By Kirsty Bosley
Copyright birminghammail
Eagle-eyed shoppers have noticed a change at the old Monki store, the big clothes shop beside Primark on the city centre’s High Street. Monki shut its doors after six years in the shadow of the world’s biggest branch of Primark back in February . Since then, the significant space has sat empty, with no obvious developments and uncertainty about its future. Read more: Birmingham Bullring confirms new opening and it’s ‘every child’s dream shop’ Read more: Excitement soars as Museum of Illusions sets its sights on Birmingham However, the ‘to let’ sign on the huge unit has now changed, with a hopeful sign now saying that it is ‘under offer’. Property consultancy Rapleys had the 12,325sq ft unit listed for rent until the offer came in, with a full repairing lease at a rent of £300,000 per year. Described as a ‘prominent retail unit’ with ‘significant passing footfall’, the old Monki was up for Class E use, which means it could be a new retail shop, food and drink spot, indoor sport, recreation or fitness location, a place where you can go for medical or health services, a creche or day care venue or offices. It’s not yet known what will replace Monki and there’s nothing on the council’s planning portal regarding new shop frontage. If a store wants to put illuminated signage up in a neighbourhood, it must ask council permission. That’s what happened with UniQlo at the Bullring when the shop, which sits not far from Monki, had its plans rejected by Birmingham City Council . A significant new opening we’ve heard rumours about in Birmingham this past week is the potential launch of a new museum in town . The Museum of Illusions has all but confirmed it will be coming to town after a successful launch up in Manchester. Could that be going in the old Monki? Time will tell. We’ll share more news on both of those stories as we get it.
