New plan submitted for former Wickes building

MYENERGI HAVE USED THE STORE SINCE CLOSURE IN 2020

A MAJOR self-storage facility is proposed at a Grimsby retail park. The former Wickes DIY store in Alexandra Retail Park has been used since the hardware store’s closure by Myenergi for two-and-a-half years. But the renewable energy products manufacturer has merely used the unit as a stepping stone before fully moving into its Stallingborough HQ. Despite marketing, interest in the 3,431M unit for potential retail use has been at a “derisory level”, a letter accompanying the self-storage application states. Multiple selfstorage operators have indicated interest, though.

Applicant LCP Retail Limited has applied for change of use to selfstorage and to insert mezzanine floors to increase space. The facility would have 885 units and operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week. There would be three staff in total, available on site from 9am to 5pm, Monday to Saturday, and 10am to 2pm on Sundays. All customers will be able to have unmanned access at any time.

Visitor numbers are not expected to be significant, with the expectation that customers will use the storage for longer term periods. Customer visits per day are expected to be between five and ten, from 8am to 6pm.

The average length of stay anticipated in the Grimsby storage units is two-and-a-half years. The units themselves will range in size from 7.5 to 20 sqm.

Edgerley Simpson Howe LLP (ESH) and PPH Commercial were instructed to market the unit from

May 2023. A letter from ESH to site owners LCP Retail Limited states retail occupiers had expressed interest and offers, but “at a derisory level and therefore uneconomical. That said, the interest and offers received from self-storage operators have been at an acceptable and economic level.”

On March 23, Oak Furnitureland opened a Grimsby showroom at the former Argos store in the retail park. This was despite an application previously made in summer 2023 to turn the unit into a health and fitness studio.