Grimsby Youth Zone to receive multi-million pound boost from The National Lottery Heritage Fund

A group of young people, part of Grimsby Youth Zone's Young People's Development Group hold a Thank You sign, to thank The National Lottery Heritage Fund for their support

Horizon, Grimsby’s state-of-the-art OnSide Youth Zone, is set to receive £2.7m from The National Lottery Heritage Fund following a successful funding bid by national youth charity OnSide. Together with a group of young people from Grimsby, they made a compelling case for the funding and created a short film bringing to life why Grimsby’s young people deserve the investment.

The major donation from The National Lottery Heritage Fund will support the development of the Youth Zone and a longer-term heritage programme. £2.2m will support the renovation of the Youth Zone, which is set to transform vacant buildings on Grimsby’s oldest dock, including a former flour mill dating back to the 1700s. £500k will be used to establish a five-year programme of heritage-inspired activities, which have all been designed by local young people. Young people will have the opportunity to develop a time capsule of stories and design a historic timeline which will feature on one of the walls of the Youth Zone. Ultimately the funding aims to help connect the Youth Zone and its young people with a broader, heritage-led transformation of Grimsby town. Other recent Heritage Fund investment in Grimsby includes £647,700 to repurpose historic fish smoking and processing buildings in the new Conservation Area, bringing Peterson’s Smokehouse and Building 89 (Fred’s Fisheries) on the Kasbah back into use and enabling a variety of heritage activities on site. 

Young people have been at the heart of the development of Horizon Youth Zone since the beginning. A passionate group of young volunteers form the ‘Young People Development Group’ and have already decided on several key areas such as the name, branding and design of the Youth Zone itself. This youth led approach was central to the successful Heritage Fund bid, with one member of the group attending the bid presentation to explain exactly what the funding would mean to her and other young Grimbarians.  

Former Young People Development Group member, now trainee youth worker at OnSide, Izzy Russell said “To be a teenager growing up in Grimsby, it’s been amazing how much I’ve been involved in this project. It just shows that young people are at the core of Horizon Youth Zone. I want to say a huge thank you to The National Lottery Heritage Fund for this incredible grant, it means a lot. Without a shadow of a doubt the youth of Grimsby have some exciting things to look forward to!” 

Grimsby’s Horizon Youth Zone project is a partnership between OnSide, North East Lincolnshire Council and the local business community. While a large part of the Youth Zone’s funding will come from the National Lottery Heritage Fund grant, OnSide is fundraising for the remaining building and running costs, having already received some fantastic support for this from Ørsted, Historic England, Architectural Heritage Fund, and other charities and philanthropists. To date, businesses Ørsted, Allied Protek, the Evergreen Group and DFDS Seaways, as well as philanthropic individuals Paul Bentham, Simon Smith, Andrew Pettit and Jason Stockwood have pledged their support towards the operating costs of Horizon, joining the growing community of Founder Patrons. 

Horizon Youth Zone will be part of the OnSide Network of 14 Youth Zones nationwide, which are state-of-the-art buildings providing a range of opportunities and trusted support to help young people explore their potential. They are open to young people aged between eight and 19 (up to 25 for those with additional needs), 7 days a week, for just 50p a visit. Horizon Youth Zone members will have access to an indoor climbing wall, four court sports hall, training kitchen, music room with a recording studio, fully equipped gym, dance and drama studio, 3G kick pitch, arts and crafts room, enterprise and employability suite, combined with support from skilled youth workers.  

Interim Horizon Youth Zone Chair Jason Stockwood said: “This is fantastic news for Horizon Youth Zone, the partnership behind the project and all of Grimsby’s young people. This major investment will provide young Grimbarians with incredible opportunities to find their voice, increase their confidence and gain new skills. This investment is made possible by National Lottery players. Thanks to them, young people are at the heart of the regeneration of Grimsby, ensuring they can play a special role in a heritage led transformation of the town. I want to thank OnSide and the young people involved in submitting the bid as it is an incredible achievement.” 

Cllr Callum Procter, Cabinet member for Economic Growth, Housing and Tourism at North East Lincolnshire Council, said: “This is a major milestone for this project, and I’m really pleased to see it progressing. Horizon, in the heart of our town centre, is using one of our Grade 2 listed buildings that has been derelict for a generation. This project is representative of this borough’s drive to invest in our children and young people. They are our adults of tomorrow, and we are determined to overcome the challenges that we have within areas of our community to improve the opportunities for them.” 

David Renwick, Director England, North at The National Lottery Heritage Fund, said:   

“I’m delighted to announce £2.7million of support from The National Lottery Heritage Fund to Great Grimsby Horizon Youth Zone. This grant, made possible thanks to National Lottery players, will have a hugely positive impact on the young people of Grimsby, with several thousand Youth Zone members able to benefit from the facilities, projects and workshops that will be available.”  

“We at the Heritage Fund are proud to continue our strategic support of North East Lincolnshire and contribute to the important partnership work already underway to enable heritage-led regeneration in Grimsby. We know that funding heritage is a key element in boosting the local economy, benefitting the wellbeing of people living in the area and instilling a sense of pride among the community.”  

For more information and updates about Horizon Youth Zone follow @horizon_yz on Twitter.