This is what Richmond town centre after House of Fraser could look like.

Grand plans have been agreed in principle for the building once the department store leaves Richmond in September.

It is owned by Canadian and Arcadia, part of the Canadian & Portland Estate (Holdings) ltd group, a property investment firm.

They plan to convert it into a huge office block, with retail and potentially leisure space.

The basement could be refitted into a leisure facility such as a gym or even "laser tag, ping pong, darts, golf or escape rooms", the application says.

Significantly, the plan involves building a new fourth floor extension.

Approval from the council

C&A's 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.)

It has not yet been granted full planning permission.

The council told Richmond Nub News that the plan delivers a "substantial" amount of town centre office space in a "highly sustainable location and the borough's main focus for development".

"It would also provide an uplift of 450 jobs and has the potential to introduce a signficant amount of leisure space.

"The less than substantial harm to heritage assets (1: from the impact of the roof extension on the setting of the Richmond Green Conservation Area and nearby listed buildings and 2: the loss of the existing building canopy on the George Street Conservation Area) was acknowledged by members but, overall, the benefits of the scheme were deemed to outweigh the harm."

A key anchor building

Under the new plans, the basement may be used for leisure, the ground floor for retail and floors 1-4 will be offices.

The application says: "George Street remains prime retail space and a key anchor to the retail environment in Richmond upon Thames so it is important to retain the retail use for the lower levels that can present an active frontage to the street.

"To ensure upper levels are not left vacant, which for such a notable building would be damaging to the wider town centre as well as the landlord, Canadian & Arcadia seeks to divide the store into retail and office uses by introducing new office space to the upper storeys."

The application continues: "Richmond has become the home of numerous multi-national companies, particularly in the technology sector, but there is currently a shortage of high-quality office space that meets the British Council for Offices standards that big-name companies are likely to demand."

Recent history of the building

C&A has owned the building since 2002 when it was occupied by Dickins and Jones before its rebranding as House of Fraser in 2007.

House of Fraser's lack of investment in its upkeep "has been a source of frustration to the owner".

"A refit agreed in principle in 2014 was never pursued by House of Fraser and neither was a subsequent proposal to build a roof-top restaurant," the application says.

Mike Ashley's takeover

A company voluntary arrangement (CVA) was drawn up by House of Fraser in June 2018 as part of a rescue deal by Mike Ashley's retail group that was to see 31 out of its 59 stores close.

Although the Richmond store was among those due to be kept open, its future has been uncertain.

The building at 75-81 George Street is now too big for House of Fraser which has been exploring the opportunity of splitting the property to secure income via subleases.

C&A has approached retail operators about the possibility of taking it over, but no retail firm wanted to occupy any more than two floors.

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