Cycle store to help Scartho shopping area get back in the saddle

RETAIL outlets in Scartho are changing – but it's not all bad news as two empty stores are set to open again.

Pet supply and flower store Arkwright and Gladys in Louth Road unfortunately closed down earlier this month.

However, two empty stores in the same street will soon be up and running again.

The former Gamble's Florist, which was on the market with Jackson Green and Preston, is under offer and the sale is due to complete "any day" according to the agent, although they wouldn't give any details.

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However, the old Broadburn's Chemist, on the other side of the road, will definitely be up and running soon.

It has a new owner – Cycle Mode, a company with one shop already in Louth that is expanding into Scartho.

Owner Guy Kemp opened the Louth store less than a year ago, in September, but is already looking at growth.

Now he plans to open the new store, which is twice the size of the old one, and offer a wider range of bikes and repair services – with the possibility of expanding upstairs in the unit.

Mr Kemp said that the recession is one of a number of factors meaning that "cycling has never been more popular" – and sales are booming.

"More and more people are getting into cycling so the market conditions couldn't be better.

"We opened at a time when some businesses were struggling but knew that by choosing a growing area and offering a quality service, we would succeed."

Mr Kemp said the Olympics have influenced people to get on their bikes and intends to open the shop before June 16, plenty of time before the Olympic Torch passes the shop on June 26. He said that a government incentive offering tax breaks on bikes for people who ride to work has helped grow the industry.

Mr Kemp also thought that increasing fuel costs have forced a growing number of people out of their cars and onto their bikes.

He also thinks that Scartho is the perfect spot for his new shop.

"It is a growing area and there are a number of schools and cycle routes nearby.

"The shop has had a great deal of success in Louth and for some time I have wanted to expand into Grimsby.

"This is the perfect unit with enough room to widen our range and maybe turn the upstairs into a fitting room."

Cycle Mode will now have enough room to offer all kinds of bikes, from value children's cycles to £8,000 racers.

Broadburn's closed when it moved into the new Scartho Medical Centre in December 2010.

It still has a second branch in Waltham Road in the village.