Department store demolition set to be completed

Work to demolish the former Debenhams store began earlier this year

Demolition of the major department store is expected to finish this week, clearing the way for the construction of hundreds of new flats on the site.

Work to demolish the former Debenhams site in Queensway, Southampton, began earlier this year and is expected to be completed over the coming days.

The Debenhams store at Queens Buildings has been vacant since the national retailer ceased trading in 2020.

Developers National Regional Property Group secured planning permission to redevelop the site from Southampton City Council two years ago.

The building was redeveloped in the 1950s after being destroyed in World War Two, and operated as the Edwin Jones department store until 1973, when it was rebranded as Debenhams.

Demolition work is expected to conclude this week

But it will soon be demolished to make way for the new 607-home scheme.

The build-to-rent project features 598 apartments in a mix of one, two and three-bed homes, nine town houses and a 108-space car park.

About 1,000 people will be housed across two seven-storey and a 17-storey block - which is expected to become one of Southampton's tallest buildings.

The developer previously told the BBC that the project would help the "city centre to bounce back" and "create a critical mass of people - making a meaningful change in the city".