Next proposes retail 'pod' return to Dumfries

Next left Dumfries in 2018 after a lengthy planning row

A retail giant could be set to return to a town it left two years ago after a lengthy planning row.

Next shut its Dumfries store in February 2018 after a bid to move to an out-of-town unit failed.

It has now submitted plans to Dumfries and Galloway Council to construct a click-and-collect "pod" at the Cuckoo Bridge retail park.

The company stressed no sales would take place and it would be for picking up or returning goods ordered online.

Next operated a store in the town centre of Dumfries for more than 30 years.

The decision not to lift a condition on developments at the Cuckoo Bridge site has been confirmed

However, it said that a site in the Loreburne Centre no longer suited its business model and had seen a significant fall in turnover.

The company wanted a condition lifted on the type of goods that could be sold at the Cuckoo Bridge retail park in order to move there.

However, the Scottish government's planning and environmental appeals division ultimately ruled a store could be accommodated in "suitable and available" accommodation in the town centre.

Next had already decided by that time not to renew its lease at the Loreburne Centre.

The latest plans would see it stage a more limited return - at the same site where it lost its original planning battle.

The company said click-and-collect services were becoming "increasingly important" and could meet the needs of shoppers in "today's dynamic retail environment".