Old Mansfield BHS building to be turned into shops and offices
Plans to transform the former BHS building in a Nottinghamshire town have been given the go-ahead almost a decade after the original store closed down. Tom Slaughter of RG Property submitted plans to Mansfield District Council to renovate the building in the West Gate in the town centre into a mixed-use development.
The council’s planning committee voted unanimously to approve the plans on Monday, January 13. The ground floor of the building will now be transformed into two retail units, while the first floor will be turned into offices.
The second floor of the building will be a light industrial space with further storage units on the first and third floors. The BHS outlet closed down in August 2016 after the high street chain collapsed into administration. The building was later home to bargain buy wholesale stores, the last of which shut in 2023.
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Cllr Charles Hammersley (Lab) said he “very much welcomed” the application for its “prime position” in the town centre. Coun John Coxhead (Lab) said: “It’s good to see the building the size that it is getting an interest from developers, and to see it progressing to being reopened. This is very good and positive.”
He added: “I think it will regenerate West Gate, as an entrance to the town centre with proper businesses for people to come in to town and shop.” After the collapse of BHS, the store, known as units 32-36b West Gate, comprising the former BHS site and neighbouring Clarks shoe store, sold for £1.86 million at auction.
The building was later acquired by Stock Monster in 2021, a wholesale company, which specialises in bargain buys. It was later replaced by Stock Giant, a discount store that has a similar business model to Stock Monster, in September 2022. It later closed down in July 2023. The building has been unoccupied since.