Shock as high street name backs out of Brighton move

Well it looked like Brighton’s city centre was set for the arrival of a much loved, brand name, department store. However now retailers John Lewis have shockingly made a u-turn and backed out of their proposed move to North Street. Bosses have said they cannot create the store they want given the extent of the building works which would be necessary. However neither the company or Brighton & Hove City Council have announced the reasons for the U-turn, as far as what exact work was needed that made John Lewis make this decision, when six months ago it seemed that they would certainly be occupying the space that Boots currently holds on one of the city’s busiest roads. The retailer had pruchased the freehold of the building at 129-133 North Street, which as well as Boots also houses Krispy Kreme and First Choice, in May of 2015.
A statement from John Lewis said: “We acquired the site positive that we could build a John Lewis shop, but having explored all options we cannot deliver a shop on this site with the extent of demolition and rebuilding required. We are pleased to have secured a new lease with Boots, who wished to continue to trade in Brighton, so that the property will remain occupied for the long term.”
And following this news we took to the streets of Brighton to ask to public what they thought