A SPALDING flower shop is hoping to complete
what would be a remarkable turnaround after arsonists damaged
its shop.
Flowers ‘N’ Things in Red Lion Street was ravaged by an arson attack
in April and has since had to undergo a major cleaning and restoration operation.
The company immediately took up temporary residence in the building opposite
its damaged premises but all signs are pointing to a move back to the original
store towards the end of October.
Owner Jane Fletcher has also applied for planning permission for a change of
use of the top two floors in the building above the flower shop and a fancy dress
shop, with a view to creating three office units with a total space of 210 square
metres.
While she wants to utilise the space above the shops, which were used for storage
before the fire, Mrs Fletcher was adamant that the tradition of the store would
be kept.
She said: “While the building will
be upgraded, I don’t think the character will change.
“We are hoping that it will be as lovely as it was before.
“It’s a fantastic building with a lot of character.
“We loved it the way it was before the fire, but I realised that something
had to be done about the free space above the stores.
“However, we had to have so much work done on the place that it makes
you really look again at what you have got and I wanted to make the best of
it.
“At the moment we have applied for a change of use so we can still change
our minds about whether we will make offices out of the space but I think it
would be perfect for a small business wanting a town centre presence.
“I guess you could say this is the beginning of an expansion for us.
“We are streamlining our storage space and will be retaining a small
section of the office space for ourselves.”
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