Grimsby plan lifeline for ice factory
26th July 2017
UK: The group fighting to preserve the Grimsby Ice Factory and its 80-year-old refrigeration compressors has been buoyed by plans for a regeneration of the area.
North East Lincolnshire Council’s proposed Greater Grimsby Town Deal intends to work in partnership with Government and major private investors. The plan includes major projects at the Port of Immingham, Stallingborough Enterprise Zone and in Grimsby and Cleethorpes town centres. The initiative proposes an initial five year investment plan of up to £36.9m of new Government investment.
The proposals are backed by an elite team including former chancellor Norman Lamont and local entrepreneur and Carphone Warehouse founder David Ross.
Ross is also president of the Great Grimsby Ice Factory Trust (GGIFT), the group fighting to preserve the historic but derelict Ice Factory and the four iconic J&E Hall compressors it still contains.
“This Town Deal emphasises the preservation of Grimsby’s maritime heritage, and includes the Kasbah as a proposed conservation area,” said GGIFT chair Vicky Hartung. “GGIFT president, David Ross, is chair of the Greater Grimsby Board that will lead on the implementation of the plan, which we believe could provide the ideal economic and cultural context for the successful re-purposing of the Grimsby Ice Factory,” she added.
The Grimsby Ice Factory was built in 1900 to support the Grimsby fishing industry. The largest ice factory in the world, it closed in 1990, and has since stood derelict and crumbling in Grimsby docks. The Grade ll*-listed building still contains much of its original refrigeration equipment including four massive, 80-year-old, four-cylinder, J&E Hall ammonia compressors installed in the 1930s.
Related stories:
Iconic refrigeration frozen in time – 1 March 2014
The Cooling Post has uncovered a huge amount of new information, photographs and drawings of the historic Grimsby Ice Factory, enough to begin a new three-part feature on the history of the Grimsby Ice Factory and the unique refrigeration equipment it contains. Read more…
Frozen in time – Part 2 – 10 March 2014
In Part 2 of our special feature on the Grimsby Ice Factory, the Cooling Post takes a more in-depth look at the 80-year-old refrigeration system still contained within this historic building. Read more…
Grimsby Ice Factory – Part 3 – 23 March 2014
In Part 2 of this series on the Grimsby Ice Factory we looked at the 1930s J&E Hall refrigeration installation which replaced the original steam-driven compressors. In this article we look at that original equipment and how it worked within the Ice Factory. Read more…
