NEXT is proposing to build a new superstore on the eastern edge of Exeter.
At 58,000sq ft and two storeys, it would be similar to a new store opened by the fashion retailer this year at Hedge End in Southampton.
The Hedge End store is the first of a "selected and limited number of high-quality, new-build stores being planned by Next" across the country.
The plans have come to light in a letter on the city council's planning website and reveal that the new store would be on the site of B&Q in Avocet Road, on the Sowton Industrial Estate.
The letter – sent to the city council's planning department by Peter Brett Associates on behalf of Next and property developer British Land – states that B&Q is "considering options to enhance their representation in Exeter, including accommodating on the existing site alongside the proposed new Next store".
Next would retain its prominent landmark store in the city centre at the top of Paris Street. The new store would stock clothes as well as expanded home ranges, selling furniture, soft furnishings, carpets, furnishing accessories, kitchenware and DIY products.
According to the letter, the new store will be "wholly complementary" to the city centre store.
In addition to Next, there would be other shops included in the new scheme, including a 17,000sq ft "quality convenience store operation".
In total the scheme will cover 101,000sq ft and there will be a small group of "larger-format retail stores" which would be complementary to the city centre.
The letter was among documents referring to the Moor Exchange, a mix of shops and leisure facilities off Honiton Road and which is recommended for refusal when the city's planning committee meets on December 1.
The documents also contain a letter from those promoting the Western Power Distribution site off Moor Lane, and adjacent to B&Q, for redevelopment.
They are objecting to the Moor Exchange scheme and state that they themselves will be submitting a planning application within the next four months for a scheme that will have a mix of retail and employment uses.
This letter states that: "This site has the potential to make a significant contribution to the Sowton area and the application will enable a well-designed and high-quality scheme to come forward on this gateway site that has remained an eyesore for many years. The Moor Exchange application will, if approved, prejudice these objectives."
