More details have been revealed about the huge new bookshop coming to York – including plans to bring big-name authors to the city.
As we reported last September, Topping & Company is to open Britain’s biggest independent bookshop in the former tourism HQ on Museum Street.
It had previously submitted plans to strip out the old Visit York shop. A new application shows how the building will be transformed.
The new bookshop will create 30 jobs, and bring “some of the biggest literary names into the city”.
Planning documents state: “Topping & Company in York will provide a space for people to gather and will cultivate a sense of community through discussions with authors, booksellers and fellow readers.”
Shoppers will be able to “sit at a table and enjoy a complimentary tea or coffee whilst perusing books”.
“Reading sessions will be held in the children’s room and genre specific book clubs will create a sense of belonging.
“Book signings and author events will be held in the former board room and the adjacent rooms on the first floor, bringing some of the biggest literary names into the city, alongside local authors, and allowing their readers to meet and engage with them and their books.
“These will extend the use of the building beyond normal ‘retail’ hours and contribute to the night-time economy within the cultural area that includes the York Theatre Royal.
“Where such events are anticipated to be popular and in high demand, these will be held in alternative well established venues in York that would benefit in terms of revenue.”
Key elements of the proposals include:
- Ground Floor: Reinstatement of some original door openings, installation of a new platform lift for accessibility, formation of a new accessible WC, new metal-framed glazing pocket doors and bookcases, and repair of plasterwork.
- First Floor: Creation of various “book rooms,” installation of new metal-framed secondary glazing, removal of modern secondary glazing, replacement of a modern handrail on the principal stair, installation of new fire-rated partition walls and doors, and overlaying existing floors with new solid oak boards.
- Second Floor: Installation of a new timber staircase (in the location of a former spiral stair), creation of staff WCs and a staff/meeting room, installation of a new mezzanine structure, and new bookcase joinery.
The company expects Topping & Company in York will generate over one million visitors every year, based on similar sized bookshops in Edinburgh and Bath.
You can read and comment on the plans here.