Take a drive around Skegness and it's clear there is a lot of investment in the resort ahead of the 2024 season. We took a tour around the resort to find out more....
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00:00 Take a drive around Skegness and you can't help but notice there's a lot going on.
00:07 With just a few weeks before the start of the 2024 season, scaffolding is up everywhere.
00:14 It's all down to millions of pounds of investment by the Town Fund and Private Enterprise.
00:22 We went to have a closer look and talk to some of the people responsible.
00:29 This is phase one of the master plan for Skegness Town Council and Tower Gardens.
00:40 Phase one is concentrating around the pond, improving the pathways.
00:46 It's refurbishing the whole of the pond and the pumps to get the cascades working again.
00:53 Part of phase one will include planting around the pond. We've taken out old shrubs which block the view.
01:05 We'll have new planting once the pond has been refurbished.
01:10 We've also got planting around the bandstand.
01:15 That will be a sensory planting area forming a sensory garden and it will have musical instruments which will enhance that sensory feeling.
01:28 You've told me that the work is on schedule. When can people expect to see it finished?
01:34 It's due to be finished before Easter so we're hoping to be reopened for the Easter holiday.
01:43 That's what we're aiming for. Everything is weather dependent but so far we're absolutely on schedule to do that.
01:53 Part of this work has been clearing out the pond. I hear you've found some interesting things in there.
01:59 There's been bicycles, cones, a few old phones, a tyre, shopping trolleys and quite a lot of rubbish that's been thrown in over many years.
02:17 Some of it's a bit unrecognisable but that's all coming out with the silt and everything else.
02:24 And some goldfish you didn't know you had.
02:26 Yeah, there were 400 goldfish in there which is amazing. We knew we had fish in there but we didn't know we had that number.
02:35 They're all goldfish so I suspect they've come from people who've come from the fairs when they used to get those as prizes a few years back.
02:47 So where are they now?
02:50 They've gone on their holidays. They've gone to Ipswich where there's a special storage facility for them.
02:58 And then once the pond has been refurbished they'll be coming back to us and going into their newly cleaned home.
03:07 So probably it's going to be really impressed at Easter and the goldfish too.
03:12 Yes, it'll be really nice to see it and fingers crossed that that weekend is going to be lovely weather as well so that everybody can come out and enjoy it.
03:23 Hi, I'm Chris Barron, Chair of the Connected Coast.
03:27 Now we've been having a tour around town and clearly there's lots of things happening, scaffolding's up. You must be really pleased to see things starting.
03:37 It is, it's great to see the projects coming to fruition. It takes a lot of planning to get these things done even after we've got the funding.
03:43 But next week the new college will start on Wainfleet Road. We've already got work started on the railway station.
03:49 Part of the High Street project with Allison's, everybody will have seen the scaffolding going up there.
03:53 And as a side part of that, Wetherspoons joining in the investment to all that area is getting a major change this year.
04:00 Four more shops will be starting straight after Allison's is finished.
04:04 We've got some work starting on the Culture House project in the Embassy this winter. Most of that will happen next year.
04:11 We've already got work started in the Tower Gardens as well. So lots of change.
04:15 So people will see the real benefits coming through of the Town Fund investment now.
04:19 Now it has been a tough time for businesses, hasn't it? This must give everybody hope.
04:26 I hope so. I mean a lot of public investment going in, but private investment as well.
04:31 Lots of people have ideas of how they want to invest. The Old Town Hall project is now moving on.
04:36 We're seeing newer hotel applications coming in.
04:39 So I think people can be optimistic, but it is still going to be a difficult year I think, just because of general economy issues.
04:45 Things are looking good for Skegness then?
04:47 I think compared to most other seaside resorts, definitely.