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25
Jan
Four years on, what has happened at Harrogate’s former Debenhams store?
Four years ago this month, Debenhams served its last customer in Harrogate.
Since then, the Parliament Street site has stood empty.
But new signs of life finally look to be on the horizon as a report put to North Yorkshire councillors recommended plans to rejuvinate it be approved.
Ahead of next week’s Harrogate and Knaresborough planning committee, when the development will likely get the go-ahead, the Stray Ferret looked back on what has happened at the site since it closed in 2021.
Closure and demolition plans
Debenhams, which went into administration on December 1, 2020, announced the Harrogate store would not reopen on January 13, 2021.
The buildings have been home to different retailers for more than a century. Before Debenhams, it housed the Buckley’s and Busby’s stores.
Two planning applications have been submitted in relation to the site since then.
In November 2021, Wetherby-based property firm Stirling Prescient submitted plans to the former Harrogate Borough Council to demolish and replace the existing site with a five-storey building that included 50 flats and two commercial units.
A council conservation officer raised concerns about the plans at the time, saying the proposed demolition would harm the area.
The officer said:
The loss of the traditional building form and architectural detail would be harmful to the street scene and character and special interest of the conservation area, the building forming part of the designated heritage asset in a manner that contributes positively to its character.
The campaign group Save Britain’s Heritage objected to the plans, saying the developer failed to provide “clear or adequate justification” for flattening the building.
The scheme did find support from the non-departmental public body Historic England, which said the regeneration of the site would “strengthen the town’s vitality and viability” by increasing footfall and contributing to the local economy.
However, the plans were later withdrawn in May 2022.
How the proposed changes would look from Parliament Street.
Latest plans
Stirling Prescient lodged new plans to convert the site into 34 flats on November 29, 2023.
The new plans proved more popular with local and national heritage groups, and North Yorkshire Council has now recommended councillors on its Harrogate and Knaresborough planning committee approve them at a meeting next week.
Under the plans, the lower floors of the building would be retained and refurbished either for commercial use or as a bar.
The upper floors, including a proposed roof extension, would accommodate nine one-bedroom flats and 25 two-bedroom flats. The development would also include a basement car park and service area to the rear.
Alterations would also be made to the buildings, including replacing the façade of the 1960s element and new shopfronts. Windows and the slate roof may also be removed and replaced.
Some demolition work would take place. Council case officer Jillian Rann's 58-page report, which you can read here, says the central part of the building would be demolished:
...to create a central, landscaped courtyard at first floor level, around which the upper floor apartments would be arranged, with external walkways at upper levels around the internal courtyard providing access to the apartments on the floors above.
Harrogate Civic Society, which objected to the previous plans, welcomes the refreshed proposal.
In its supporting statement, the civic society said it is keen to see the redevelopment of the building as currently intended taking place soon.
A spokesperson for the heritage group told the Stray Ferret:
We were invited by the developers to discuss the current proposals which would retain most of the original buildings except that the 1960s element next to the Westminster Arcade would have a new façade.
These proposals were much better treatment of the building and the conservation area.
However, we had some comments on the details of some of the new work involving upper floor and roof extensions. We regretted that more couldn't be done to improve the part next to the arcade due to the basic structure, but we regard the refacing of this frontage as a distinct improvement.
The former Debenhams store pictured in January 2025.
The report also outlines the details of the section 106 agreement between the council and Stirling Prescient.
Under the agreements, developers agree sums to mitigate the impact of development on local services.
You read the full breakdown of payments here, but Stirling Prescient could pay more than £130,000 towards local schools, healthcare and village halls.
The report recommends the development is approved subject to 58 planning conditions.
Members of the area planning committee will meet at the Civic Centre in Harrogate on Tuesday, January 28, to give their verdict on the plans.
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