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21
Jul
New retailer unknown as WH Smith exits Harrogate hospital permanently
The WH Smith shop in the foyer of Harrogate District Hospital has closed permanently in preparation for a refurbishment of the building’s main entrance.
Although the chain is quitting the site for good, the hospital will get its shop back eventually, albeit in a different guise.
A spokesperson for Harrogate District NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the hospital, told the Stray Ferret:
The proposed redevelopment includes new retail and café facilities, alongside a new reception area, patient check-in facilities and improved seating areas.
A business case for the scheme is due to be presented for approval to the Trust Board later this month.
That meeting is due to take place on Wednesday, July 29.
We asked the spokesperson which company would be operating the new retail facilities – in other words, opening a shop – at the hospital, but they were unable to provide that information, other than to say it would not be WH Smith.
They said they would probably be able to tell us more “towards the end of August”.
One source told us that Marks and Spencer was planning to open a shop there, so we asked M&S about it. A spokesperson did not deny that it might happen, but said:
We won't be commenting on this at this stage.
The hospital is also currently undergoing a £50 million redevelopment to build a new day case surgery and imaging centre.
The building, due to open in the autumn, is being constructed on the site of the former therapy services unit, which was demolished after it was discovered to have been built with unsafe RAAC concrete.
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