Debenhams store conversion voted through

An application to convert a former Debenhams store in Liverpool into a retail and leisure development has received the green light.The Lord Street shop has remained vacant since Debenhams stopped trading last May.The new proposal by Liverpool One owners Grosvenor Britain & Ireland will see retail space on the lower and upper ground floors. The first and second levels will be used for leisure, including a possible go-karting track.A council document considered by Liverpool City Council’s planning committee said the scheme would “assist in bringing the highly prominent building back into beneficial use”.It also said the plans would “increase the range of leisure facilities within the city centre whilst still protecting the retail function of the MRA (main retail area)”.The chairman of Liverpool City Council’s planning committee described the application as a “positive change for the city”.A majority of the committee voted in favour of the project.