Castle Shoes Ltd

08/03/2025

Donna can’t wait to see you in shoes@bulstrodes.

BIG ANNOUNCEMENT! Shoes @ Bulstrodes will be opening on this Thursday 13th March. Come and see the fantastic range, something for everyone!

27/02/2025

18/02/2025

We are delighted to announce Donna will be working with Bill, Karen and Chris in this exciting new venture. She hopes to see you soon. xx

02/09/2024

Today it’s 318 days since the devastating floods that affected Framlingham and Castle Shoes.

This has been a difficult time for everyone involved in the aftermath of the flooding, and it’s wonderful to see that some people have been able to move back into their homes. Unfortunately there are many still struggling for resolution.

We have been trying to resolve our Insurance claim, and even the intervention from our former Conservative MP, and an Insurance advisor, we find we are unable to move forward. We have no option but to now take our claim to the Insurance Ombudsman.

As a result of the continued difficulties, we have had to take the heart breaking decision to close Castle Shoes permanently.

This has not been an easy decision. We have lost 318 days of trading that we will never be able to recover from.

As we purchase our seasons stock 6 months in advance, this week we should have been placing our Spring/Summer 2025 shoe orders. As we have not resolved our insurance claim, and have no premises, we are unable to place any orders.

Castle Shoes was established in 2016, and started from nothing. We quickly established a wonderful wide client base, and seen many young customers move from new born, to primary school and beyond.

Many of our customers have been friends, with regular catch ups with each new season.

The COVID lockdowns were a challenge, but these were overcome, and our business was getting back on track until the devastation caused by Storm Babet on 20/10/23.

We have been advised that the Ombudsman could take 12-18 months to review our case, but we are determined to keep pursuing our claim.

It’s been a pleasure to serve you all, and wish you all the best for the future.

Love from Donna and the team at Castle Shoes x

05/07/2024

Today it’s 259 days since the devastating event of Storm Babet on Framlingham. It’s great to see some residents are finally getting back to their homes, or at least work is in progress, and we send our thoughts and best wishes to them.

We continue to battle our Insurance company, and loss adjuster, for resolution to our flood damage. We have been advised that hopefully building restoration work will commence at the end of the summer, but with the inability to purchase stock, regrettably it will be some time before Castle Shoes will be trading again.

We focus on the love shown to us by friends and customers, and will continue to fight.

09/05/2024

It is with great sadness we have to announce we have cancelled our Start-rite back to school order for Summer 2024. It was not an easy decision, and we have considered all options, but we simply cannot pay for the delivery as we are still in conversation with our insurer and loss adjuster. We hope to place a Spring/Summer 2025 order when we visit the shoe shows in September. Thank you for your understanding, patience and support.

We wish Roger and his team our best wishes for their move back to the Post Office.

Donna xx

19/04/2024

Update - Week 26 since Storm Babet

Following the removal of the mould in Castle Shoes, the drying out process can finally begin. There’s not much left of the old flooring and it’s a very sad sight at the moment.

Dehumidifier’s are due to be delivered today, and it is likely that these will be running for a number of weeks.

Once the structure is dry, the rebuilding process can begin.

We thank you for your continued support.

Donna x

19/02/2024

Following a busy weekend, Castle Shoes is finally clear of everything, and ready for the mould and drying out process to begin.

11/02/2024

Update - Week 16 since Storm Babet

Well at last we have been able to clear our shop of flood damaged shoes and contents. We really want to thank the team at Polygon, in particular Mike and his son. They have been amazing, and worked with us to prepare the shop for the next stage.

Now the shop is clear, the mould treatment team can come in and treat the spores. You can see from our masks, the environment would not have been safe for all the offers of help we have received. The mould treatment should take about 3 weeks, and then the long process of drying out, and restoration work can begin.

Donna xx

29/01/2024

Update - the process of emptying the shop of damaged stock continues slowly. It is heartbreaking to see all our lovely shoes being disposed off, but at least they are going to a recycling centre and not straight to landfill.

Once the shop is clear, the building can be assessed for the required restoration work. The mould treatment will take about 3 weeks to complete, before any physical work can commence. The work to restore the shop is estimated to take at least 6 months.

We will keep you all updated on progress.

Love Donna x

26/01/2024

Update - Week14 since Storm Babet

After 14 weeks of stress, we have finally received some positive news, and we have been able to start the clearance at Castle Shoes.

It is still going to be a long stressful journey, but your support and offers of help have helped to keep us going.

Once the shop is clear of stock, there will be 3 weeks of mould treatment to make the property safe. The drying out will then begin, and then finally the building restoration work can start.

We will continue to keep you updated on progress, and again thank you for your continued support.

Love Donna xx

05/01/2024

Update - Week 11 since Storm Babet

Happy New Year everyone.

Unfortunately we don’t have much of an update for the new year.

We continue to talk daily to the loss adjuster and flood damage restoration company. Following a further inspection of Castle Shoes today, we have been advised the repair work could take up to 6 months to complete.

The claim is very complex, and is requiring us to supply our insurer with very detailed information.

This is devastating news for us, and we hope that the work can be progressed sooner, as we are missing you all so much.

Take care

Donna xx