In an illustration of the changing face of the high street, House of Fraser in Richmond closed last weekend.

Two months ago to the day closing down boards appeared in the shop window.

This was surprising news because our town's store was not one of the 31 of 59 House of Fraser branches earmarked for closure when retail magnate Mike Ashley took over in June 2018.

That said, a plan has been in the pipeline for many months for the building's owners Canadian and Arcadia to repurpose the building.

C&A is part of the Canadian & Portland Estate (Holdings) ltd group, a property investment firm. You can read all about their grand plan for the former House of Fraser store at 80 George Street here.

We reported how the proposal was approved by Richmond Council's Planning Committee, subject to S106 agreements, when it met on March 11 earlier this year. (S106 agreements relate to the contribution an applicant will make to the local area to mitigate the impact of their development.)

Full planning permission has still not been granted.

On the council's planning portal, the latest update on the progress of the application reads: "The case officer will be assessing the entire case in detail as well as reviewing comments submitted."

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It could therefore be a number of months before this large "anchor" building is given a new lease of life.

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