By LDRS (Richard Whitehouse)

THE future of Launceston’s New Look store seem uncertain after it was revealed that the owners are considering splitting it into three shops.

It was reported on Tuesday, July 3 that the fashion outlet on Launceston Retail Park could be taken over by frozen food store Iceland.

But it has now been discovered that the owners of the building — Metric Property Investments Plc — had asked Cornwall Council for planning advice on whether the store could be split into three units.

Agents for the owners wrote to the council in May to see whether there would be any possibility of transforming the New Look store into three units, each with a mezzanine floor.

Plans attached to the letter indicate that the proposed three stores would each have their own entrances and signage.

The letter, from London-based Lichfields, asks the council to keep the correspondence ‘private and confidential’. However it would appear that a meeting was held at the beginning of June to discuss the plans.

Details of the pre-planning advice application were published on the council’s website last week.

The agents said in the letter that the alterations required to create the three new units ‘do not affect the overall appearance of the building’ and so would not require planning permission.

There is no indication of what advice has been provided to the agents and building owners as a result of the application.

Launceston Retail Park is currently home to branches of New Look, Marks and Spencer Food Hall, B&M, Argos, Poundland, Pets At Home, Shoe Zone, Peacocks and Costa. It also has a 224-space car park.

The uncertainty around the New Look store’s future comes after the firm announced that it would be axing 60 stores across the country, while seeking rent reductions at 393 others.