Bowling alley plan for former Debenhams store

A former Debenhams store could be turned into a bowling alley if plans are approved.

The application for the building in Wakefield's Trinity Walk Shopping Centre would see the alley created on the upper floor.

Planning permission for the ground floor to be converted into four smaller retail units has already been granted.

The store shut in May 2021 as part of a nationwide closure after the department store entered administration. It had been based in the shopping centre since it opened in 2011.

Calls for more city centre leisure facilities, including a bowling alley, have been made in recent years by members of the public, councillors and the business community, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

A report said planning permission would not be required for a change of use of the building to include a bowling alley.

The application, by Savills estate agents, said a "ten pin unit is agreed between landlord and tenant" but the planned retail units "currently do not have a confirmed end user".

Michael Graham, the council's cabinet member for regeneration and economic growth, said bringing a bowling alley to the city was a priority when he took over the portfolio in 2023.

"For a long time, people in Wakefield have been telling the council that they really want to see more leisure in the city," he said.

Kevin Trickett, president of Wakefield Civic Society, has previously called for the store to converted for leisure purposes.

"If there is no retailer willing to take on the building, then it might be time to think about dividing the building into smaller units or repurposing it in some way for some new use," he said in 2021.

"That might be something exclusively associated with leisure - such as a bowling alley, cinema, live music space and so on, or it could mean converting the building into a mixed-use facility, something that is part leisure and part retail but with smaller boutique shops, for example."

No date has been set for the council to consider the plans.

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