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30
Apr
Major DIY retailer plans to open Harrogate store
DIY retailer Wickes has submitted a planning application to open a store in Harrogate.
The American-owned company wants to operate a 1,325-square metre site at Plantation House on Ripon Road, which is the long-term home of kitchen suppliers Magnet.
Wickes is the UK’s second-largest home improvement retailer behind B&Q, which has a store half a mile away at Oak Beck Retail Park.
Toolstation and Screwfix also have units nearby.
Wickes' nearest stores are currently in Leeds, York and Shipley.
A planning statement sent to North Yorkshire Council in support of the application says the site would be used to sell kitchen and bathroom products and the “nature and scale of trading would remain broadly consistent with the existing arrangement”.
It adds:
The proposed use is entirely appropriate in this location. In view of the predominant trade customer base, Wickes Building Supplies branches are far more suited to flexible retail locations, given Wickes Building Supplies want to be located where their core customers are already frequenting, in a well-established retail location.
The site was previously occupied by Magnet.
A transport technical note supporting the application says the mezzanine level of Plantation House would be extended by about 100 square metres and the number of parking spaces would be increased from 16 to 24. Disabled parking bays would be located closer to the entrance.
It says:
The transport technical note concludes that the redevelopment will have no discernible impact on the safe operation of the site or local highway network.
Wickes opened its first UK store in Manchester in 1972 and now has about 230 UK locations.
North Yorkshire Council will decide whether to approve the plans.
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