B&M garden centre and store planned for former Toys R Us site

A major high street retailer has put in proposals to add a £200,000 garden centre to a shop planned for the former Toys R Us site at Teesside Park.

Discount chain B&M says it will bring 51 jobs to the area when it takes up the large Unit 1 at Teesside Shopping Park, a building which has stood empty since 2018. Now it hopes to link a garden centre to the branch.

B&M Retail Ltd has asked for planning permission to build an enclosed garden centre outside the building, predicting a £550,000 turnover in 2026.

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A planning statement says: "The application relates to the provision of an external garden centre which will be linked to the planned occupation of the former Toys R Us store by B&M Retail Ltd.

"No change in the primary nature of the permitted retail use would occur, with the garden centre selling bulky comparison goods and which provide a complementary addition to those sold within the proposed B&M store," adds the statement from MWA Planning.

"Planning permission is sought for the erection of a 4.8-metre-high enclosure to form an ancillary external garden centre compound associated with the proposed occupation of the former Toys R Us unit on the Teesside Shopping Park by B&M Retail Ltd.

"The proposal is expected to involve a capital expenditure of approximately £200,000," says the statement submitted with the proposals.

"The company wishes to secure a long term viable use of the former Toys R Us unit and the provision of a complementary garden centre is part of its business model and operating requirements.

"The garden centre extending to 929sqm will occupy part of the car parking area to the side of the proposed B&M Store. The garden centre will be contained within a 4.8m-high fence.

"The scheme will result in the loss of 30 car parking spaces. However the unit will still be provided with 369 spaces including a range of disability accessible spaces.

"The garden centres comprise open, external compounds within which a range of plants, shrubs and small trees are displayed together with a range of bulky items such as garden sheds, water butts, garden equipment, fertiliser, soil and bark chippings are stored. Other items include fence panels, pots, decking, gravel, wheelbarrows and planters."

B&M says the garden centre would add to the goods sold in the store and create six extra jobs: "These would be in addition to the 45 jobs created as a consequence of the applicant occupying the unit."

The company describes itself as "an established, and still rapidly growing national retailer with a significant presence across the UK" and an "anchor tenant for town centres and retail parks" in a planning statement. It says it seeks external garden centres at sites with enough space for heavy goods storage, racking, loading, unloading, power, water and waste services.

Customers will have to take their goods when they pay for them as B&M does not deliver. "This necessitates readily available and convenient access to surface level car parking which is trolley accessible," says the statement.

Stockton Council is considering the proposal for the enclosure.

An application lodged with the council in February, and approved in April, outlined the plan to "facilitate the reoccupation of the vacant unit by a new tenant".

British Land, which is one of the UK's largest property and investment firms, said it wanted to "significantly improve" the visual appearance of the "tired and outdated" unit. It also proposed minor works to the 380-space car park at the site.

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