Derelict former BHS site a 'continuing nightmare'
BBCA derelict department store building is a "continuing nightmare" for local people, a council leader has said.
The premises on Bridge Street in Stratford-upon-Avon were once home to the town's branch of British Home Stores (BHS), standing empty since 2016 and acquired by Beyond Retail Property Fund, based in Guernsey, three years later.
The lack of activity since then had made Stratford District Council feel like it was "being held to ransom" by the owners, according to deputy leader George Cowcher.
A spokesperson for Beyond Retail said it recognised the importance of the site and understood locals' concerns.
"The current owner acquired the property in 2019 with the intention of repurposing it into a high-quality hotel and hospitality destination," they said.
However, the Covid-19 pandemic and "significant economic pressures" meant that market conditions had changed, they added.
"The owner is currently engaged with a number of potential buyers to take the site forward."
They said the firm was not able to provide a timetable on that programme.
Cowcher said: "Ten years is an enormous amount of time - this site is so important, it's at the gateway to our town centre, and we're going to have to become more proactive," said Cowcher.
He said government legislation to give councils greater compulsory purchase and high street auction powers was helping.
"We are investigating how we will use those to intervene here, to get hold of this building and to make sure this building is used," he told the BBC.
"We have a party that we're talking to about that... we will try and facilitate the acquisition of the building if necessary."
The scene in which the building was located, he said, included important listed buildings and was a conservation area, but there was still potential for retail, market, leisure or residential use.
"We will have totally failed if we're here in another 10 years," he added.
Recalling the premises' retail beginnings, Manuela Perteghella, Liberal Democrat MP for the town, said: "We had Mothercare there, there was a cafe, there was lots of other things.
"The problem is that it's not just empty and derelict - its not being looked after.
"You have weeds growing, we had birds going in there, rats coming out."
She described the site as being the gateway to the town, an area drawing millions of visitors every year.
"To see this building left like that, it's unacceptable - the owners have showed that they don't care about our town, they don't take pride in our town," she said.
"Enough is enough and we are demanding action.
"I want them to come to Stratford and look at what they've left on site, I want them to take responsibility for the safety of the building."
Aaron Corsi, from the town's Business Improvement District (BID), said he was not ashamed of the building.
"I wouldn't say it damages the town at all, it's something that we can look at but we have six million visitors to date coming to Stratford," he said.
"They're still coming - we've got great tourists, we've got great restaurants and great retail."
He said large sites like the vacant buiding were complex and involved different powers.
He encouraged the owners to talk to people locally.
"Talk to us, the BID; talk to the local councils; talk to central government," he said.
"It has to be that partnership approach to what that site could be, and what the residents and tourists would like to see in that site."
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