Sarah Barker

A former Lincolnshire Co-op funeral parlour, which has stood empty for three years, has been sold to an asbestos surveying and building service company to be turned into a city centre headquarters.

The empty funeral service buildings on Portland Street cover more than a quarter of an acre and will be redeveloped into offices, storage and warehousing for BESA Group.

The business, currently located in Saxilby, hopes the move will open up a number of new jobs when teams relocate in July and there are already plans for future expansion.

BESA Group’s sister company, UP Construction, which carries out groundworks and civils as well as external works for a wide range of clients will also move its headquarters to the site.

BESA Director Benn Kay, who started the group eight years ago with fellow Director Sam Scoffield, said: “We currently have a 25-strong team working across our businesses.

“Most people are directly employed by us and we are looking forward to creating more jobs when we relocate, hopefully by July.

“The Portland Street site provides really flexible accommodation which extends across two-storeys.

“The premises will give us office accommodation, storage and warehousing for our equipment, parking space and future expansion potential.”

Director of Banks Long & Co, who managed the sale, James Butcher said: “The Portland Street premises, which were formerly home to Lincolnshire Co-op’s funeral service until it moved to the society’s purpose-built Tritton Road Funeral Home in Lincoln in 2015, provide a mix of buildings over a quarter-of-an-acre site.

“We were offering the site for sale or to let and so are delighted to have completed a sale to BESA Group, who were looking for city centre premises that would accommodate different aspects of their businesses.

“We wish them the best for the future.”

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The leader of East Lindsey District Council, Councillor Craig Leyland, has called for Lloyds Banking Group to reconsider its decision to close its branches in Alford, Coningsby and Mablethorpe.

As previously reported, Lloyds Banking Group announced earlier this week that it will close the three Lincolnshire branches between July and October this year in response to a change in customer behaviour and a reduced number of transactions.

In a letter addressed to the bank’s Chief Executive, Councillor Leyland has made it clear the impact their decision will have on communities in East Lindsey and has called for a rethink.

In his letter to the Chief Executive, Councillor Leyland said: “We fully expect that the withdrawal of local banking facilities in these areas will have both a direct and knock-on detriment in terms of reducing footfall and vitality within our town centres.

“It will also leave a loyal business and residential customer base without access to dedicated financial services across many of our rural and coastal communities.

“This is further exacerbated by poor broadband coverage in remote areas of our district and a subsequent inability for some customers to access online services effectively.

“If the decision will not be reconsidered, I would be interested to learn what transitional arrangements you will be implementing to support your business and personal customers that will no longer have access to local Lloyds services.

“I also trust that you will be able to confirm what support arrangements are in place for staff at risk of redundancy through the announced closures and what alternative uses you may be looking to facilitate in relation to the vacated premises in the respective town centres.”