Over the past six months, residents across Grimsby have been working together to shape a shared direction for the town’s future.
Local people have stepped forward to explore priorities, test ideas and connect different strands of work. Alongside this, a dedicated group has been focusing on how long-term investment and decision-making could be shaped in ways that work better for Grimsby. That collective effort has now reached an important milestone.
The Journey So Far
The Grimsby Together process began in 2024 with a town-wide conversation about Grimsby’s future. Designed to be open and inclusive, it aimed to hear from as many people as possible.
- More than 1,100 people took part directly
- Over 56,000 votes were cast
- Hundreds of ideas and perspectives were shared
From this, a clear shared direction emerged. Residents envisioned a thriving, green town that believes in and backs its own people. They identified connected priorities across key areas including:
- Thriving Businesses and Connected Town Centre
- Secure Homes and Lives
- Opportunities and Education available for everyone
- Strong Welcoming Community
- Arts and Culture create Connection, Energy and Identity
- Green Economy that works for the town
- Connection to nature
- Beautiful Built Environment
Outlining the project, Emily Bolton, CEO and Founder of Our Future, said:
“Grimsby Together is a project where we are collectively coming alongside the brilliant leaders, who are already building the future here. Submitting the plan is such an exciting milestone because it reflects the hard work, ambition and input from people across the town.
Our Future has been so proud to have the privilege to support and enable this work by helping to bring people together, sharing learning from other places and supporting local residents who are shaping the priorities and next steps”
In 2025, the next phase of Grimsby Together began as Grimsby became eligible for up to £20 million over ten years through the Government’s Pride in Place programme. The expectation was clear that funding decisions must be shaped by local voices and supported by meaningful community involvement.
Spencer Hunt, Assistant Director, Safer & Stronger Communities at North East Lincolnshire Council, explained:
“This is a 10-year program with a £20 million investment in Grimsby and is an enabler for change. So, in other words, ideas that are locally generated, created and thought about by local people turn into a reality; they have a genuine opportunity to shape the future of this town.”
Following an open call for Grimsby Together working groups, there was an overwhelming response from passionate people across the town, who all shared their love, unwavering commitment and their enthusiasm for the positive changes already underway.
Over 80 local people from across the town formed the groups and worked through the priorities in detail, supported by continued public engagement via meetings, events and online platforms. The focus was on:
- Turning the shared vision into a practical ten-year direction
- Understanding how different priorities connect and reinforce one another
- Mapping existing activity across the town and identifying opportunities to strengthen it
- Exploring how funding could support long-term change rather than short-term spend
This work formed the backbone of Grimsby’s response to the funding opportunity and demonstrated that the town was ready to lead its own future.
Plan submitted to unlock Pride in Place funding
At the end of November 2025, the proposal was submitted to the Government to unlock Pride in Place funding. As well as outlining how the town would deliver against national priorities thriving places, stronger communities and local empowerment. The submission included a ten-year vision built through years of conversation and collaboration.
But the most significant achievement was not the submission itself – it was by far the approach it represented.
The Grimsby Fund
Central to the proposal is the ambition to establish a locally led Grimsby Fund. Rather than viewing the £20 million as a one-off spend, the Fund is designed to hold, steward, and grow investment on behalf of the town. The initial £20 million is just the starting point, not a ceiling.
The Grimsby Fund aims to:
- Support local ideas aligned with shared priorities
- Join up funding to make it work harder across the town
- Attract additional public, philanthropic, and social investment
- Provide a lasting mechanism to support change beyond the ten-year programme
- Remain guided by the priorities of local people
This is Grimsby taking responsibility for shaping how investment can work for the town in the long term.
What Happens Next
This milestone marks a shift from shaping direction to building the future. Next steps include:
- Developing the Fund’s governance, decision-making, and accountability
- Identifying early priorities for delivery
- Continuing public engagement to share, test, and shape ideas
- Supporting and strengthening existing activity across the town
- Exploring ways to attract further funding
Staying Involved
There will be opportunities to stay involved, whether by helping shape the Fund, contributing to priority areas, sharing ideas or bringing others into the work.
The community has built this vision together. The next chapter is about turning that shared ambition into visible, long-term change for Grimsby.
