Discount supermarket chain eyes up Preston furniture store

A budget supermarket chain could be eyeing up a move onto Preston’s Dock Estate - right next door to the giant Morrisons store.
Preston's DFS showroom wants to downsize and move to the former Mothercare store.Preston's DFS showroom wants to downsize and move to the former Mothercare store.
Preston's DFS showroom wants to downsize and move to the former Mothercare store.

Furniture retailer DFS is looking to downsize by moving into a smaller adjacent unit vacated by Mothercare.

And the company has asked Preston Council to lift planning restrictions on its current home to clear the way for a supermarket to take it over.

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Reports submitted to the council this week reveal one of the conditions imposed when the two neighbouring units were built in 1990 was they would not sell food.

DFS wants that lifted and says it is about to submit a further planning application for permission to modernise the frontage of both stores and redesign the layout of the car park “to facilitate the occupation of unit 1 by a discount food retailer.”

The report also says: “DFS have a requirement to reduce their unit size at Mariners Way.

"With the changing retail market and given current anticipated demand by a discount food retailer for further representation in west Preston, the intention is to facilitate future re-occupation of unit one by a discounter.”

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The application does not say which discount chain is looking to move in, with either Aldi or Lidl the most likely - both German retailers have been expanding in the city and have new stores in the pipeline.

Lidl already has a store not far away in Strand Road.

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