Developer behind £22 million revamp plan for Peterborough's former Beales store is selling property for £5 million

The historic Peterborough building that was home to the Beales department store has been put up for sale with a £5 million price tag.

Westgate House, in Westgate, has gone on the market just seven months after securing planning approval for a £22 million development of 125 flats and 846 square metres of commercial units development.

The building, which sits on a 1.5 acre site, is owned by Panther VAT Properties which secured planning approval for the development last July following a 17 month battle that involved dealing with 300 public objections with many centred around its impact on the nearby Ostrich Inn, in North Street.

The four storey property, which occupies a prominent corner on the north side of Westgate with a retail front to Park Road and North Street, was built in the mid 1880s and has undergone some alterations over 40 years.

The planning permission allows for the conversion of the Park Road building to provide a café, flexible workspace/commercial units and 49 apartments, while the warehouse building has approval for partial conversion and partial redevelopment to provide 12 apartments.

The Westgate building could be demolished with two retail units on the Westgate frontage and 36 apartments being constructed and the central building could also be demolished and 28 apartments built.

The development has been designed to be car free because of its closeness to the city, train station and bus interchange.

Part of the planning approval was that Panther (VAT) Properties should pay a total of £198,817.66 to the council under a Section 106 agreement for a variety of measures ranging from health provision to open space contributions and the installation of two electric vehicle charging points.

Until 2011 the premises had been occupied by Anglia Regional Cooperative Society who changed ownership to Beales Department Store.

Beales had occupied two floors of the premises for nine years before the retailer’s collapse into administration in 2020. Its web address and brand were bought in 2021 by New Start 2020 with the new retailer opening in the same building in May with 20 staff.

Part of the ground floor is currently being used by Furniture Warehouse on a flexible agreement.

The building is being marketed by Peterborough-based Savills.