Large, prominent buildings on Boothferry Road brought back into use with a helping hand from Goole Town Deal

The four-storey, period properties at 32, 34 and 36 Boothferry Road, best known to many local residents as the former site of the Boots store before it relocated to Wesley Square, are being brought back to life as part of an ambitious £2.4 million investment by Sunshine Vita Property Ltd, which owns all three addresses. The Property Activation Fund has contributed £900,000 towards the cost of restoring the three properties, which together make up one of the largest and most prominent vacant buildings on Boothferry Road.

The largest of the two existing commercial units on the ground floor of the buildings is being subdivided, creating three newly-refurbished, modern commercial units in all. Meanwhile, the second, third and fourth floors of numbers 32, 34 and 36 will accommodate 14 self-contained residential flats.

Over the course of more than a century, the buildings have housed a host of different local businesses. Records show that number 32 was a chemist from as early as 1917, long before it was bought by the Boots chain, which also occupied number 34. Prior to that, number 34 was a draper’s shop and, later, a ‘house furnisher’ before becoming the Scotch Wool & Hosiery store. Records show that The Goole School of Music and Elocution was also based there in the mid-1930s.

A spokesperson for  Sunshine Vita Property Ltd, said: “Our conversion project will make effective re-use of the existing buildings, which sit vacant, under-utilised and partially derelict. This development focuses on providing sustainable residential accommodation to meet the needs of existing and future residents, as well as delivering cost-effective commercial floor space that will appeal to a much wider business market than the previous large, single expensive unit on the ground floor, which was vacant for years.”

Phil Jones, Chair of the Goole Town Deal Board, said: “Of the projects that have received financial support from the Property Activation Fund to date, this is a significant investment. It’s a large prominent building made up of three adjoining addresses, with a frontage that faces directly onto the shopping precinct and extends some way along it. The large commercial unit has remained empty for several years and the three properties were in an increasingly poor state of repair.

“As a Board, we’re committed to encouraging more interest in Goole town centre so we welcome the sizeable investment by Sunshine Vita Property Ltd, which will not only secure the future of these beautiful old buildings and bring them back into use, it will also make a genuine difference to the way Boothferry Road looks and feels. As well as three newly-refurbished commercial units, this project will also deliver high quality rental accommodation at the heart of the town centre.”

Modern construction methods and energy efficient products are being used wherever possible as part of the project, including waster water heat recovery for showers and mechanical ventilation heat recovery units. Sunshine Vita Property Ltd has been working in partnership with Doncaster-based construction firms Building Link Design Ltd. and R. Betts Property Ltd. on the project.  Work began last  year and is due to be completed by the summer of 2025.

One of eight strategic projects that form part of the Goole Town Deal regeneration programme, the Property Activation Fund aims to encourage property owners, developers and tenants to carry out improvements to buildings in Goole town centre and bring empty or under-used sites back into use. It will make the town centre a more attractive and appealing place to invest in and do business by restoring, refurbishing and, ultimately, reinventing buildings that are empty, under used or in a poor state of repair.

You can find out more about the eight projects allocated a share of the Goole Town Deal funding, including the Property Activation Fund, on: The Goole Town Deal website.