Go Outdoors store plan for empty Toys R Us building
DERBY’S branch of Go Outdoors is set to close next year but a plan is being prepared for the retailer to move in to the former Toys R Us building on the Wyvern.
The outlet, in Ascot Drive, Allenton, does not yet have a confirmed closing date according to the company, which also remained tight-lipped on where the new store will be located.
Customers have however received flyers through their letterboxes recently alerting them to the change, with prices slashed in attempts to clear stock.
A spokesperson said in a statement: “Go Outdoors Derby will be relocating to a new site in the town next year. The new store will be bigger, have a better offering for customers and will retain employment in the area.”
They added that more details would be released “in due course”.
However, plans were submitted to Derby City Council in August for the chain to move to the former Toys R Us site in Wyvern Retail Park.
At the time, the company said it was being forced to vacate its Ascot Drive store as “new terms were unable to be agreed with the landlord of the premises”.
The proposal, submitted by CBRE Ltd and Go Outdoors owner JD Sports Fashion Plc, requested a change of use of the building which would allow it to store and sell Go Outdoors’ range of tents, camping and other outdoor equipment, with a café area also mentioned.
They were approved on November 10, paving the way for the retailer to be the first tenant in three years to fill the Toys R Us store. It has been vacant since April 2018 when the toy store closed, with the building itself built in the early 1990s.
The proposal submitted in August said: “The variation seeks permission for a wider range of goods to be sold from the former Toys ‘R’ Us Unit at Wyvern Retail Park to enable the unit to be occupied by Go Outdoors.
“The former Toys R Us unit at
Wyvern Retail Park has been identified as meeting the operational requirements of GO Outdoors, which requires a large scale retail unit in an established retail location with access to adjacent surface level parking.
“Go Outdoors further requires the accommodation of an ancillary café within its proposed store at Wyvern Retail Park. However, LSH considers that an ancillary café use within the former Toys ‘R’ Us unit does not require planning permission, and so this requirement does not form part of this planning application.”
The branch is one of three in Derbyshire, with the others at Chesterfield and Hathersage.