SPONSORED FEATURE
Whether it is household belongings, business stock, tools, furniture or simply those items that take up too much room at home, a new locally run business is offering a flexible and convenient storage solution in the heart of South Holderness.
South Holderness Storage has been launched by PJD Electrical founder Paul Duplock at the company’s new premises, providing a choice of secure indoor rooms and outdoor containers for domestic and commercial customers.
The venture follows PJD’s move from its former base in Burstwick to a larger site that gave Paul the opportunity to develop an additional business alongside the well-established electrical company.
PJD was founded in 2004 and has grown steadily over more than 20 years, building a strong customer base across Hull and East Yorkshire. However, the company had outgrown its rented premises, where a lack of space and uncomfortable working conditions made meetings and day-to-day operations increasingly difficult.
Paul and his wife, Sam, took the significant step of releasing equity from their home to buy the new premises, giving PJD a permanent base and providing space for future development.
Paul said: “The primary reason for moving was to make PJD more efficient and give everyone a better place to work. If we had bought somewhere that was exactly the right size for the business, that would have been fine, but this site gave us more space and an opportunity to do something else with it.
“I realised we could create a storage business that would be useful to people living and working in the surrounding villages.”
After initially considering letting part of the site to another industrial tenant, Paul decided that self-storage would be a better fit for both the premises and the surrounding area.
He sought advice from people with experience in the sector and visited a long-established storage centre in Huddersfield to learn more about how such businesses operate, including the sizes of rooms most frequently requested by customers.
South Holderness Storage now offers indoor rooms ranging from 25sq ft to 150sq ft, with prices starting from £10 a week. Container storage is available from £25 a week, with units ranging from 80sq ft to 240sq ft and insulated options available.
The indoor storage area is dry, well lit and insulated, making it suitable for belongings that require greater protection from changes in temperature and moisture.
Paul said: “People need storage for all sorts of reasons. It could be Christmas decorations, suitcases, garden furniture or belongings they do not have room for at home.
“A lot of newer houses do not have much garage or loft space, and people may have spent a considerable amount of money on things such as outdoor furniture that they do not want to leave exposed through the winter.
“We have started with a range of average-sized rooms, but we also have smaller spaces because not everybody needs a huge unit. We want people to be able to choose the amount of storage that is right for them.”
The units are available on flexible terms, making them suitable for anything from a short-term house move or renovation project to longer-term storage. Discounts are available for agreements lasting six months or more.
As well as serving householders, South Holderness Storage has been designed with tradespeople, online retailers, market traders and other small businesses in mind.
Container customers have 24-hour access, with parking alongside the units for straightforward loading and unloading. All units have easy, low-level access, while the site benefits from 24-hour CCTV, alarms and security lighting.
Because Paul and the PJD team are based at the premises during working hours, the business can also offer additional support that may not be available from a larger, less personal storage operator.
Paul said: “If somebody is running an online business from one of the units, we can accept deliveries on their behalf. We also have a forklift and can provide an unloading service for businesses during office hours.
“We are quite willing to work with people who want to use the storage to support their business. We want it to be flexible, easy to move into and easy to manage.”
Location is another important part of the new venture. South Holderness Storage is less than 10 minutes from Hedon, Preston, Bilton, Saltend, Paull, Sproatley, Burstwick, Thorngumbald, Keyingham and Burton Pidsea.
Paul believes customers generally want their storage to be close to home or somewhere they can conveniently visit on their usual journey to and from work.
He said: “People do not want to go miles out of their way every time they need something. We are close to a lot of the main villages and also conveniently placed for people travelling towards Hull.
“There are storage companies in Hull, but there is not a great deal of choice locally, particularly when it comes to indoor rooms as well as containers.”
Paul carried out much of the early work himself, spending Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day preparing the premises, including sanding and screeding floors.
The project, he said, had given him renewed enthusiasm after more than three decades of working in the electrical industry.
“It gave me a bit of fresh hunger,” he said. “It was good to know I could still roll my sleeves up and get stuck in when I needed to.
“I enjoy developing things, working out the layout and organising the work. Now it is about letting people know that South Holderness Storage is here and showing them what we can offer.”
The development has also remained true to Paul’s long-standing commitment to supporting the local economy. Wherever possible, he used existing customers and suppliers to carry out work at the site, from concrete and cladding to new doors and other improvements.
He said: “I have always believed in being a local company that employs local people and buys from local suppliers. These were people we have worked with and supported over the years, and when we needed them, they were there for us too.”
Further indoor rooms could be added as the business grows, but Paul intends to assess which sizes prove most popular before beginning the next phase.
For now, South Holderness Storage is ready to welcome its first customers, offering secure, accessible and hassle-free storage with the personal service of a trusted local business.