Draft plans have been unveiled for a new home and garden store at Handforth Dean, on land adjacent to the A34 alongside Tesco, Marks and Spencer and BHS.
Next, whose stores are a familiar sight on high streets, retail parks and regional shopping centres, recently developed a brand new home and garden store format and the proposed store at Handforth Dean will be its third new concept store.
This will be the company's first purpose built Next homes and garden store in the country, the previous two were conversions of existing retail outlets, and will be built on land which has been undeveloped for 17 years.
The site of the proposed Next store, which was used most recently on a temporary basis for airport parking, is part of a larger area of approximately 6 hectares of land. It is owned by Cheshire East Council and earmarked for development, but has been vacant for some time.
The new format combines traditional Next home and clothing goods with an expanded range of bulky home lines, including furniture, bathroom and kitchen displays, carpets, tiling, flooring, decorating items and DIY products alongside its new garden and outdoor living products which would be displayed in an outdoor sales area and conservatory.
The proposed building will be arranged over a ground floor with two mezzanine floors above. The store will also incorporate a garden centre and a coffee shop with 200 surface level parking spaces.
The store, which is intended to replace Next's existing Stanley Green store, will provide 200 jobs in a company where 75% of staff are aged 18 to 25 years old.
The exhibition provides an opportunity to explain the development proposed for the site and to invite your views and comments on the proposals. Once the development team has had the opportunity to review the feedback received, a planning application will be submitted to Cheshire East Council.
Martin Hughes, of Polity UK, attended today's exhibition of behalf of Next. He told wilmslow.co.uk "We will be submitting a planning application before Christmas. Cheshire East Council will take a decision early in 2013 on whether the land will be made available to Next which is a separate discussion with a separate part of the Council."
Share your views on this draft plans via the comment box below. Would you like to see Next build a new home and garden store at Handforth Dean or not?
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I can't see it being that much busier. If it's gets like Christmas there every week I'll be shopping some where else !