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The £4.3m development of the old BHS building is beginning to take shape, with some scaffolding and hoarding coming down this week.
Flannels Fashion bought the empty building after high street stalwart BHS’s collapse back in 2016 for £18m.
In September 2017, Sports Direct took full ownership of the chain of high-end designer stores which has been operating throughout the UK since 1976.
Pictured: Flannels Fashion bought the old BHS building for £18 million in 2016.
Two years later, plans were put forward to transform the store located at the corner of King Street and Don Street into two stores, including a Sports Direct, and a café.
The planning application also pledged a £30,000 ‘Percentage for Art’ contribution in the form of ‘kinetic’ wall art inspired by the iconic moving mural on Oxford Street’s former Debenhams store.
Designed by Archial Architects, the proposal consists of cladding screen made up of 185,000 aluminium shingles which can move independently with the flow of wind to create a fluid or ripple effect across the entire surface.
Pictured: How the store is planned to look.
Prior to work getting underway to make the plans a reality, the BHS store played host to a USC, which moved to former Next premises Queensway House in late 2020.
Hoarding came down for the first time this week, revealing a new, mostly-white structure underneath and an emerging third floor.
While the external part of the structure is taking shape, internal fit-out remains far from completion.
Video: Debenhams' moving façade. (Jonathan Plant/YouTube)
Town Centre Manager Connor Burgher said he was “excited to see the scaffolding come down on this significant investment in our Town Centre.”
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