WORK is set to step up to convert two town centre units into one which has seen a major retailer served notice after the council’s planning board approved plans earlier this week.
Health and beauty retailer Superdrug, based on Cheapside, were served the notice due to the council’s ambition to widen the pool of retailers they are able to target.
The building once served as a department store BHS and since its demise it’s been sub-divided into smaller units and occupied by various retailers at ground and first-floor levels.
A snooker hall previously occupied the third floor, and the second floor has predominantly been used as ancillary storage and welfare for the retail units, a planning report states.
The council has labelled the three units unit A, Sports Direct, the New Look building is unit B and unit C is Superdrug.
Both Sports Direct and New Look have subsequently moved to the Glass Works, leaving Superdrug the only remaining tenant.
The council has confirmed that although Superdrug has been served its notice at the current site though there is no confirmed timescale for their departure they would like to see the firm stay in the town centre.
It’s hoped that the move will attract a ‘dominant high street shop’ into the town centre.
A report states: “The proposed amalgamation of existing retail units has led to the council taking the decision to serve notice on Superdrug, although it is intended to retain Superdrug within the town centre.
“This decision was taken after an exercise to produce a strategy for attracting new retailers to the town to backfill vacant units identified that the current ground floor configuration is no longer attractive to retailers, as evidenced by its long-term vacancy and increasing the ground floor plate would vastly improve the marketability of the premises by providing a larger trading area and a dominant high street shop front presence which would complement the Glass Works development.
“The proposal would also widen the pool of retailers which the council is able to target to occupy the space.”
