Ideas needed for BHS site

IT WAS a sad day to see the BHS shop on Chapel Street close its doors last summer.

Particularly sad for the 50 staff who worked there, some of them over many years.

But also sad for Southport itself and the other traders in the town centre, as the closure has left a huge building at the heart of our high street empty and becoming increasingly derelict. The scandalous reasons behind the demise of BHS have been much discussed. But what is most important now is what happens to this grand building.

Southport is not alone in being left with such a large white elephant – the building in Chapel Street is one of 96 of the 160 former BHS branches still empty.

Interest has been sought from potential investors and tenants, but sadly to no avail.

Department stores don’t flourish as they once did and while brands such as House of Fraser and John Lewis would be welcome, it is doubtful Southport has the necessary pull.

Woolworths presented a similar problem when it closed a decade ago; the site was eventually sub-divided into three units, all successfully filled.

Indeed it was only a few months ago when Chapel Street – devastated by the 2008 recession – finally achieved full occupancy.

Sadly the BHS closure has now left a gaping hole which looks difficult to fill.

It has huge potential for something new. A boutique hotel? A large food court? A Quiggins-style collection of individual traders?

There are lots of possibilities, but some blue sky thinking is clearly needed if we are to bring one of Southport’s grandest buildings back to life.