Work is underway to give the public shelters along Felixstowe’s iconic seafront a well-earned facelift.
Suffolk Coastal District Council owns six shelters along the Felixstowe seafront (three brick built and three timber shelters). Of these, four are currently being refurbished and redecorated.
Work has now begun on the all wooden Jubilee shelter, which is having rotten timber replaced and a full redecoration.
The brick-built Orford Road and Arcade shelters are having new replacement hardwood windows (four per shelter) put in the end walls, as well as new guttering and downpipes, repairing and replacing the seat slats in the wooden benches and full redecoration. Orford Road is also having the windows in the dividing wall boarded over with marine ply to cover up long term vandalism.
The Bath Tap shelter, which is the third brick built shelter, is having similar work done with repairs to windows and a full redecoration.
“We have received many comments about the poor state of the shelters and recognise the role they play in supporting the tourism economy within Felixstowe,” explained Cllr TJ Haworth-Culf, Suffolk Coastal’s Cabinet Member with responsibility for Customers, Communities and Leisure.
“So we have allocated £30,000 to carry out repairs and redecoration on these shelters. We apologise for any inconvenience the work may cause in the short-term, but this urgent refurbishment will make the shelters more appealing and welcoming to visitors along the seafront.”
“This obviously dovetails with the other work that has been carried out, such as creating the Seafront Events Area on the site of the derelict boating lake, supporting the development of Martello Park with its play areas and improved facilities, and the multi-million pound Seafront Gardens refurbishment.”
“We are seeing a package of improvements across the resort, investing in the future prosperity of Felixstowe and making a more appealing place for visitors and local people alike.”
The repair and redecoration of the shelters has begun and will continue into August. It is part of Suffolk Coastal’s capital programme, which seeks to make the best of the Council’s assets in one of the regions popular tourist destinations.
Our operational partners, Suffolk Coastal Norse, has a team of three staff currently undertaking the work.
The toilets in the Spa pavilion will also be redecorated shortly, as part of the on-going improvement work.