NEW YEAR 2020: WHAT BRIGG SHOULD BE HOPING FOR

Brigg Blog has drawn up a wish list for 2020 as we  enter the New Year.
Many people living in the town will be hoping that the auction/market we know as Stennett's will finally reopen on Station Road, under a new operator. The last sale took place in June 2019. These Thursday auctions used to bring scores of people into the town from a very wide area. North Lincolnshire Council has been trying for some months to attract a new operator.
Those who campaign for an improved passenger train service for Brigg railway station have started many a New Year hoping that more trains can be added to the timetable than the current six, just on Saturdays, and also that trains will start to run again on other days of the week. Brigg was downgraded to Saturdays-only way back in 1993. Gainsborough - two stops down the line - has now managed to get more trains. So will it be OUR turn in 2020?

Many folk living in Brigg and surrounding communities will be wishing for the earliest possible completion of the new Aldi store, off Bridge Street, so they can snap up what the discount retailer has on offer.

 

An artist's impression showing how the new Aldi store in Brigg will look.

Will 2020 finally see a Brigg town centre project carried through that has been on the cards for many years?
North Lincolnshire Council was granted planning permission to demolish the former market stalls storage building on Cary Lane (next to the WCs) and also acquired a plot of vacant land in nearby Coney Court, with talk of small shopping units on the latter. But there's still no sign of re-development.
 

More metal arches are earmarked to be erected on the entrances to courtyards in the town's main shopping area this year - phase two of a project started some months ago when the initial few went up.
Brigg Blog - and many others who shop in the town centre - will be hoping that the powers-that-be finally commit to clamp down on drivers who ride roughshod over the regulations relating to vehicles in the pedestrian area. Shoppers should not have to move aside to make way for vehicles that have no right to be there. A blitz on offenders, resulting in cash penalties, would soon pay dividends and deter others. However, this has been an issue for many years.
 

Hopefully, 2020 will see something being done with the White Hart pub, pictured above, on Bridge Street, which has been closed for many months, and also the former Greggs shop occupying a prominent position midway down Wrawby Street.
Will this year see a start made on building dozens of new houses off Bridge Street, occupying the former Falcon Cycles and Corah factory sites? Planning permission was granted some time ago. The same applies to a block of new apartments earmarked for vacant land near the railway station.
Looking ahead to November, is there any chance of a communal bonfire night/firework display being reintroduced again in 2020 after a gap of many years? These used to be held at the Recreation Ground.
On the sporting front, fans of Brigg Town Football Club will be keen to see the historic Zebras progress on and off the field, while Brigg Hockey Club will be celebrating its 70th anniversary this year.
The hockey club makes very good use of the Recreation Ground where SEVEN teams play home matches, but Briggensians are currently the only local adult football team playing at the Rec.
Brigg Blog is keen to see more clubs being formed in the town - perhaps based in local pubs - and playing Saturday and Sunday matches in the Scunthorpe leagues.
It would also be a welcome move if Brigg Town Cricket Club could add an additional team or two.
We have fingers firmly crossed that local resident Neil Stapleton will be willing to share more of his excellent bird's eye views of the town with us as he gets out and about in 2020. One of his pictures, taken earlier this year, heads this post and shows the Millennium Green with part of the town centre beyond, including St John's Church.
Brigg Blog sends New Year best wishes to all our followers. Your support is appreciated; please continue to visit our site regularly in 2020.