Debenhams, Argyle Street Glasgow

Authority: Glasgow City Council

Proposal: Refurbishment of Former Department Store into Offices / Restaurant

Services: Heritage, Townscape and Visual Impact Assessment

Status: Planning Approved

Iceni’s Built Heritage & Townscape Team assisted in securing planning permission and listed building consent for the for the refurbishment (internal and external) of the iconic Category B listed building, built as the Lewis’s Department Store in 1932 including a significant roof top extension. The Team produced a detailed Heritage and Townscape Visual Impact Assessment (HTVIA) and led on discussions with Historic Environment Scotland and Glasgow City Council on heritage matters.

The former Lewis’s Department Store was most recently in use as a Debenhams Store, which closed in 2020. The building was designed by G de Courcy Fraser and Clarke in an extensive 1930s classical design and is Category B listed. Iceni’s Built Heritage & Townscape Team carried out extensive research into the building’s history so that a fully informed and robust justification would be made for the removal of several internal elements of the listed building to accommodate the new proposal, as well as townscape analysis to justify and support the creation of a significant roof top extension to the building, taking into consideration the significance of the Category B listed building and the character of the Glasgow Central Conservation Area.

This approval will result in a historic building being brought back into use through a sensitive and pragmatic redevelopment to enable future use whilst respecting both the characteristics of the listed building and the wider conservation area. Where loss of fabric was required, this was fully justified by Iceni through negotiation and justification backed up by research and analysis of the building and its significance. Planning permission and listed building consent were granted in July 2022. e.