New shops opening at Sears Retail Park in Solihull
A popular retail park in Solihull has announced a number of new stores will be opening soon.
Sears Retail Park in Shirley is making some significant changes which includes a new Smyths Toys opening on 10 October creating 60 new jobs including temporary Christmas roles.
It will share the building with German discount supermarket Lidl which is set to open next spring.
The last Toys ‘R’ Us shops in the UK closed in April 2018 including the one on the retail park, resulting in the loss of 3,000 jobs nationally.
The empty unit has long been the source of speculation but now shoppers can look forward to not one but two, very different shops on the Shirley development.
The retail park itself already has Boots, Hobbycraft, TK Maxx and M&S Foodhall.
It’s seen a number of retailers come and go over the years, most recently the closure of Toys R Us and DIY store, Homebase which announced last summer that it was one of 42 branches that the national chain would be closing around the country.
It has lain empty since then. But the shopping development is set to be revitalised.
Here’s what’s coming:
* Smyths Toys
Smyths Toys opens on 10 October. It will share the site with Lidl.
Property consultant company Lambert Smith Hampton submitted a proposal to divide the disused shop unit in two and approval was granted by Solihull Council on 6 March this year.
* Lidl
The popular German-owned discount supermarket will open on the Toys R Us site next spring creating around 40 full and part-time jobs.
* Homebase
The DIY store is set to be demolished to make way for a new unit after Solihull Council approved the planning application in December 2018.
Last summer it had been announced that the outlet, in Oakenshaw Road, was one of 42 branches that the national chain would be closing around the country.
The empty building will be bulldozed and a redesigned unit will be in its place.
This is intended as a stand-out feature of the Sears Retail Park.
The proposal would form part of a wider redevelopment of the Shirley shopping destination, which was first brought forward several years ago.
Aside from the construction of a 3,252 sq m unit, the existing garden centre and conservatory would be removed to make way for 55 extra parking spaces.
“The retail park is undergoing a redevelopment and the landlord is looking at investing in the park as a whole,” said the planning statement.
* Restaurant at Next Garden Centre
A new restaurant is opening at the Next store in Marshall Lake Road.
Plans were approved to transform the garden centre area into an eatery at a council meeting in March.
It’s not known when the restaurant will open.
But its imminent arrival was previously welcomed by Cllr Richard Holt (Con, Blythe).
He said: “I do feel we have to be careful with the high street. We can see the parlous state it is in, in terms of closures.
“This retail park itself is suffering, as a local resident you can see Toys R Us has closed, Homebase is closing, it’s looking tired.”
Most stores are open until 8pm from Monday to Friday and until 6pm on Saturday. On Sundays, stores open until 4.30pm or 5pm.
Read more: https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/whats-on/shopping/new-shops-opening-sears-retail-16904558