Southsea Knight and Lee: Council could take over site after plans for hotel, cinemas, eateries and indoor food market fail to move forward

Developers THAT Group secured planning permission in 2022 to redevelop the former John Lewis outlet on Palmerston Road. The plans, initially approved by the council in 2019, had to be reconsidered due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The current proposal includes a 43-bedroom hotel, two cinemas, office spaces, a gym, retail establishments, food and drink bars, and an indoor food market. However, since planning permission was granted, there has been visibly little progress on the site.

When asked if the developers might pull out of the project, Councillor Steve Pitt said he was unsure but added: “If they did, someone else will probably step in. That’s the nature of development—it’s a prime site.”

“I like the proposal they had, but if it’s not them, somebody else will, and I wouldn’t rule out that being the council,” he added. “I don’t know the detailed financial appraisal side of things, but I don’t want that site left undeveloped in the long term. We were prepared to step in and do something with Debenhams. I wouldn’t rule out doing something with Knight and Lee.”

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Both cinemas would each have 84 seats, and the food hall is expected to feature a rotating selection of local vendors. The bar, which will be part of the hotel, will be open 24 hours a day and accessible to the public. In the mornings, the food hall will serve breakfast to hotel guests.

The Knight and Lee department store, one of only two John Lewis shops in the UK to retain its original name and the first to be closed by the retailer since 2006, was the smallest full-range department store at 35,000 sq ft and could not easily be modernised.

The shop, which opened in Southsea in 1865, was acquired by the John Lewis Partnership in 1933. It shut on July 13, 2019, after trading for more than 150 years. THAT Group was approached for comment but did not respond.