Is Debenhams an unsolvable puzzle?

THOSE looking for a visual symbol of traditional retail’s decline would struggle to find a better example than Nottingham’s Debenhams building.

- By OLIVER PRIDMORE

The historic structure has become an increasingly sad feature on Old Market Square as the years of vacancy take their toll.

Ugly black boarding blocks access to the site and its brilliant stone frontage is developing unsightly brown stains.

Nottingham City Council has lofty ambitions to eventually return the city to its “Queen of the Midlands” status and filling the Debenhams building will be crucial to claiming back that title with a straight face.

The sheer size of the building, alongside factors including its impressive history and its Old Market Square dominance, render discussions over its future far more important than filling any other empty city shop.

But those very same factors show us that there might never be a perfect solution to this conundrum.

The building has been empty since the department store closed in May 2021 and the years since then have proved to be quite a struggle in terms of getting answers on the site.