New plans for hotel and spa in former JR Taylor store and ex-bank next door in St Annes

The owners of the prominent building in St Annes Square, which closed as a store in 2015, have now acquired the former HSBC bank next door and want to extend into that the plans for which applicants Corbenyah Properties Ltd were granted permission by Fylde Council for the ex-Taylors store to become The Sanctuary in 2021

The plan is for a restaurant, spa and bars, including one on the roof and would entail change of use of the two buildings from retail, offices and bank to mixed use, with the spa at basement level, restaurant, bar and spa entrance on the ground floor, ancillary offices, staff rooms, massage rooms and spa dining at first floor, a VIP bar at second floor and a rooftop bar at the thiurd floor level.

External alterations would include a glazed enclosure of the first, second and third floors facing Garden Street and St Annes Road West and a third floor extension to the corner turret, replacement of the current roof with a glazed flat roof and curved canopy to the rooftop bar, new entrances and part demolition of the rear of the former bank along with changes to windows and various features at the rear

After the original plan was approved in November 2021, work started to clear the JR Taylor building but activity appears to have halted in recent months.

The HSBC bank, which features the landmark St Annes Square clock, closed last September.

Fylde Council's Town Centre Group chairman, Coun Richard Redcliffe, said: "This application is at an early stage but represents an exciting opportunity to progress a key development site in St Annes, after due planning process and scrutiny. Repurposing this iconic building space could act as a catalyst for future town centre regeneration."

A spokesman for the St Annes Anne Enterprise Partnership (STEP) group of traders said: “STEP is pleased to see the extension of the existing plans, for the old JR Taylor’s building, into the HSBC building next door.

"This space, in addition to the significant corner premise, will change the appearance of this part of St Annes, improving the area and increasing the prospect of future investment in the town.”