Plans for second Home Bargains store clear latest planning hurdle at Highland Council
Plans to open a second Home Bargains store in the Highkand capital and create up to 60 new jobs have passed their latest hurdle.
TJ Morris, which is the corporate name behind the Home Bargains chain, has secured planning permission to change the exterior of the former Wickes DIY store in the city’s Henderson Road.
It means there is now nothing standing in the way of its plans to open a new outlet at the site.
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News of its interest in the former Wickes site emerged last year when a planning application was lodged to change the use of the site so that a mixture of non-food and food items could be sold. Previously it was designated for non-food sales only.
Documents included alongside that application revealed that Home Bargains was the potential tenant and the change in use was required in order to accommodate its usual sales mix of food and non-food goods.
This was granted permission, sparking a follow-up application in January to make modifications to the exterior of the building to create a new shop front, door openings, external plant area, outdoor garden centre and erect a totem sign.
It is this application which has now been granted permission by Highland Council planning officers under delegated powers.
No timescale has yet been given for when the work on the alterations will begin, but Home Bargains has ambitious plans for expansion within the city.
As well as its existing store in Rose Street - which documents included in the initial Henderson Road application confirmed it intends to continue running - there are two additional Home Bargains stores planned for Inverness.
These include the nearby Henderson Road site, as well as a brand new purpose built £5 million store in the Smithton area of Inverness.
That latter store narrowly won planning permission in December when south planning committee chairman Paul Oldham cast a deciding vote in favour of the proposal. The vote had previously been tied at eight votes each.
This other store is expected to create around 40 jobs.
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