JOHN Lewis has made an impassioned plea to build a new store in Worcester – saying it wants to turn the city into a genuine "retail destination".

The high-end retailer has finally waded into the controversial debate about the £150 million out-of-town Worcester Woods shopping park by saying it firmly believes the development would boost the whole city.

Bosses at John Lewis say they have spent "years" scouring the whole of Worcester for alternative city centre buildings, but have discounted every one before settling upon the Newtown Road fields.

It has also ruled out - for the first time - the prospect of opening a city centre site should Worcester Woods fail to get approved, heaping the pressure on council chiefs.

As we first revealed in 2014 the UK's biggest developer Land Securities wants to build a 394,000 square foot shopping park at the site.

A planning application, which is opposed by hordes of city centre traders, is nearing a crunch vote at Worcester City Council's planning committee with a decision expected this summer.

Until now John Lewis has not got involved in the debate, despite flak from shops in and around the High Street who are fearful about a loss in trade.

Andrew Mills, the company's senior acquisition and development manager, has now opted to voice the store's stance on it.

"We believe opening a shop in Worcester will enhance the overall retail proposition and give customers even more reason to shop in the city," he said.

"John Lewis has explored a number of options within Worcester city centre over the years, but none have been suitable to meet our requirements.

"In light of the department stores operating or planned within the wider sub-region, we have no requirement for a department store in Worcester.

"We are, however delighted to be progressing one of our 'At Home' format shops at Worcester Woods."

The company has not revealed what city centre sites it had considered and rejected but the old Co-Op in St Nicholas Street, known as Trinity House, which was sold to a mystery investor 18 months ago is expected to be one.

Mr Mills, who says the Worcester Woods store would create 100 jobs, added: "We're very keen to bring it to Worcester to help meet the needs of the resident population closer to where they live.

"It will be a positive sign of investment and confidence in Worcester as a retail destination."

It comes as this new image shows how the store would look if it gets the green light.

The intervention has angered campaigners leading the march against it, who say they fear the city centre being "broken".

Tim Evans, from Toys & Games Worcester, in Broad Street, said: "All the evidence from other areas tells us what it'll do - look at Stratford-upon-Avon and Malvern to see what out-of-town retail did there.

"Past experience shows us how badly hit many town centres have been - we do want John Lewis to come to Worcester, but to the city centre, that's where we need them.

"We don't want to see the city centre broken."

If it gets approved Worcester Woods would feature 13 units with Next, M&S and Sainsbury's also signed up so far.

* John Lewis has penned an open letter to Worcester News readers on why it wants to open the store, saying it wants the public to “fully understand” its reasoning - an extract is below:

"John Lewis has a careful selection of new criteria for shops, which is reflective of the quality of our product range and brand.

We believe the proposal at Worcester Woods will create an exceptional destination for customers within the catchment area.

Our ‘At Home’ format shops have proved extremely popular with our customer base and we now have a total of 12 across the country.

We believe opening a shop in Worcester will enhance the overall retail proposition and give customers even more reason to shop within the city.

The proposed shop will generate approximately 100 new jobs, including a mix of full and part-time roles.

Being part of the John Lewis Partnership means all employees benefit directly from its success, and our staff are central to all that we do.

We are very keen to bring our John Lewis ‘At Home’ shop to Worcester, to help meet the needs of the resident population closer to where they live.

It will be a positive sign of investment and confidence in Worcester as a retail destination.

Yours sincerely,
Andrew Mills

Senior acquisition and development manager