New plan would stop demolition of former Debenhams

A former Debenhams store earmarked to be mostly demolished for student flats is set to be brought back into use as an adventure park.

The six-storey building, known as Orford House in Norwich city centre, is due to be turned into a Fun Parx site, offering activities like soft play areas, slides and more.

Orford House Developments was granted permission in February to demolish much of the 1950s department store and replace it with 377 student rooms, with space for shops on the ground floor.

A spokesman for the developer said the scheme was no longer viable due to the "current economic climate". The decision has been welcomed by heritage groups who campaigned to save the building.

Fun Parx currently operates indoor play centres in Basildon, Cardiff, Wigan, Dundee and Edinburgh including in former Debenhams stores. It also plans to open six more locations across the UK, according to its website.

Matt Tofts, founder of the firm, said the former Debenhams store is well-suited to be turned into an activity park and will appeal to people of all ages.

He said: "Being an empty shell, it is easier for us to move into. It allows us to have an amazing design that is different to any other locations."

He added that there will be no changes made to the outside of the building, aside from replacing the Debenhams signage.

Work could begin stripping the building in the next two to three weeks, but it could take up to nine months to complete. The new venture could provide between 40 to 60 full and part time jobs.

A spokesman for Orford House Developments said: "The cost of demolishing and rebuilding would be too expensive in this current economic climate, but now we have found a good use for the building."

Orford House was built in the 1940s and 1950s to replace the original Curls department store, which was destroyed by German bombs in 1942.

Since Debenhams collapsed in 2021, it has been boarded up, with graffiti on hoardings around the ground floor.

Parts of the canopy also fell to the ground last month, but the building has since been made safe.

Heritage groups opposed to the original plans, including the Norwich Society, Historic England and the Twentieth Century Society, welcomed the decision.

A spokesman for the Twentieth Century Society said the original building was too good to be bulldozed and it was delighted to learn the "wasteful and wholly unnecessary demolition" has been scrapped.

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