Babcock could move into former Dingles building

A major defence company is considering moving thousands of staff into a city centre department store that is closing down.

House of Fraser's store in Plymouth, previously known as Dingles, has announced it is closing in March, with Babcock considering the prominent site for relocating about 2000 employees.

The company's main base in the city is at Devonport Royal Dockyard and it announced in June it was looking for a city centre location to "help boost collaboration, foster wider prosperity and support defence delivery".

A Babcock spokesperson confirmed the building "is one of a number of sites it is considering" – House of Fraser's owner Frasers has been approached for comment.

The store had previously faced closure in 2018 before a rescue deal secured its future.

Steve Hughes, chief executive of the Plymouth City Centre Company, which represents the interests of city centre businesses, said the closure was "sad news for the city centre and especially for all the staff".

He added: "I am sure a new use will be found very quickly for that building in such a prime location.

"The city centre continues to improve with footfall on the rise and number of vacant units falling.

"The planned level of investment in the city centre is huge, and the future is looking good with work on The Civic Centre now progressing, plans for a Babcock office building for 2,000 employees and thousands of new homes."

Babcock said it employed more than 7000 people in Plymouth "delivering critical defence programmes including complex submarine maintenance and the build of armoured vehicles".

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