Property Activation Fund grant supports yet another new business to invest in Goole town centre

Located midway down the pedestrianised shopping precinct, the prominent two-storey building at 56 Boothferry Road is now home to a branch of the specialist travel company Go Cruise & Travel, which opened for business earlier this month and will host an official opening event on 6 August.

The franchise business is operated by travel specialists Richard and Yvonne Sharp and the new Goole store is their first high street branch. As well as bringing an empty shop back into use and enhancing the appearance of the town centre, the opening of their Goole branch has also created one new job.

Richard and Yvonne received a Property Activation Fund grant of £6,224.64 towards the cost of refurbishing the building, which involved the installation of LED (light emitting diode) lighting to reduce their ongoing running costs, as well as new flooring and internal partitions; work to clean and decorate the shop to a high standard; and the installation of smart new signage. The couple also invested a significant amount of their own money to bring their new business venture to Goole, with the total cost of the restoration project exceeding £15,000.

Councillor Anne Handley, Leader of East Riding of Yorkshire Council, said: “It’s fantastic to see another prominent town centre shop back in use and looking very smart, and to have yet another new business choose to invest in our town. I wish Richard and Yvonne the very best of luck with their new venture.

“This is a positive outcome from the Property Activation Fund and I’m excited to see what else we can achieve through this fantastic project, which, by attracting investment, is making a real difference to the way our town centre looks and feels.”

Richard said that he and Yvonne were keen to open a branch in Goole because the town has been without a high street travel agency for some time, adding: “It’s an up-and-coming place and, given the size of the town, we believe there’s an opportunity to provide this service to the local community.

“The Property Activation Fund helped us bring this to life and enabled us to produce a higher quality premises than we may have done.”

As Richard explained, he and Yvonne have also received support from Invest East Yorkshire’s Business Support Services team, which is part of East Riding of Yorkshire Council.

He said: “Harry Booth has been our Business Advisor from Invest East Yorkshire since we first started the business. It was Harry who brought the Goole Town Deal’s Property Activation Fund to our attention and he’s been a big help with it all.”

Business Advisor Harry Booth explained: “I started working with Richard when he first launched his venture from home. He quickly realised he wanted to grow the business by opening a high street branch. Richard spotted a gap in the market in Goole town centre and began to explore this opportunity in more detail.

“It was at this point that I signposted him to his local Business and Intellectual Property Centre and made him aware of Goole Town Deal’s Property Activation Fund by sending him details about an open day that the Goole Town Deal team were hosting, which he attended. From this, Richard was able to gather key business intelligence and statistics that helped to inform his decision.”

Once Richard had decided to make the move to the high street, Harry helped him with the grant application process. He continues to support Richard and Yvonne with their marketing activities, and to explore other grant funding opportunities for their new venture.

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.

For more information about the help and advice on offer from Invest East Yorkshire’s Business Support Services Team, visit: www.investeastyorkshire.co.uk/business-support, telephone 01482 391622 or email business.support@eastriding.gov.uk.