12 February 2025

High street property owners issued fresh call to clean up their act

by Rebecca Hannant

Owners of unused and untidy properties in Withernsea have once again been urged to clean up their act.

In last week’s Gazette, columnist Bill Jardine raised concerns about several premises in Queen Street, including the old Betfred shop, the Army Cadet Force office, Municipal Buildings and more.

Responding to Bill’s comments, South East Holderness councillor Jon Dimberline said he was working with East Riding Council to encourage business owners to tidy up their premises or face further action.

Cllr Dimberline said: “I read with interest Bill’s column – he mentioned three things that I have been and am trying to change.

“I have been on the phone to East Riding Council debating who owns the old Municipal Buildings and what can be done with it. Meanwhile, I have been working with staff at the council to try to improve and clean up the old Betfred shop.”

Cllr Dimberline said the owners of the cadet office had also been contacted and was told that extensive renovations had been carried out inside the building, but ideas as to how to improve the frontage were being sought.

Works could include using the Town SMART clean-up initiative to paint the outside areas.

Cllr Dimberline said that in recent months he and East Riding Council had achieved some success stories with other properties identified as being eyesores, including the old NatWest bank on the corner of Seaside Road.

Following a prompt to the owner, the premises was cleaned up and given a fresh coat of paint. It is hoped other businesses will follow suit in the coming months, including Heron, which is expected to replace its faded sign in the coming months.

Cllr Dimberline added: “The owner of the old NatWest building should be praised and thanked for reacting so quickly and thoroughly.

“The fact that Bill has spotted the very same things shows that others are seeing the same things as I do. We need areas cleaning up, but I wanted people to know I am active behind the scenes doing exactly what Bill has spotted.”