'Beatties was the heart of Wolverhampton'

"It's devastating, because it's an iconic building and it brought people all over Wolverhampton and surrounding towns so much joy over the years."

Jane Gynn joined the Beatties department store in 1970, fully unaware of how much it would shape her life.

It was where she met her husband, a customer at the store, and when returning to her job after having children, she said it was "like coming home".

The department store was opened in Wolverhampton by James Beattie as a draper's shop in 1877 before expanding, and remained in the family until House of Fraser took over in 2005.

An iconic building in the city, the interior of the store has now been stripped bare, and has remained abandoned since House of Fraser departed in 2019.

Planning permission was granted to private owners in 2021 for the redevelopment of parts of the former store, car park, and associated land.

However, on Wednesday City of Wolverhampton Council announced it was planning for a compulsory purchase order (CPO) to buy the site, claiming current owners Eden Beatties had failed to progress the scheme.

The authority added that legal action was expected to be taken.

The BBC has been unable to contact the owners of the site for a comment.

"It's just tragic. It's so sad," Gynn said. "It does upset me, it really does.

"Beatties was the heart of Wolverhampton and now it's gone.

"People are always putting things online saying Wolverhampton isn't the same without Beatties."

Speaking about the importance of the building to the city, Gynn spoke about the power of nostalgia, with many locals having visited as a child and met Santa there.

She stressed it was about the whole ethos of Beatties and the customer service they gave.

"People used to literally come from miles around," she said, "but particularly people from Wolverhampton."

"They were proud of Beatties. We knew what it meant to people."

While the future of the site remains uncertain, Gynn said: "I hope it never gets pulled down, I hope they can at least keep some of the facade, which is beautiful.

"It would be great if it could be little retail outlets, but whether that would ever happen, I don't know."

The 72-year-old now lives in Malvern, but still visits Wolverhampton to see her sister.

Several years ago, she stood outside the building to do an interview with BBC Radio WM.

"When I did the interview on the steps, I was nearly brought to tears looking behind me and seeing how it used to be," she said.

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