Access Models in Newark changing hands as owner retires after 42 years

The owner of a much-loved shop is handing over the keys to one of his most loyal customers after 42 years in business.

Access Models on Castle-gate is one of Newark’s best known independents shops.

In that time many customers have travelled from far to shop and seek advice on all aspects of modelling from dioramas and train sets to remote control cars and model aeroplanes.

Now owner Steve Clark is handing over the keys to Tim Durham, who has been visiting the shop since he was just six.

Tim said: “Steve has been in business 42 years and that is worth celebrating.

“I first started coming here 41 years ago and in all that time I’ve only ever bought my models off Steve­— he’s been a stalwart.”

“I don’t think there is a young man in Newark that hasn’t been into the shop and bought something off of Steve.”

When another deal to take over the shop fell through Steve had two options ­— either he continue trying to find a buyer and delay his retirement or close the shop for good.

“Steve had told me that he was thinking of closing. I just thought I can’t let that happen,” Tim said.

“We had a proper sit down chat to see if we could come up with a deal that meant the shop stayed open and Steve could retire without any worries.

“We did the deal in September and Steve has stayed on for the past couple of months to help with the transition.

“If Steve had just left, all of the value of the business would leave with him. He knows all the suppliers personally and everything is in his head.

“We have spent the summer transferring all of that knowledge on to an online system because it’s important that the business can continue, while still maintaining Steve’s ethos.”

After so long in business Steve, who also used to run a shop in Grantham, spoke about why now was the right time to hand over the keys.

“I would have loved to have carried on for another ten years but I’ve seen a lot of people do the same and when something happened to them, the business went,” he said.

“It’s sad for the high street when that happens, and particularly for Newark, because I want it to thrive.

“We bring people in from a wide area. They pay for parking, they eat and have a coffee, they look around the town and it would be a shame to lose that.

“I had been trying to sell for about five years, but it needed the right person for the job — someone like Tim.

“When I told him I was thinking of closing he said ‘don’t do that, this place is too close to my heart’.

“This place is like a community. We are still getting grandfathers, fathers and sons coming in.

“People coming back over and over again for 40 years, sometimes just for a chat.”

“We even have people who emigrated to the other side of the world come back and visit.”

Steve now plans to make the most of his new found spare time but travelling and visiting friends in Australia, France, Portugal and the USA.

Tim has a background in project management and plans to put those skills to good use as he looks to the future.

“I want to do more of what Steve has already done, to carry on looking after the customers that have always been here but growing the business and finding new customers too.

“I think interest has increased. With covid, people had a lot more time on their hands and needed something to do and found modelling.”

Access Models previously ran a wargaming club in the basement of the shop, however had to stop during the covid pandemic.

Once the world began to open back up again, the shop decided to donate over 600 items to two other businesses in Newark in order for the clubs to continue and avoid the models going to waste.

Tim now hopes to repurpose the basement space to create a studio area where they can film instructional videos for YouTube and hold modelling masterclasses.

“Something we want to look at next year is going into schools and showing them what modelling is all about and spark some interest." Said Tim.

“I started off building RC cars at a young age, ended up getting a mechanical and electrical engineering degree and worked in the engineering industry.

“I credit that to having the RC cars as a kid, because it sparked that interest and curiosity in engineering.”

The shop offers a wide variety of options for keen and amateur hobbyists alike, from railways, wargaming and plastic model kits to RC cars, diorama scenery and a massive selection of paints.