Debenhams Southampton: Derelict store to be demolished for 600 flats

An artist's impression of the site as seen from Houndwell Place

A former Debenhams store will be demolished to make way for 600 flats, a council has decided.

The building in Queensway, Southampton, has been empty since it closed in April 2020.

The city council granted permission on Tuesday for the empty building to be replaced with three blocks of flats, one of which will be 17-storeys tall.

But a local charity said the height of the buildings will negatively impact people's view of the city's parks.

The council's planning and rights of way panel granted permission, with final approval expected from its head of planning.

The development will feature the sixth-tallest building in Southampton, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

It will house 598 flats and nine townhouses, and there will also be a car park with 108 spaces and a public plaza.

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Shaun Adams, owner of developer National Regional Property Group, said it would "inject around 1,000 new residents into the city centre".

He added that the development would help the "city centre to bounce back" and "create a critical mass of people - making a meaningful change in the city".

The department store, which has been closed for two years, will be demolished and replaced by flats

But Graham Linecare, from the Southampton Common and Parks Protection Society (SCAPPS), said it would affect views of central parks.

He said: "There has been a cumulative effect on that original landscape character as from more and more places within the parks, tall buildings can be seen rising above the tree skyline."

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.