Next is set to close its Scarborough town centre premises but plans an expansion on Seamer Road.
Next has said it plans to close its premises in the Brunswick Centre in Scarborough because of the centre’s redevelopment as a cinema and failure to agree a long-term lease with the current owners.
The retailer has applied for permission to expand its premises on Seamer Road where it already operates a ‘Home’ store.
Scarborough Group International (SGI) bought the “mostly vacant” Brunswick Centre in 2021 as part of a multi-million-pound plan to transform the 1990s centre into a leisure destination and has announced Odeon as the anchor cinema operator.
Next said it was “keen to continue trading within Scarborough” but because of the cinema development it had “not been possible to reach an agreement [with SGI] that provides for medium- or long-term occupation of the unit in future”.
If plans are approved by the planning authority, Next will expand into the vacant unit ‘3B’ adjacent to its existing Home store on Seamer Road.
Proposals include creating an internal mezzanine of around 300 square metres which would be used for both trading and stockroom purposes and would accommodate a sales area.
The application also seeks permission for external alterations to the shopfront as well as to allow fashion ranges to be sold from the existing Seamer Road premises.
Plans submitted to the council state that the consolidation of Next’s offer in Scarborough into a single location would enable the company to maintain a long-term presence in the town.
The retailer said that its premises in the Brunswick Centre is on a “rolling lease with a three-month notice of termination” and added that the centre’s owners “have indicated they expect to serve notice soon in order to progress with their redevelopment plans”.
Last September, North Yorkshire Council approved up to £350,000 for a study examining the future of the shopping centre after a fact-finding visit found the centre was currently “a slightly sad part of Scarborough”.
The authority said it is hoping to increase town centre footfall and “encourage people to visit Scarborough more often and to enjoy better leisure facilities”.
North Yorkshire Council has not set a date for deciding on the planning application which is currently pending consideration.
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