John Lewis has revealed plans for a new 115,000 sq ft department store in Cheltenham on top of a string of other openings.

Artist's impression of John Lewis Cheltenham

The full-line store will replace the city’s Beechwood shopping centre, where retailers Debenhams, Next, HMV and Evans currently have outlets. It is understood John Lewis management are aiming for an opening in the first half of 2017.

The opening will follow a raft of new John Lewis stores over the next year including Basingstoke next month, Leeds and Chelmsford next autumn and Westfield London and Oxford in 2017.

It comes after the department store group, which has 45 shops, opened a flagship store at Birmingham’s new Grand Central development last month.

The two-floor Cheltenham store, which will create up to 250 jobs, will sell fashion, homewares and consumer electronics. The site is around 40 miles from John Lewis’ nearest shop at the Cribbs Causeway, near Bristol.  

John Lewis, Blackrock and Cheltenham Borough Council are investing a combined total of around £30m on the development.

Tim Harrison, John Lewis’s store development director said: “Cheltenham has long been a sought-after location for us and we’re delighted to be able to expand our reach to customers across the region for the first time.  

This new shop will provide more convenient access to our inspiring products and great service, and we’re looking forward to becoming part of the local community.”