Retail giant Go Outdoors is set to close its shop near the centre of York, and move to the outskirts of the city instead.
The company wants to shut its store beside Sainsbury’s at Foss Bank and take over the empty Argos building in Hurricane Way at Clifton Moor, according to a new planning application.
It wants to increase the size of the mezzanine floor the new location, to make space for specialist equestrian, fishing and cycling zones, as well as a click-and-collect area. The move would give a total floor space marginally larger than at Foss Bank.
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Planning agency Firstplan, on behalf of Go Outdoors, said: “The proposed floorspace at mezzanine level will accommodate four zones.
“Two of these will be used to host Naylors equestrian outlet and the Fishing Republic (now part of the same company as Go Outdoors), with the remaining area used to provide new click and collect facilities and a dedicated area for cycling retail and repair.”
It said Go Outdoors was expanding its range of bikes and cycling equipment and was also adding a new bike repair workshop.
Firstplan said Go Outdoors had looked at potential city-centre sites, but no suitable ones were available.
It said it considered three in particular: the old Debenhams store in Piccadilly; part of the redeveloped Stonebow House; and the old Topshop, Topman and Miss Selfridge shop in the Coppergate Centre, but all had shortcomings including a lack of ground-level parking.
Go Outdoors opened at Foss Bank in April 2011, in the building that had previously been Homebase.
The brand’s future had looked unclear last year, when its owners JD Sports placed it into administration then bought it back out again for £56.5 million.
JD Sports said then that it would press ahead with fundamental restructuring of the retailer, and would seek to keep most of its 67 stores across the UK.