CLEARING OUT THE OLD TIMBER - REVAMP ANNOUNCED FOR HISTORIC SEAFRONT BUILDING

                                               

Set for a spruce-up - the RAFA club premises in Cleethorpes

A SUBSTANTIAL makeover is on the cards for the historic building that houses the RAFA club in Cleethorpes.

It has been announced that the club has been awarded a hefty Townscape Heritage grant towards refurbishing the property which dates back to 1885 when Queen Victoria was in the throne. 

The works will take approximately 14 weeks. 

Rotten timberwork will be replaced, the 1970s porch will be replaced by a traditional door, and the blue paint will be changed for a more sympathetic stone colour in keeping with the Victorian era.

Says Gavin Marshall, who  has been chairman of the Grimsby, Cleethorpes and District branch of RAFA for six years: “We have a wonderful building here.

"It is in just the right place and is matched by a really active veterans' community." 

With almost 1,000 club members, all affiliated to or with an interest in the military, this RAFA branch is the largest in the world.

The membership that has grown massively from just 300 six years ago. 

The club has been at its present home since 1966, having moved from central Grimsby.

Separately RAFA is also investing in the interior of the building, with new carpets and flooring in its downstairs bar and a renovation of the derelict top floor to make office space.

Meanwhile, there is  a call for more building owners to come forward if their premises’ lie within the action zone of Sea View Street and Alexandra Road. 

Grants of up to 80 per cent are available for the sympathetic restoration of the old Victorian exteriors.

Property owners along Sea View Street and Alexandra Road can request more details  more about the grant scheme by emailing  Townscape Heritage project manager Carol Heidschuster at: carol.heid@nelincs.gov.uk