Empty since April 2020, the former Debenham’s retail store is still a point of discussion among Salisbury residents.

The store is already owned by Bradbeers, but Director Greg Davies specified last week that there was the desire to trade in Salisbury but no final decision had been made yet.

We stopped and asked those around Blue Boar Row what they thought should happen with the former Debenhams site and about the shops in Salisbury generally.

Many people expressed the concern that the town centre did not have enough retail outlets anymore and that many former shops were closed and had remained empty for a long time.

Read more: Bradbeers not ruling out new store in Salisbury

While there were plenty of cafes and charity shops, the fear was that people were likely to go outside of the city for much of their shopping needs.

Yvonne Gorbeck, 73, lives in Salisbury and believes Salisbury needs a good department store, perhaps one with a coffee shop.

“There is a really nice Bradbeers store in Romsey and I would like something like that here. I don’t think we need a Primark in that particular space. I used to like Debenhams, but it was in decline for too long.”

Andy Corcoran, 59 said: “The whole of Salisbury needs revitalising. I have lived in Salisbury all my life and there used to be a shop in every space. When Debenhams was open, I used to go in for a coffee or get presents for my wife.

“The Council has a lot to answer for. They put up the fees for parking and what incentive is there for people to come here? I tend to go to Wilton.”

Cladio Raffo, 65, comes into Salisbury centre every week and mentioned he had heard that a Bradbeers store might take over the former Debenhams site.

He said: “I miss Debenhams. I used to go in there regularly, but I went to the Bradbeers store in Romsey and really liked it. I would be very happy if they came here.”

Other concerns mentioned were that the site might be sold and converted into flats especially since some offices near to the town centre had been transformed into residential properties.

Aaron English, 37 was not perturbed by the prospect of losing the building for residential purposes but did feel generally that Salisbury needed additional clothes or sports shops.  

He said: “I have children so would like a shop like Primark here because right now, the children go through clothes so quickly.”

Most people felt that Salisbury lacked the variety of retail stores that other towns or cities had.

Robin McGowan, Chief Executive of Salisbury BID, said: "In 2021, new business openings have helped Salisbury buck the trend when it comes to retail vacancy rates, with the latest figures showing we are below the regional and national average."

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