Toys R Us set for Lincoln return as plans submitted to council

A much-loved toy store could be making its way back to Lincoln six years after the brand went bust. Toys R Us filed for bankruptcy in 2018 but is now making a comeback across the UK, aided by fellow high street retailer WHSmith.

Following the collapse of the toy retailer, which saw all stores including the Lincoln St Marks unit close down, a solution for Toys R Us' return to high streets is now well underway. Earlier this year, WHSmith announced it would be housing the brand at some of its stores up and down the country, though Lincolnshire was not represented in the first batch of locations.

A fresh planning application to City of Lincoln Council has now revealed plans for a Toys R Us concession inside the WHSmith store at the Cornhill Quarter. The application is for signage promoting this new venture for the Lincoln unit, and will be decided by city council planners in the coming weeks.

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If approved, it will be the first time in six years that Toys R Us has had a presence in the city, but the St Marks unit — much like many of the units along that shopping centre — remains empty and available to let.

Other Toys R Us shops planned to open in WHSmith stores include:

• Hereford, Herefordshire

• Leamington Spa, Warwickshire

• Shrewsbury, Shropshire

• Fosse Park, Leicester

• Guildford, Surrey

• Sutton, south London

• Salisbury, Wiltshire

• Victoria shopping centre, Nottingham

• Maidstone, Kent

• Woking, Surrey

• Hastings, East Sussex

• Thurrock, Essex

• Newton Abbot, Devon

• Halifax, West Yorkshire

• Lancaster, Lancashire

• George Street, Richmond, London

• Taunton, Somerset