Grimsby Ice Factory development will 'revolutionise the docks' as plans for music venue, hotel and offices for offshore industry are approved

The Grade II* listed building in Grimsby Docks will become multi-purpose including offices, research and development space for offshore renewables, and a conference and live event venue with 1,000 capacity. Plans for a 161-bed hotel for wind farm workers next door were also approved.

Together, the projects are expected to create 600 jobs. Cllr Bill Parkinson said the Ice Factory’s restoration “will revolutionise the docks”.

The Ice Factory closed its doors in 1990. Derelict since, its condition has deteriorated and it was put on the Heritage at Risk register in 2008.

In its future life, it will essentially be formed of two buildings connected by a walkway, and first floor links. The south building will provide the conference, events and leisure floor space at ground floor, predominantly in the former ice making hall and refrigerated store. The boiler house will provide food and beverage facilities, and the venue space is expected to be only used to its 1,000 capacity three or four times a year. Office space will be in the first floor of the building and the ground and upper ground floor former ice making halls of the northern building.

There will be 149 car parking spaces linked to the Ice Factory. Its historic ice compressor room will be retained, with a full representative example of the ice making process, from start to finish, kept. The Ice Factory scheme’s application indicates it is expected to create 552 jobs at the site. “This isn’t a proposal before you on a whim, it has been a number of years in preparation,” a planning officer told councillors on Wednesday, January 3.

Tom Shutes is the entrepreneur behind both the Ice Factory’s restoration and the planned adjacent Kasbah Hotel. He said at the meeting almost a year ago he gave a private briefing to the planning committee on a masterplan for the Grimsby Docks area he owns. “I hope these two planning applications before you today make good on that promise.”

Mr Shutes bought the Ice Factory in 2021. He made clear the Ice Factory’s office and research and development space was pitched at the green maritime sector. It would be “reimagined as a new centre for engineering excellence in the present day”. “I believe we’ve brought forward a clear and holistic vision for this part of the docks.”

Councillors enthusiastically supported the plans. Cllr Parkinson said: “This is a tremendous opportunity for the town… it will revolutionise the docks.” Cllr Steve Holland agreed. “The vision behind it is exemplary,” he said, before praising council planning for the “very evident huge amount of work” done on it. For Cllr Charlotte Croft, a chance to lift the Ice Factory out of its current state was vital. “Having grown up down the dock, all my life, it’s quite heart-breaking to see the building in the state it is.”

Next door, at Auckland Road, is a vacant car park where the five-storey, 161 bed Kasbah Hotel will be built. Like the Ice Factory plans, there were no objections to it by anyone and councillors unanimously approved. In fact, former Chancellor of the Exchequor Lord Norman Lamont commented on the application in support. “I feel this would be a very valuable addition to an area right for redevelopment and regeneration.”

It will include 40 car-parking spaces, food and drink areas, social spaces and a gym. It is expected to create 50 jobs and will focus on business tourism and supporting the professional sector. An applicant agent described it as “critically important to ensure wider regeneration of the dock area and restoration of the Ice Factory”.

“It works hand in hand with regenerating” the Ice Factory, said Cllr Nicola Aisthorpe. “It’s creating jobs, improving footfall in the area, it’s developing on a brownfield site, there’s no objections, what’s not to like?”

The two sites are surrounded by private, ABP-owned land, being located in Grimsby Docks. Prompted by a question from Cllr Holland, the council planning officer confirmed “discussions are ongoing” about making the area more publicly accessible. It was indicated all sides desired to achieve this.