A new clothing store is coming to York.
Plans are in to convert a prominent shop on Stonegate into the fashion store.
The building, 18-20 Stonegate, has had a chequered recent history, with the landlords having to take action to reclaim the property from its former tenants.
Coloured bright purple, it was the Kingdom of Sweets shop.
The landlords twice took action against the brand. In January 2022, bailiffs went in to seize the building on behalf of its owners, Greenridge Investment Management, which is based in London.
Kingdom of Sweets later reopened but was repossessed by its landlords for the second time in August last year.
The lease agreement was with BDH Management Limited, an affiliate company of the Kingdom Of Sweets.
Now there are new plans for the Grade II listed building.
It was originally built as a pair of houses by Theophilus Garencieres in 1740.
Then in the 20th century it was partially rebuilt and converted into a shop.
Now the owners have submitted a planning application to City of York Council to remove the purple colour scheme on the exterior of the store and paint it white.
“Redecoration of the historic timber shopfront in white is more in keeping with the Georgian character of the building, its adjacent neighbours, and the historic street as a whole,” planning documents state.
They add: “The buildings have been vacant since the Kingdom of Sweets vacated last year in 2023, when internal existing modern shop fittings were stripped out, in order for our client to market the building to prospective tenants.
“At ground floor, Kingdom of Sweets shelving has been removed, revealing the original features of the building, including paneling to the rear room.
“At first floor level, shelving from the previous tenant (Jack Wills) has been removed.
“Our client has now found a new tenant who would like to install changing cubicles within the ground floor of the proposed clothing store.”
The three cubicles would be fitted at the rear of the shop.
The name of the new retailer moving in has not yet been released.
You can read and comment on the planning application here.
