PLANS to convert two large stores in the Alhambra Centre into an even larger one have been approved by the council and it’s thought that it will be used by a food retailer.

An application for work to take place at the shopping centre was submitted to the council’s planning board in October.

It’s believed that the current Iceland and Poundstretcher stores will be turned into an even larger one.

The Alhambra is currently undergoing a major transformation as part of the Health on the High Street scheme.

A number of health services are set to be introduced to the site but the council are still keeping retail outlets at the site and this application is aiming to improve the offer for local residents.

A report said: “The application relates to the existing Alhambra in Barnsley town centre.

“The shopping centre opened in 1991 and is prominent when entering the town centre from the south.

“The centre has two floors, with the main pedestrian entrance via Cheapside with secondary entrances on New Street and Wesley Street and the car park entrance via Lambra Street.

“Whilst a number of national retailers continue to occupy units within the centre, in recent years a number of units have become vacant either due to relocation into the newly-developed Glass Works or simply as a result of the ongoing challenges in the retail sector.

“In response to that, Barnsley Council have recently undertaken works to facilitate the ‘Health on the High Street’ project which supports health uses at the upper floor of the centre.

“This means the centre itself offers a mixture of uses for visitors rather than a traditional retail shopping centre.

“The surrounding area is characterised by shops, food outlets and pedestrianised streets.

“This application seeks permission to amalgamate two existing retail units within the Alhambra shopping centre.

“The works would join existing unit eight and nine by removing the existing subdividing wall.

“The removal of some storage/back office space is also proposed to create a larger net sales area, along with alterations to the shop frontage.

“All works will be contained within the shopping centre and not change the external appearance when viewed from surrounding streets.”

However, a condition was in place for the shopping centre which did not allow a food retailer to be in the space over a certain amount of floor space.

Plans were subsequently submitted and recently approved to remove this condition.

The report added: “The removal of the restrictive condition will allow food retailing units to exceed 10,000sq ft at all units within the Alhambra.

“The removal of the condition reflects current national and local planning policies, which directs all retail uses to the town centre.

“The development is therefore acceptable subject to the remainder of the original conditions being attached to this permission.”