Last weekend Simon visited Skelton to join Councillor Cliff Foggo and hear more about the ongoing improvement works that are transforming the village centre.
Skelton Villages Civic Pride, a volunteer-led community organisation, has secured almost £1 million from the Heritage Lottery Fund to redevelop the village’s Victorian High Street. The Lottery funding has also unlocked additional support from Redcar and Cleveland Council.
Nearly 30 properties, many of them in commercial use, are expected to sign up to the scheme which will reinstate historic shopfronts, sash windows and doors and carry out other changes. There will also be improvements to paving, street furniture, site landscaping and tree planting. Work will start later this year.
Councillor Foggo also took Simon to visit the Ringrose Orchard Garden, which has been lovingly restored by the Friends of Skelton Community Orchard. The centrepiece of the new garden is the statue of Frank Wild, the Skelton-born explorer who accompanied Shackleton to the Antarctic.
Simon said, “East Cleveland is on the rise and there are some terrific projects underway to celebrate the area’s history and promote it to visitors. Skelton is a beautiful place and it was great to hear from Cliff about the High Street regeneration and to see the Ringrose Orchard Garden, both of which will do so much to enhance the village’s appeal to both tourists and business.
“One of the challenges we face is to ensure that villages in East Cleveland don’t feel they are playing second fiddle to those just across the county line in North Yorkshire. They are great places to live and work and what volunteers are helping to make happen in Skelton is something everyone living locally should be proud of. I look forward to doing everything I can to support their hard work.”