British Land gets nod to turn Debenhams store into life sciences hub

British Land’s plans to turn the former Debenhams store in Bath into a life sciences hub have been approved. The 140,000 sq ft scheme will take the form of a comprehensive reconfiguring of the corner building in the city’s SouthGate quarter, close to the train station. The redevelopment is expected to cost £30m. The plans will retain the retail use on the ground floor, but the three upper floors will be transformed into labs and offices, topped by solar panels, a green roof and a terrace. The site currently has three floors of retail floorplates above ground level and two partial floors below ground, which form a basement and back-of-house storage space. The redevelopment will add around 10,000 sq ft, bringing the total space to 140,000 sq ft. The block was purpose built as a department store as part of the SouthGate redevelopment, which was approved in 2003. It was occupied by Debenhams once the scheme was completed in 2009, but has been empty since the department store’s collapse in May 2021. British Land had been looking at repositioning the store. In the application, its agent, Quod, said: “The building cannot continue to operate as a department store as the demand from the retail sector simply does not exist.” To send feedback, e-mail piers.wehner@eg.co.uk or tweet @PiersWehner or @EGPropertyNews Image: British Land\ View other planning applications in Bath >>