Crystal House has been struggling to attract new retailers to its existing premises

Plans to rejuvenate the shop fronts of Crystal House have been submitted to the council.

The owners of the tower which face onto the Flag Market and Fishergate want to knock together the retail units to try and attract a new store into the city centre.

Crystal House has seen the closure of Burlington’s Cafe, Oddbins and a music store in recent years.

An artists impression of how a supermarket could look if viewed from the Flag Market/Cheapside

The proposals show on Cheapside the former cafe, Oddbins store and the Cancer Research Fund store will be merged into one space.

Gillian Murray, manager of the Cancer Research store which has been in place for 20 years, said they believed they had another years rent.

She said: “It’s come out of the blue. We got a letter this morning and we’ve been looking at the plans and we can’t see where our shop is in these plans. It’s very odd.”

Documents from Base 1 Architects outline why the plans are being lodged.

It states: “The underlying motives behind the proposal are to bring back into use and regenerate the vacant retail units which front Cheapside and the Flag Market.

“Enable a new tenancy by offering a floor plate size which will attract a contemporary retailer and secure the future use of the podium building.”

It goes on to state the new retail unit would be of interest to a variety of retail operators.

The application includes adding the ability for a bank, estate agent and betting operators to move into the shopfronts.

You can view the full application on the council website and submit any comments online or by emailing devcon@preston.gov.uk

What stores do you think should go into Crystal House? Let us know your views in the comments below