Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
Top homeware brand’s opening edges closer as work gets going
A moving-in date for an upmarket fashion retailer has been confirmed as multiple tenants prepare to take over a busy shopping district.
The highly-anticipated arrival of Oliver Bonas in Canterbury is edging nearer, with bosses at Whitefriars shopping centre confirming the ‘lifestyle’ outlet is getting ready to take the keys to the former Topshop store.
It comes as works to revamp the building are carried out ahead of the move alongside Canterbury City Council (CCC) – with the two set to share the space.
The ground floor and half of the first floor of the site will be fitted out by Oliver Bonas, whilst the other half of the first floor and the entire second floor will be occupied by the council.
If all goes to plan, Oliver Bonas will begin carrying out works in May to refit and bring the site up to scratch. However, no official opening date is yet available – with bosses at the retailer remaining tight-lipped over the move. The homeware and fashion chain has three locations in Kent, with its new Bluewater branch due to open today (Thursday).
It comes as two unnamed new retailers are also set to be given the keys to their new Canterbury homes in Marlowe Arcade within weeks. Whitefriars bosses are understood to be quietly optimistic at seeing all of its units let out on long-term leases in what would be a major boost for the city centre.
Marlowe Arcade has not been fully occupied since 2019, while the Whitefriars area has seen businesses come and go frequently with big units such as Topshop empty for more than two years.
All of the sites in Whitefriars are currently owned by the council following its controversial £155 million acquisition in 2018.
Natasha Hamilton, director at Whitefriars’ management firm Newriver, said: “Whitefriars continues to thrive, providing local people with a range of high-quality provisions and services in the heart of the city centre. “We’re delighted to be introducing a number of new operators which are due to open across the estate over the coming months including new brands for the city, Oliver Bonas and Bubble Citea, as well as some old brands returning.
“The attraction of Whitefriars as a place to successfully trade and operate, is testified by the low vacancy rate of just 1% across the estate, helping Whitefriars cement its prominent position in the heart of the city.”
Meanwhile, works to renovate CCC’S new home are “progressing well,” according to the authority.
The council’s current premises in Military Road have long been deemed too big and expensive to run – and the site is in the process of being sold off.
Scaffolding has been erected on both the bus station side in St George’s Lane and the shopfront side of the building in Whitefriars Street. Despite initial hopes of seeing the move completed by the end of 2023, if all goes to plan it is expected staff will move in this autumn – bringing an end to the long-awaited project.
A city council spokesman said: “Work on the move of our offices is progressing well. It involves converting the existing buildings into office accommodation.
“The move of some services including our new public reception to 14 Rose Lane - the former Royal Bank of Scotland building - is scheduled for early summer.
“The move of the bulk of our staff to St George's Lane - the former Topshop building - is likely to be in the autumn.” Most council staff will be based in the St George’s Lane offices, which will also have a small reception area on the ground floor. Residents needing face-toface appointments will go to a new front-of-house reception at the unit in Rose Lane. Elsewhere, an empty space above Flying Tiger will be used as a storage area, while the council's CCTV control room has already relocated to the Whitefriars management suite above Boots.
The budget for the scheme has been set at £7.39 million, though this will be at least partially offset by income generated by selling off the council’s current headquarters. Plans to relocate the council have been thrown around for years, with the original proposal put forward five years ago to move into a £12m newbuild in Wincheap shelved after the pandemic and the authority's tough financial situation sparked a drastic rethink.
With the existing base surplus to requirements, bosses put the sprawling seven-acre site on the market in June 2022.
It is understood the sale of the site – which has been home to the council since 1981 - is still progressing but is not yet complete with the council not providing any further details. However, it has long been suggested the area could be prime for housing.
The office site and some of the nearby social housing estate is allocated in the draft Local Plan as “an opportunity site for new housing”.