The progress of a new Wickes shop in Durham is 'taking shape' amid questions over the future of one of the brand's other stores nearby after it was spotted up for rent.
It was announced that the popular retailer, who have numerous stores UK-wide, would be moving into St Andrew's Park in Durham after plans were spotted on Durham County Council's planning portal.
Despite the company being quite tight-lipped about the prospect of moving to the shopping park, proposals to forge ahead with the store have been noted on the council's planning portal.
On the documents, signage and plans for the store can be seen, which will be located near to McDonald's.
In the detailed drawings in the planning portal, the Wickes branding can be seen prominently - confirming the brand will be moving into the Dragonville site.
St Andrews Park is located near Dragonville Retail Park, which has a host of big-name brands, including Lidl, Aldi, Home Bargains, Tesco and TK Maxx.
This will be the seventh Wickes located in the North East, which will join its stores already in Darlington, Stockton, Sunderland, Wallsend, South Shields and Newcastle.
Meanwhile, the retailer has also confirmed that it will be moving into Fieldon Bridge Retail Park in Bishop Auckland, which is expected to be complete at the start of 2024.
However, questions have also been raised over the future of the Wickes store in the Haughton Retail Park in Darlington.
The store has appeared on the online estate agent site Rightmove - with it seemingly appearing that the building is up for rent.
On the listing, which is through Adderstone Asset Management in Newcastle, the description highlights that it is the 'former Wickes' building.
It then goes on to say that the "strong Retail Park close to town centre and £500m of Public and Private Sector investment attracted to Darlington over the last five years," makes it an ideal location for a company.
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The Wickes store, which has 146 car parking spaces, a rear service yard, and a scope to expand the unit for a garden centre, according to the listing, covers a huge 26,000 square feet of space.
Within the online listing, it's not revealed how much the rent on the Wickes building is, but does confirm that the price will be confirmed on enquiry.
On the Wickes website, the Darlington page is still active, but the town is now listed as a destination on the map version of the stores that it currently operates.
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