Debenhams could become student accommodation or offices

After the Debenhams chain went into administration the Oxford branch on the corner of George Street and Magdalen Street closed early in 2021 - it did not reopen after the third lockdown.

Following the closure the building's owners - DTZ Investors which acts on behalf of Strathclyde Pension Fund - said it was looking at alternative uses, but so far has not made any further announcement, or put forward official plans.

READ MORE: New campaigner sets out goals for cycling in city 

Graham Jones, of ROX - Backing Oxford Business, said: "I can't see any retailer wanting to take on that amount of space.

"I don't think footfall in the city centre is back to pre-Covid levels yet and I think the most likely option for the Debenhams building is for one of the colleges to take it for student accommodation, or it could be used for offices.

"Of course we would like to see the Debenhams building used again - we want to see the city centre buzzing on all fronts - not just the Westgate Centre."

Mr Jones added that the arrival of The Store hotel on the site of the former Boswells department store made it less likely that the former Debenhams would become a hotel.

Reef Group has been transforming the former Boswells department store into a 101-bedroom boutique hotel with an entrance in Broad Street and it is due to open in November. 

Family-run Boswells closed early in 2020. 

DTZ Investors said in 2021: "The property was acquired some seven or eight years ago as an investment for the Fund.

"Since Debenhams went into administration, we have been exploring possible alternative uses for the upper floors of the property.

"These alternatives could include potential conversion to office or hotel use."

The city council said earlier it wanted the building brought back into use and that it would consider any future application for the Debenhams building in the usual manner, including assessing how any scheme would contribute positively to the life of the city centre.

In a brief statment the council said: "It's not our building and we have no current information on it."

READ MORE: A view of the city from Wytham Woods 

Some shoppers in Oxford may remember Elliston & Cavell, the department store trading on the Debenhams site before it became Debenhams.

Elliston & Cavell specialised in the latest fashions and its roots can be traced to 1823 when William Delf opened a linen and woollen drapery shop on the site.

He sold out seven years later to his assistants, Jesse Elliston, his brother-in-law, and a Mr Street.

Mr Elliston soon had total control. In 1835, his chief clerk, John Caldecott Cavell, became a partner just before marrying Elliston’s sister, Sarah.

When Mr Elliston died in 1853, it was already an “extensive establishment”.

Mr Cavell, who was mayor of Oxford three times, continued to develop the business until he fell to his death from the top floor in 1887, an accident attributed to hallucinations brought on by diabetes.

Elliston & Cavell became part of the Debenhams group in the early 1950s and the name was consigned to history in 1973 when the group decided all its shops should trade under the Debenhams’ name.

John Lewis was the flagship store of the new £440m Westgate Centre when it reopened in 2017 and is the city's only remaining department store.

DTZ Investors have been asked to comment.