facilities that are available to them, they can see what a
great place this is to base their business."
Aside from the opening of Marshall's Yard, 2007 heralded another
milestone in Gainsborough's rebirth.
In that year, the town's new master plan, Gainsborough Regained, was
published.
This looked at both structural and social deprivation in the town and
addressed how these issues could be tackled.
As a direct result of the research carried out, the town applied to
become a Government Growth Point. Its bid was successful in July 2008.
West Lindsey District Council's regeneration services manager Suzanne
Fysh said the authorities then set about putting in place the policies
and procedures needed to secure long-term growth.
"Gainsborough's population is about 19,000. We need to grow that to
36,000," she said. "It is at this point that private sector investment
begins to pick up pace.
"It is when large businesses and big investors in industries such as
retail and leisure will begin to look at the town and consider moving
here.
"People might say this is ambitious and difficult, particularly given
the current financial situation, but we believe it is possible. There is
already a lot of interest in Gainsborough from developers.
"As well as pushing ahead with plans for up to 8,000 new homes, we
are working towards creating 5,000 new jobs.
"We are investigating how we can both expand the industries we
already have here and how we can attract new industries, such as new
technology companies or green technology companies. We are surrounded by
countryside, after all.
"The total investment so far is in the region of £55m and £45m of
this figure has come from the private sector.
"This is a remarkable achievement. This is a very exciting time for
Gainsborough."
The Lindum Construction Team has recently completed 74 new homes in
Riseholme Road in Gainsborough for Acis Group housing.
Acis invested £6.6m to create this residential development and the
homes are available for rent, intermediate rent and shared ownership.
The site, which had previously been used for housing in the 60s, had
recently been cleared and Lindum, working in partnership with Acis, has
transformed the area into an impressive, modern residential development.
The 57 houses, 9 apartments and 8 bungalows incorporate innovative
build technologies – air source heat pumps, rain water harvesting, solar
and photovoltaic panels and mechanical heat recovery ventilation.
Simon Gregory, managing director of Lindum Construction, said: "We
are particularly proud of what we have achieved in Gainsborough.
"By working in partnership with our client Acis Housing and their
agents NCHA Design, we have been able to manage a difficult planning
process due to the site's very prominent position within an existing
residential area."
In addition to Marshall's Yard, recent months have seen new
industrial sites created at Heapham Road and Somerby Park, in
partnership with Thonock and Somersby Estates.
The Gainsborough Educational Village is now open, £700,000 has been
secured to create a quality youth café and educational facility, and
work is in progress on a £2.5m project to enhance the market place and
town centre.
Councillor Malcolm Parish said: "The council is keen to see the town
centre grow and prosper to serve the expanding town and there is still
work to be done with empty properties on the Riverside.
"Our former headquarters at the Old Guildhall is also a key site and
we would very much like to see a marina development in the future which
would give the town a new dimension."
The final strand in a brighter future for Gainsborough is the
regeneration of South West Ward.
"This area is lacking in greenspace within a number of poor quality
homes. We are currently working with partners and residents to come up
with a proposal to improve the area.
"The plans for Gainsborough are ambitious and very exciting. This is
a real challenge but it is one that we, and all our partners, are
convinced that we can meet," said Mr Parish.
For information about units available at Marshall's Yard, call Will
Downing at Pygott and Crone on 01522 536777 or David Hale at Dransfield
Properties on 01226 360644.
A brave new Gainsborough is emerging
IN ITS heyday, Gainsborough was a busy, bustling market town built on the foundations of a flourishing engineering industry.
Fifty years ago, half of Lincolnshire's population worked in manufacturing and with factories such as Marshall's and Rose's, Gainsborough was right at the cutting edge of production.
But the past three decades have seen the demise of the blue collar engineering industry and as the factories sunk, so too did the town's identity.
While other locations across Lincolnshire found their niche – Horncastle has become the county's antiques centre and Sleaford has turned itself into a hub for art and culture – Gainsborough flailed.
Now, it seems, all that is changing and a new Gainsborough is emerging.
In the mid-90s the Environment Agency began £14m of vital repair work to the town's flood defences along the River Trent.
This work led to a new footpath being built along the riverside which, in turn, kick-started a number of publicly-funded development projects along the water – including the £4m transformation of the former Whittons Mill into flats and the construction of a cafe and gallery in old industrial buildings.
In the early 2000s, a study by the local authorities and Lincolnshire Enterprise looked at how this investment could be continued into the town.
From then, slowly but surely, Gainsborough began to come back to life.
While the well-paid engineering jobs which had been passed down the generations will never be replaced, the old buildings which once housed factories have played a key role in regeneration.
From the metaphorical ashes of the Britannia Works site has risen the £33m Marshall's Yard shopping complex.
It opened in 2007 and is now a vibrant, modern retail centre, which is home to the local council's HQ, an up-market Marks nd Spencer Simply Food outlet and a Costa Coffee shop.
More recently, the development has begun attracting office tenants. In March, the refurbishment of the site's Pattern Store and Engine House was completed.
Since then five new firms have taken space, including ColepCCL – the largest European contract manufacturer of aerosol and liquid products in personal care, beauty, healthcare and homecare.
ColepCCL is also a leading supplier of tinplate and plastic packaging solutions and has relocated its UK sales and marketing team to the development.
Meanwhile, KAL Design, Nurture for Growth and Keypoint UK have also joined the line-up.
Will Downing, of Pygott and Crone, said high quality office space and a fantastic location with all the shops and services at Marshall's Yard on the doorstep have helped to attract many new companies.
He said: "Gainsborough has never really had such high quality offices before and the space which is available at Marshall's Yard means it can compete with other towns and cities nearby for the quality of space which is available here.
"When people see the quality of the office accommodation here and the excellent facilities that are available to them, they can see what a great place this is to base their business."
Aside from the opening of Marshall's Yard, 2007 heralded another milestone in Gainsborough's rebirth.
In that year, the town's new master plan, Gainsborough Regained, was published.
This looked at both structural and social deprivation in the town and addressed how these issues could be tackled.
As a direct result of the research carried out, the town applied to become a Government Growth Point. Its bid was successful in July 2008.
West Lindsey District Council's regeneration services manager Suzanne Fysh said the authorities then set about putting in place the policies and procedures needed to secure long-term growth.
"Gainsborough's population is about 19,000. We need to grow that to 36,000," she said. "It is at this point that private sector investment begins to pick up pace.
"It is when large businesses and big investors in industries such as retail and leisure will begin to look at the town and consider moving here.
"People might say this is ambitious and difficult, particularly given the current financial situation, but we believe it is possible. There is already a lot of interest in Gainsborough from developers.
"As well as pushing ahead with plans for up to 8,000 new homes, we are working towards creating 5,000 new jobs.
"We are investigating how we can both expand the industries we already have here and how we can attract new industries, such as new technology companies or green technology companies. We are surrounded by countryside, after all.
"The total investment so far is in the region of £55m and £45m of this figure has come from the private sector.
"This is a remarkable achievement. This is a very exciting time for Gainsborough."
The Lindum Construction Team has recently completed 74 new homes in Riseholme Road in Gainsborough for Acis Group housing.
Acis invested £6.6m to create this residential development and the homes are available for rent, intermediate rent and shared ownership.
The site, which had previously been used for housing in the 60s, had recently been cleared and Lindum, working in partnership with Acis, has transformed the area into an impressive, modern residential development.
The 57 houses, 9 apartments and 8 bungalows incorporate innovative build technologies – air source heat pumps, rain water harvesting, solar and photovoltaic panels and mechanical heat recovery ventilation.
Simon Gregory, managing director of Lindum Construction, said: "We are particularly proud of what we have achieved in Gainsborough.
"By working in partnership with our client Acis Housing and their agents NCHA Design, we have been able to manage a difficult planning process due to the site's very prominent position within an existing residential area."
In addition to Marshall's Yard, recent months have seen new industrial sites created at Heapham Road and Somerby Park, in partnership with Thonock and Somersby Estates.
The Gainsborough Educational Village is now open, £700,000 has been secured to create a quality youth café and educational facility, and work is in progress on a £2.5m project to enhance the market place and town centre.
Councillor Malcolm Parish said: "The council is keen to see the town centre grow and prosper to serve the expanding town and there is still work to be done with empty properties on the Riverside.
"Our former headquarters at the Old Guildhall is also a key site and we would very much like to see a marina development in the future which would give the town a new dimension."
The final strand in a brighter future for Gainsborough is the regeneration of South West Ward.
"This area is lacking in greenspace within a number of poor quality homes. We are currently working with partners and residents to come up with a proposal to improve the area.
"The plans for Gainsborough are ambitious and very exciting. This is a real challenge but it is one that we, and all our partners, are convinced that we can meet," said Mr Parish.
For information about units available at Marshall's Yard, call Will Downing at Pygott and Crone on 01522 536777 or David Hale at Dransfield Properties on 01226 360644.