Redevelopment of landmark waterside building secures approval

Plans to redevelop a landmark building on Grimsby’s waterfront and construct a hotel on an adjacent site have been given the green light.Entrepreneur and developer Tom Shutes submitted detailed plans to North East Lincolnshire Council earlier this year for the Ice Factory, which once housed the world’s largest ice-making machinery – producing up to 1,500 tonnes of ice per day.The plans cover the redevelopment of the listed property to create office, studio, and research and development space for the green maritime sector.In addition, an exhibition, conference and live performance venue is set to be created, capable of hosting between 150 and 1,000 visitors.An extension is planned to the south building to create a new entrance, and new bridges would be created at first floor to connect the two buildings.The plans also include public realm works, car, coach and cycle parking facilities, and associated and ancillary works.The council voted to grant approval, subject to conditions, at a planning committee meeting on 3 January 2024. The decision was in line with the recommendation of a planning officer’s report prepared for the meeting, as previously reported by Insider.A second application from Shutes for a new hotel on an adjacent site at Grimsby Docks was also approved at the meeting.The scheme covers the construction of a five-storey hotel comprising 161 bedrooms, as well as food and beverage areas, social spaces and a gym.An international brand has signed heads of terms on the new hotel, while leaf HOSPITALITY has also agreed terms to operate the venue.The plans also include 40 car parking spaces, alongside accessible and EV charging car parking spaces, and wider public realm works.The site has most recently been in use as car parking and for timber storage.The Ice Factory, which was nominated by SAVE as one of the 12 ‘most endangered’ heritage sites in Europe in 2017, was acquired in its derelict state by Shutes in 2021 from ABP. He subsequently commissioned architecture practice Waugh Thistleton to masterplan the wider site and design office, conference, leisure and food and beverage space, with associated public realm and car, coach and cycle parking facilities, for the sensitive restoration of the Ice Factory.