A bike shop has returned to its home in Bury St Edmunds town centre nearly three years on from a major fire that caused more than £1million of damage.
The Cycle King store in Angel Hill was left a burned-out shell after two bored workers caused the devastating blaze trying to cremate a mouse in a cardboard box in a storeroom.
MORE: “Mind-boggling stupidity” - suspended sentences for men who accidentally started £1.6m blaze with prankThe fire, on September 29, 2017, ripped through the building, leaving it completely destroyed, before spreading to the nearby One Bull pub and Francela restaurant, causing extensive smoke damage.
Cycle King has been trading from a store at Moreton Hall, on the outskirts of the town, but this week it returned to the site on Angel Hill by opening its new store.
Darren Hunt, retail director, said: “We are delighted to be back in town and would like to thank everyone involved in the rebuilding and we know it will serve our customers well for generations to come.
“Cycling has grown massively in popularity during the lockdown. Government data detailing the change in transport use over the lockdown period shows that cycling levels rose by up to 300% and we anticipate that this interest will continue throughout this year and the next as people discover the benefits of cycling as part of their lifestyle.
“The national Cycle To Work scheme, which enables employees to buy a tax-free bike, an effective saving of 25 to 39%, is also increasing in popularity as people look for alternatives to public transport as a means of getting to work. The scheme has been extended to cover e-Bikes as well, meaning that cyclists can cover longer distances. Around Bury, those up-hill stretches are made so much easier with an e-Bike!”
MORE: Cycle King set to reopen at temporary store on Moreton Hall Estate, in Bury St EdmundsThe new premises incorporates both retail space and two flats and the new store has hundreds of new bikes, as well as scooters, trikes, and cycling accessories.
Mark Cordell, chief executive of the Ourburystedmunds Business Improvement District (BID) group, said: “I am absolutely delighted to see the return of Cycle King to the town centre.
“Nobody would have wished the devastation caused by the fire upon this and nearby businesses, but out of this catastrophe has come a far more attractive façade to the building, which I think visually enhances the area.
“Since lockdown there has been a huge rise in the number of people cycling so it’s great that this business returns to the town centre with products that are in demand from the local community.”
Cycle King’s Moreton Hall store has now been closed.
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