Harrods beauty store plan for historic site

Debenhams closed its branch in the Browns of Chester building in 2021

Plans have been submitted which could see the luxury retailer Harrods move into the old Browns of Chester store.

For more than 250 years, Browns stood on The Rows in the city centre until its closure in 2021. It had been dubbed the "the Harrods of the North".

The building was bought in 2022 by the Martin Property Group who want to split it into smaller units to attract occupants.

Harrods plans to open another branch of its 'H-Beauty' outlet in part of the premises according to an application submitted to Cheshire West and Chester Council.

The brand was launched at Lakeside Shopping Centre in Essex in autumn 2020 and has expanded to Edinburgh, Newcastle, Bristol and Milton Keynes.

Based on the first-floor walkway of the Rows, the planned Chester store will extend across a Grade I listed gothic-style building and a Grade II listed Georgian-fronted property.

Harrods has recently been at the centre of numerous sexual abuse allegations against its late owner Mohamed Al Fayed.

The current owners said they were "utterly appalled", adding: "We also acknowledge that during this time his victims were failed and for this we sincerely apologise. We are doing everything we can to fix this."