Harrogate's former Debenhams store could be given a new life with plans to renovate the building set to be approved.
North Yorkshire councillors will discuss a planning application to convert the prominent building into 34 apartments and commercial units next week.
One possible use of the lower floors of the building in Parliament Street is a bar, the application states.
Planning officers are recommending the proposals are approved, despite admitting the redevelopment could cause harm to the building, part of which is classified as a non-designated heritage asset, and the surrounding Harrogate Conservation Area.
Case officer Jillian Rann said in a report to members that the redevelopment would also have a number of benefits.
She said:
“These include bringing a vacant building, on a large and prominent site within Harrogate town centre, back into use to provide commercial space and new residential apartments within the town centre, which would contribute to the vitality and viability of the town centre and to housing supply in the town.
“It is considered that the public benefits that would arise from the development would outweigh the harm to the non-designated heritage asset within the site, and the less than substantial harm to the settings of nearby listed buildings and to the conservation area in this case.”
Nine one-bedroom and 25 two-bedroom apartments are proposed.
An extension would be built on the roof to create extra space for the housing.
The existing façade to the 1960s part of the building facing Parliament Street would be removed and replaced with a stone-clad façade.
The creation of a central courtyard at first-floor level within the building is also planned.
The application has the support of Historic England and the Harrogate Civic Society.
The charity SAVE Britain’s Heritage, which has named the building as one of 18 former ‘cathedrals of commerce’ that should be spared from demolition and repurposed, has also backed the scheme.
The store shut in 2021 after Debenhams went into administration.
A previous application to demolish the former store to build a modern apartment block was withdrawn after it received opposition from Historic England, Harrogate Civic Society and the former Harrogate Borough Council.
The site had been a retail staple on Parliament Street for over a century and housed the Buckley’s and Busby’s stores before becoming Debenhams in the 1960s.
The application will be discussed by members of the council’s Harrogate and Knaresborough area planning committee on Tuesday.
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