Marks & Spencer has submitted a planning application for the old Debenhams building in SouthGate in Bath as it prepares to invest £17 million in turning it into its new flagship store.
How the new M&S store in SouthGate will look | Image © M&S
Last month M&S announced that it was relocating from its current site at Stall Street into the nearby former department store which has been empty since 2021.
The retailer said the move is part of its rotation strategy to make sure it has the right stores in the right place, with the right space for customers.
The plans that have now been submitted to Bath & North East Somerset Council involve minor alterations to the ground floor façade of the vacant store at 17 Southgate Place.
The site occupies a key corner plot within the SouthGate development, which was completed in 2009.
The proposals involve closing four entrances, to be replaced by glazing, and creating four new entrances.
The planning reference is 24/02890/FUL. The deadline for comments is 30th August.
There is also an application for the display of nine internally illuminated lettering signs for which the planning reference is 24/02951/AR.
Since Debenhams closed, the building has been subject to other planning applications from Southgate Limited Partnership associated with maintaining the retail use; most recently, an application to enable the mixed use of the upper floors and an extension to the roof was approved last summer.
Meanwhile the Stall Street branch of M&S will continue trading until the new one opens, and staff will have the opportunity to relocate.
The retailer has said it will work with B&NES Council on the future use of the current M&S store.
