Plans to replace Debenhams with 332 flats take next step

SHOPPING CENTRE OWNERS SUBMIT PROPOSALS TO THE CITY COUNCIL

MULTI-MILLION pound plans to demolish the vacant Debenhams store in Leicester have taken their next step.

The department store in the Highcross shopping centre ceased trading a year ago when it had to close because of the first coronavirus lockdown.

The troubled retailer announced its permanent closure two months later and then went into administration.

That prompted Highcross owners Hammerson to draw up a new plan for the store, which would see it replaced with a complex of more than 330 flats rising 15 storeys high in the centre of the city.

Hammerson have lodged plans with Leicester City Council, which will now assess them to decide whether the scheme should be allowed to go ahead.

The firm held a virtual public consultation with residents at the end of last year which will be followed up by another arranged by the city council as part of its processing of the application.

The plan is for 332 private rental flats but also a number of retail units facing into the shopping centre where the old store entrance was.

Hammerson’s UK and Ireland managing director Mark Bourgeois said: “We’d like to thank everyone who took the time to respond to our consultation. Local feedback has helped to shape the plans and we are delighted to submit this finalised proposal for highquality homes for local people to rent, which will support our brands at Highcross and contribute to the continued success of Leicester city centre.”

The company says tenants will have access to a roof garden and that it will carry out improvements to St Peter’s Lane after it has removed the existing 1980s-built store.

Hammerson is working with a firm called Packaged Living to deliver the scheme.

Packaged Living’s joint managing director Mark Woodrow said: “St Peter’s Lane is the result of Hammerson and Packaged Living’s shared vision to deliver good quality rental homes within sustainable, mixed-use communities.