Invest in Louth
Louth has a special and romantic quality not often found in contemporary British market towns. Known as the ‘Capital of the Lincolnshire Wolds’, Louth straddles both two hemispheres (the Greenwich Meridian Line of zero degrees longitude passes right through the centre of the town), and two wonderfully diverse landscapes. From the rolling hills of the Wolds (an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty) to the Marshes rich with wildlife, the natural beauty of the town is matched by its architectural splendour. The town has managed to retain its original medieval street plan, markets and unique shopping experience, while developing its growing reputation as a speciality food town.
Not wishing to stand still, Louth’s ‘original’ charm is complimented by an established mix of independent retailers and forward-looking commercial development (Louth has one of the lowest retail vacancy rates in the country - recorded at 3.6% by the Local Data Company). The challenge, moving forwards, is to ensure that all new development complements the town’s heritage and desire to retain its character and special position in the hearts of residents and visitors a-like. To achieve this aim, the District Council appointed a town centre manager for Louth in late 2009, who has subsequently established the Louth Town Partnership to help oversee the future development of the town.
Louth’s population is growing (approaching 20,000) and the eclectic mixture of current housing stock, which combines Georgian and Victorian architecture with sympathetically designed modern builds has been added to by a number of small housing developments in the town providing a wide range of new detached family homes, bungalows, multi-level town houses and affordable housing. As a local service centre, Louth businesses can take advantage of a large and growing catchment market (Lincolnshire is the second fastest growing ‘shire’ in the UK).
The £4.6 million Wolds College (completed on the Cordeaux School site in late 2008) provides state of the art, industry standard vocational training facilities for young people in the areas of construction, motor engineering, hairdressing and beauty therapy. The College was officially opened on the 2nd December 2008 by HRH The Princess Royal and complements the already thriving and highly successful network of schools in the Louth area such as King Edward VIth Grammar School (listed as one of the best secondary schools in the county by ‘The Guardian’).
Industrially, Louth continues to develop consistently and most of the plots developed in the late nineties on Louth’s Fairfield Industrial Estate have already been sold. The District Council are exploring the possibility of extending the estate further to satisfy serviced industrial/commercial land demand for the next 10-15 years. This would involve significant land acquisition as well as infrastructure development and would take around five years to deliver. The estate has enjoyed a successful decade post extension, attracting a diverse mix of businesses ranging from plastics and packaging manufacturers to the Honda Super-bike race team. Added to this, there are a number of exciting commercial and leisure projects under discussion which could further extend the diverse mix of estate businesses.
The recently completed Fairfield Enterprise Centre is another significant statement of confidence in the commercial future of the town. The centre has been built to support and encourage the growth of new business opportunities in Louth and the surrounding area. The Centre provides 36 modern office units (ranging from 20-50sq m) alongside conference facilities and intensive business support for pre-start, start-up and spin-out companies in East Lindsey. The Centre is currently at 82% occupancy.
Work was completed earlier this year on the Louth Community Leisure Project which has seen the building of a £1.6m sports pavilion and complete redevelopment of sports pitches at the old London Road Sports Hall and the building of the £11m Meridian Leisure Centre on Wood Lane Playing Field. The Meridian Leisure Centre provides residents and visitors to Louth with an eight lane swimming pool, fun pool, state of the art fitness suite, sports hall and dance studio. A private sector led initiative to build an indoor tennis centre will be completed in late 2010.
Essentially, Louth is moving forward and has a bright future. It is widely acknowledged as a fantastic lifestyle and quality of life choice offering a blend of natural and clean environments, a variety of leisure pursuits, low crime rates and the offer of a better work/life balance. There is support and grants available to foster entrepreneurship and assist business start-up and development, an improving digital infrastructure and locationally, Louth offers many advantages. It is located next to the main trunk route - the A16, offering close links to the Humber Bank and the ports of Immingham and Hull. Quiet roads also ensure superior journey efficiency and London can be accessed by car and train in little over two and a half hours. Airports such as Humberside and Robin Hood International are less than 60 minutes drive and the motorway network, accessed by the M180, is only thirty minutes away.
To talk about investing in Louth in more depth please contact
Economic Development Team at East Lindsey District Council contact 01507 601111
Download Louth business profile >>
Information compiled by Economic Development Department East Lindsey District Council
