A shop in Stevenage's Roaring Meg retail park that has lain empty since 2007 could be set to welcome customers again.

A planning application has been submitted to Stevenage Borough Council (SBC) for the unit to become a new Sports Direct store.

The application requests permission to sell fashion clothing and footwear from the store, which is currently not allowed, and to erect new signage and make adjustments to the internal shop area.

The lease on the existing Sports Direct store, in the Forum, comes to an end in February 2024 and the proposed redevelopment of that site means the chain is looking for a new location in Stevenage.

According to planning documents, staff at the town centre store would be able to move across to the new unit, and the additional floor space gained as part of the relocation would mean that additional staff would be hired too.

If granted planning permission, a mezzanine level will be added to the unit, which currently only has a ground floor.

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The unit in question is 7B, situated directly next to Hobbycraft. Furnitureland occupied Unit 7 until 2007, when it was divided into two separate units.

Hobbycraft have occupied Unit 7A since then, but Unit 7B has never been occupied.

Two businesses that previously submitted planning applications related to the vacant unit ended up withdrawing after permission had been granted - Discount UK, run by Poundworld, in 2012, and M&S Simply Food, in 2018.