Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
New store to launch at former Debenham’s after repair delays
Owners looking to bring in escape room and interactive activities
A department store with a difference is set to launch at the city’s former Debenham’s next month as part of a £2.5 million project. The huge sum is being invested in the site by new retailer 15:17, which will eventually operate on four floors of the empty high street building.
The first two floors will open in September, while bosses are also in discussions with an escape room operator and looking to bring activities such as crazy golf, darts and even axe-throwing to the site.
They say the mix of retail and entertainment will provide a “vibrant and fun” shopping experience in Canterbury. It will be the first location in Kent for 15:17, which operates the Fresh, Local and Wild brand. The company first revealed its plans for the old department store site in March and had hoped to launch in June. But the opening was delayed by unexpected repairs to the building.
Now bosses are targeting a September launch, with shop fitters busy at work in the building.
The Fresh, Local and Wild brand focuses on local produce and is complemented by a cafe. As well as an artisan food hall on the ground floor, there will also be numerous familiar concessions covering beauty, fashion and homeware on the upper floors.
The company’s head of design and property, Mark Smith, says plans to open the new store in June were delayed by extra work, which included an £85,000 repair job on a roof that was “leaking like a sieve”. “There was a lot more to sort out than we first thought,” he said. “But we have worked our way from the top down and have sorted it now.”
Mr Smith says the 15:17 shopping experience will be “sociable and fun” and very different from the old Debenhams, which was very fashion-heavy.
“We all know that fashion has suffered on the high street, which is why we want to bring new experiences, including activities,” said Mr Smith. “Initially we will open the ground floor and first floor, and are in negotiations with a number of familiar brand-name concessions, covering beauty, fashion and homeware.”
15:17 is a fast-growing retailer with three stores and five more openings planned this year. While the retail revival of the former Debenhams is progressing, the residential element, which includes 70 flats, has been stalled by the far-reaching environmental issue of pollution at the Stodmarsh Nature Reserve, which is impacting on all new planning housing developments across the district.