Discount store set to open in Castleford's landmark former Poundstretcher building
The building has been vacant for around seven years but has been seen as integral to the regeneration of the town centre.
Castleford’s landmark former Poundstretcher building looks set to be reopened as a discount store.
The building has been vacant for around seven years but has been seen as integral to the regeneration of the town centre.
Details of the planned new business have been revealed in a planning application submitted to Wakefield Council for permission to put new signs outside the Carlton Road property.
Officers have been asked to approve the application by Zafar Afghani, the chief executive of BBM Bargains Castleford Ltd.
Attempts by Wakefield Council to acquire the premises failed last year as the authority was unable to reach a deal with the building owners.
In September 2024, Bartonvale Ltd was then granted planning permission to renovate the building.
Council officers said at the time that the proposals would add “vitality and viability” to the town centre.
The local authority had been hoping to buy the building as part of a major town centre regeneration scheme after being awarded £24m of government Town Deal funding.
Plans included demolishing it to make way for a new skills hub and training centre to be run by the Castleford Tigers Foundation, the charitable arm of the town’s professional rugby league club.
The deal fell through after the council and Bartonvale were unable to agree on the sale price.
In May 2024, a spokesperson for the company confirmed that it wanted £500,000 for the sale.
At the time, Mark Lynam, the council’s corporate director for regeneration and economic growth, said the sum was five times higher than a valuation from an independent third party and “too high a price to pay with public money”.