Plymouth’s former Debenhams department store could be radically remodelled to become two shops and more than 160 flats after new owners bought it for more than £3.5m.
Under proposals by Essex-based developer BuildVantage Ltd, the city centre pile would have a two-storey extension built on top, but would also see a huge chunk of the rear of the building demolished and rebuilt to provide light for flats created in the vast former sales area of the upper floors.
But the facades of the building, which fronts onto New George Street and Royal Parade, would remain untouched and no parking would be created for the development.
A design statement, submitted by Plymouth’s BRL Architects as part of a pre-application submission to Plymouth City Council planners, said the idea is “not to detract from the architecture of the original building and minimise the visual impact”.
The plan envisages creating 166 one- and two-bedroom apartments in the extended building and says that in order for it to be financially viable it would need the rooftop extensions, the two floors containing more than 50 flats.
The rooftop extension would be “lightweight” in construction and appearance in contrast to the “heavy” moulded Portland Stone existing elevations.
The design statement said extension will also be necessary to meet the intensification strategy for the city centre as set out within the Plymouth and South West Devon Joint Local Plan 2014-2034.
Meanwhile, two “lightwells” would be created at the rear of the building with apartments located either side. There would be landscaped gardens at their base and the one-bed apartments would have balconies overlooking them.
To create the lightwells, the developer wants to demolish the whole of the elevation facing onto the car park including the existing service core with stairs and lifts down to first floor of the original department store.
New re-clad elevations would then be built and would be of a “contrasting lightweight contemporary nature and predominantly glass” to maximise daylight. Non-combustible cladding panels would be used.
The main entrance to the development would be from Bedford Way, directly under the existing bridge link, which will be retained. On the roof of the central block there would be a landscaped rooftop garden for use by the residents and “offering panoramic views over the city in all directions”.
The developers said some sub-division of the ground floor is needed to allow for smaller retail units, restaurants and cafés. Being a city centre development, the proposal is that this would be a “zero-parking development” but secure cycle storage would be provided in the existing basement.
The building is currently 3,500sq m, with four storeys and a basement, but also has two mezzanines. It was built during the post-war redevelopment of Plymouth city centre for Messrs Spooner & Co and was used as a department store for more than 50 years.
But it has been vacant since Debenhams shut its entire portfolio of more than 90 UK stores in 2021, with about 12,000 workers losing their jobs and the door closing on more than 200 years of trade on the high street.
The pile went on the market in July 2021 and an offer in excess of the £3.5m asking price was made in the autumn. The building’s lease was owned by property giant British Land but it sold it as a “virtual freehold”, a lease for 985 years, which means it doesn’t expire until December 20, 3006.
The actual freehold is owned by Plymouth City Council, but the building is in a block of buildings for which British Land paid £67m for in 2016 and which also includes the huge House of Fraser store.
The vacant building was identified in the Plymouth and South West Devon Joint Local Plan, and in the Plymouth Conservation Area Plan as an opportunity for re-use. Whilst the building is not listed, it is located within the Plymouth City Centre Conservation Area and recognised as an important heritage asset.
The design statement said: “The overall aim of the proposal is to return the building to active use with a long term comprehensive development solution. Bringing the building back into use will provide employment opportunities and cater for Plymouth’s long standing ambition to create a vibrant and active night time economy within the city centre. This will be achieved by converting redundant retail space into quality accommodation for people to live in a highly sustainable way.”
