Plans unveiled to turn Doncaster's redundant Debenhams store into six-screen cinema

The huge Frenchgate store, which closed its doors in 2021, could be given a new lease of life as a state of the art movie complex with plans already submitted to Doncaster Council.

The plans have been sumbitted by Frenchgate general manager Paddy Mellon on behalf of developers Pegasus Group and if given the green light would see two 154-seat auditoriums and smaller screen rooms seating 112, 110, 88 and 69 people respectively built inside the cavernous building which was the centre’s flagship store before its closure.

Plans had already been submitted to Doncaster Council last year and approved, but have now been amended to include extra screens.

The new cinema would bring the city's number of movie complexes to three – following on from Savoy which opened its doors in 2020 and the long-established Vue cinema at Lakeside.

Debenhams closed its doors in Doncaster in May 2021, just 15 years after the store was first opened as part of a new and extended Frenchgate in 2006.

The store closed after the company suffered financial difficulties and entered administration twice, in April 2019 and April 2020, finally collapsing in November 2020.

The Debenhams brand and website were purchased by the online retailer Boohoo for £55m in January 2021. However, Boohoo did not retain any stores, meaning the loss of up to 12,000 jobs.

It meant an end to the brand on the UK High Street after 243 years in business.