Major York store to double in size by moving into an empty unit next door

Discount shopping chain B&M is to double the size of one of its York stores early next year, it has announced. 

The branch at Clifton Moor is expanding into the empty premises next door, and also adding a garden centre at the back of the shop.

The company says the work should be completed in late March. 

The expansion has been made possible by Shoe Zone moving along the row of shops, from Unit 6 to Unit 5. 

B&M describes itself as “one of the UK’s fastest-growing variety retailers” and boasts more than three million shoppers a week. 

B&M moved into Unit 7 in Stirling Road, Clifton Moor, in early 2019, after its store nearby was destroyed by a huge fire. 

The new premises are smaller than the old ones, and the company has been looking to expand so it can stock a fuller range of products, and particularly to add a garden centre.

The company also has a branch at Foss Islands Road, with a garden centre. 

Planning permission for the move has already been granted, and B&M has now applied to City of York Council for a licence to sell alcohol, which is requirement before it can open. 

In its application, the company says: “B&M Retail formed in 1976 and now operates a chain of over 500 stores throughout England, Wales and Scotland.

“The stores offer a wide range of home goods, a mix of food and hardware, which are of quality but at affordable prices. 

“The store currently has a premises licence for unit 7. This application is for a new premises licence to license both Unit 6 and Unit 7, due to B&M expanding into Unit 6. The store is due to open following completion of expansion works on 23 March 2023.” 

The old B&M Store beside Roko at Clifton Moor was destroyed in October 2018, when a discarded cigarette started a fire that spread rapidly in high winds. There are separate current plans to build five new commercial units on that vacant site.