A empty building on Boothferry Road in Goole that was restored with the support of £30,000 in match-funding from Goole Town Deal’s Property Activation Fund now has a smart new look and is already back in use.

The three-storey, period property at 28 Boothferry Road (pictured), which had been vacant for several years, has benefited from a £60,000 makeover after its owner, Guy England, invested the other half of the money himself. A retail unit on the ground floor has been completely refurbished, two offices have been created on the first floor, and energy efficient heating and lighting has been installed throughout the building, as well as insulation. Since the work was carried out last year, a brand new yoga studio business called The House Of Flow has opened on the ground floor of the building, bringing a completely new offering to the town centre, and the office space has also been let.

 Speaking about the support he’d received from the Property Activation Fund, Mr England said: “As someone who grew up in Goole, I remember it having a thriving town centre. Coming back to Goole many years later, I was pleased to see how much industry the town has successfully attracted but the town centre didn’t seem to match that.

“I believe that investing in the town centre in this way is a great step forward, and is helping to attract suitable lifestyle businesses to Goole. Being able to share the risk of investing into the town centre, thanks to the match-funding on offer, gave me the confidence to go ahead with the project.”

Phil Jones, Chair of the Goole Town Deal Board, said: “It’s fantastic to see another start-up business choosing to locate in Goole town centre in this smart, newly-restored building. By bringing the first floor of the building back into use as offices, this project meets a key objective of the Property Activation Fund, which is to encourage increased economic activity in the area, contributing to the long-term goal of reinventing the town centre.”

The Property Activation Fund is one of eight strategic projects to be allocated a share of Goole’s £25 million in Town Deal funding from the Government. Property Activation Fund grants totalling almost £2.5 million have been awarded to 24 different properties, with some projects already complete and many others currently in progress.