Whitby's CEX shop wins battle to retain red branding

A Whitby-based retailer will be allowed to paint its shop in its traditional red colours after winning over council planners.
The CEX shop in Whitby can now change back to its red branding.The CEX shop in Whitby can now change back to its red branding.
The CEX shop in Whitby can now change back to its red branding.

When second-hand electronics retailer CEX opened up in the town’s Baxtergate in 2018 it agreed to requests from Scarborough Council to tone down its colour scheme to fit in with Whitby’s Conservation Area.

The national chain put aside its usual red facade for a more conservative black shopfront for the Grade II listed building.

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However, earlier this year owners applied to the borough council to lift the restriction to allow it to use the company’s red branding as it said it was losing sales and was being singled out by the authority.

Despite concerns being raised by Whitby’s Civic Society, the council’s planning chiefs have now allowed the store to revert back to its signature red colour.

In a report approving the request, borough council planners say that a compromise was reached with CEX when the store agreed to reinstate a timber pilaster, a column-type feature, to the front of the building if it changed the paintwork.

The planning application from CEX stated that the use of black on the front of the building was costing the retailer money.

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It said: “The proposal is for the change of colour of the existing shopfront and signage background from black to the corporate red colour.

“The applicant believes this is essential as it affecting his sales and his economic viability to operate in this location.

“Walking down the street it is evident other business have been permitted to use their corporate colours, example the Flowerpot shopfront in red, Yorkshire Bank in corporate blue, Scope in corporate purple, Heron Foods in corporate yellow, Ramsden in corporate green, etc but to name a few.”

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