A mystery retailer has made an offer to lease the former Poundland shop unit in The Shires shopping centre in Trowbridge.

The space has been vacant since Saturday, July 20  when Poundland closed its flagship store in the centre after deciding not to renew its lease on the unit.

Centre manager Sarah Moore said: “Losing Poundland was a bit of a blow but we’ve had an offer.

“If we can get that space filled, we’ll only have the old Greggs retail unit and the old Carphone Warehouse unit left to fill.

“The Bath Cancer Unit Support Group is opening a pop-up shop in the old Carphone Warehouse unit opposite the microshops and hopes to start trading next week.”

The Shires shopping centre has received an offer from a mystery retailer to lease the former Poundland unit.The Shires shopping centre has received an offer from a mystery retailer to lease the former Poundland unit. (Image: Trevor Porter)

Meanwhile, the owners of the town's main shopping centre have put up for sale first floor space as a residential development opportunity.

London & Cambridge Properties has installed ‘for sale’ signs outside The Shires shopping centre in Trowbridge for the space.

The company has gained planning permission from Wiltshire Council to convert a redundant first floor above the Bodycare retail store into four residential flats.

The 2,291 square feet of space is being marketed at £180,000 for a 125-year leasehold and the signs say ‘Residential Development’.

The sign advising The Shires shopping centre first floor space above Bodycare is ‘for sale’ as a residential development opportunityThe sign advising The Shires shopping centre first floor space above Bodycare is ‘for sale’ as a residential development opportunity (Image: Trevor Porter)

The company’s unit brochure says: “The opportunity is currently used as first floor redundant retail space with planning permissions granted for residential conversion.”

The main entrance for the upstairs space is in Castle Street. The four flats would have separate entrances from a staircase.

All enquiries should be directed to LCP’s local commercial property manager George Watson in Bristol.

The Wiltshire Times has tried several times to contact Mr Watson for more details and a comment.

He works at the Bristol office of LCP, which is part of M Core, one of the largest, privately held commercial property portfolios in the UK.

The Bristol office of LCP was appointed to manage The Shires after the company acquired the shopping centre in January 2023 for an undisclosed sum.

LCP is a leading privately owned investment and property management company with more than 640 sites and 25.4 million square feet of space.

The Shires shopping centre has 56 retail units, with major tenants including Iceland, JD Sports, Peacocks and Superdrug occupying 123,703 sq ft of space.

It is anchored by an Asda superstore and there are also more than 1,000 car parking spaces.