CONCERNS Skipton high street was losing its major retail element with the announced closure of flagship store House of Fraser may not be as serious as first thought after the Herald learned there was hope the building may still be used for shop space.

The district council says it has been in touch with the building's owners, understood to be High Street Skipton Limited, who has said the building has been let.

The company was registered with Companies House in February this year and has its registered address in Carlisle.

Former owner, Royal London Asset Management, confirmed on Monday that the building had been sold in 2018.

Councillor Simon Myers, Craven District Council's deputy leader and lead member of Enterprising Craven, said the council had been in touch with the owner's agents who informed them there was a leaseholder, but would not say who.

"To date there has been no planning application submitted for a change of use so we hope this means that although the current store is going, it is going to remain retail. But at the moment we will have to wait to see if we can get some more details.

The news will build the hopes of current store staff who face redundancy just before Christmas.

He said the council had been concerned about the site's future and had been willing to look at all avenues to keep footfall to the town. This included the suggestion the council could take over the building.

"Keeping a large retail space in the high street is important to Skipton," said Cllr Myers, who added that details are still unclear about the leaseholder.

"What is certain is that we would not happily see it sit empty. It's very important to the high street to have a strong retail presence.

"Skipton is a very popular town with a big footfall and there are a lot of towns which don't have large retail premises with parking so close to the town centre."

Speaking about the suggestion of the district council taking over the high street building, Cllr Myers added: "It is not beyond our powers as a council to get involved in some commercial sense, but would require a great deal of discussion because we would be using public money.

"Speaking for myself, I would not like to see that site closed."

He added: "If it became necessary for someone to buy it and develop it, in whatever way, if no one else was to come forward for it, it could be done. If there is something we can do, it is not beyond our powers to get involved in some commercial sense," he said.

"These are all things we could be look at. We are a joint venture company and it is important we look after our town," he added.

Cllr Myers said he was quietly optimistic that the store could remain retail and said when the development behind the town hall was being created, those who took space said they had been looking for larger floor areas.

"Most businesses said the shop premises in the town were too small. I think there are still companies doing retail which may want a large space so the House of Fraser site may attract those larger businesses.

"Certainly Waterstones were considering Skipton as a potential outlet at one time.

"The main thing is we, as a council, are not going to ignore the closure. We have been concerned for some time about that site.

"Skipton is a vibrant town and we want to keep it vibrant. There is a lot going for Skipton and the town council does a brilliant job in organising their events events and the Henry Boot development - at Wyvern Park - is enabling jobs to boost the economy," he said.

Skipton has been awarded a share of £69 million from Historic England - believed to be around £1.6 million - to revitalise the high street.

The High Streets Heritage Action Zone, mainly funded by the Government, but also the National Lottery Heritage Fund, aims to breathe new life into historic buildings and to help traditional businesses compete with online outlets.

Global House has been contacted for a comment.